Bulgogi 불고기 & Spciy Pork Bulgogi 돼지 불고기 & Ssam Jang 쌈장

BULGOGI (Beef)

WHAT'S IN IT?

Beef Sirloin (thinly sliced) 쇠고기 - 3 lb
Soy Sauce 간장 - 1 cup
Sugar 설탕 - 1 cup (or pineapple juice 2 cup)
Water 물 - 2 cups
Onions 양파 (sliced) - 2
Green onions 파 (chopped) - 2
Garlic 마늘 (chopped) - 1 tablespoon
Black pepper 후추 - 2 teaspoons
Sesame oil 참기름 - 1 tablespoon
Sesame seeds - 2 teaspoons (optional)
Mushrooms (optional)

HOW DO I MAKE IT?

1. Cut onions, green onions and chop garlic.
2. In a large bowl, pour in soy sauce, sugar and water and add onions, green onions, garlic, pepper, and sesame oil.
3. Mix them thoroughly until all sugar is dissolved.
4. Add meat one by one making sure all the meat is immersed in the marinade.
5. Keep in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.
6. Throw in a frying pan and cook on high heat for about 10 min. (add mushrooms when cooking if you like)
7. Serve and garnish with sesame seeds.



SPICY PORK BULGOGI

WHAT'S IN IT?

Pork belly or neck 돼지고기 (thinly sliced) - 3 lb
Sugar or honey 꿀 또는 설탕 - 4-5 tablespoons
Chili paste (Korean style, "Go Chu Jang") 고추장 4-5 tablespoons
Onions 양파 (sliced) - 2
Green onions 파 (chopped) - 2
Garlic 마늘 (chopped) - 1 tablespoon
Ginger 생강 (chopped) - 1 tablespoon
Black pepper 후추 - 1 teaspoons
Sesame oil 참기름 - 1 tablespoon
Sesame seeds - 1 teaspoons (optional)
Red chili peppers - 3 (optional)
Vegetable oil

HOW DO I MAKE IT?

1. Cut onions, green onions and chop garlic and ginger.
2. In a large bowl, place sliced pork meat making sure slices are NOT stuck together.
3. Add all ingredient in the bowl.
4. Using your hand (use glove if your had stings), mix everything thoroughly and work in the marinade in the meat for 5-10 minutes.
5. Keep in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. (overnight is optimal)
6. Coat a frying pan with vegetable oil. Throw the marinated meat in a frying pan and cook on low to medium for 15-20 min. until the meat is FULLY cooked.
7. Serve and garnish with sesame seeds.



SSAM JANG -DIPPING SAUCE for Lettuc Wrap 쌈장

This is good when you want to wrap your meat in Korean red leaf lettuce.

WHAT'S IN IT?

Soybean paste (Dwen Jang) 된장 - 1 tablespoon
Chili paste (Go Chu Jang) 고추장 - 1 tablespoon
Garlic (chopped) 마늘 - 1 teaspoon
Red chili peppers 고추 (chopped) - 1/2 to 1
Green onions 파 (chopped) - 1/4
Black pepper 후추 - a pinch
Sesame oil 참기름 - 1 teaspoon

HOW DO I MAKE IT?

1. Just mix all the ingredients well together.
2. Serve with Korean red leaf lettuce with the rest of the meal.

Back to Korean food!

So, I'm back in Korea now (obvi~). Last week, it was difficult trying to get back into 'work mode'... I had so much energy on my vacation, and then when I returned to dreary weather and had to get back to the daily grind, I felt my energy levels plummet. But I will admit that it feels good to sleep in my own bed again, to eat oatmeal for breakfast, and also to see Bunny again. :) I've also been filling up on nutrients that I probably didn't get enough of while in the Philippines (namely protein, and iron...), by eating loads of dark leafy greens, tofu, and beans.


Anyway, last week I went to Cheonan to see my parents and to bring Bunny back to Seoul. My mom's home cooking is always such a comfort, especially after a week of eating other International foods. I didn't miss Korean food while I was on vacation, but once I got back, all I wanted was a big bowl of dwenjang jjigye. I think that's a sure sign that I am indeed Korean at heart! You can see the dwenjang jjigye in the photo above, and also below:


I bought that table liner from the Legazpi Market in Makati! It looks great on my parents' dining table. :)


Sweet potato, fresh green salad, gosari-namul, dried radish banchan, and kimchi.


Last, here's a lovely soy latte I enjoyed, along with a dried persimmon.

Jamie Oliver's wish: Teach every child to make dishes

In prior generations, food was a tool mothers — sometimes, fathers — used to teach offspring history, culture and religion. How will the next generation know how to eat healthfully — and understand themselves — if they aren't taught? asks celebrity chef Jamie Oliver as part of his Food Revolution campaign.

He is telling us what we already know. Look no further than West Virginia for what happens when four generations of Americans give up cooking homemade meals and abdicate their responsibility to teach their children basic cooking skills. The next generation comes to equate "semi-homemade" with cooking from scratch.


Oliver isn't the first person to point out this cultural shift. Michael Pollan wrote in a July 2009 New York Times article:

Obesity rates are inversely correlated with the amount of time spent on food preparation. The more time a nation devotes to food preparation at home, the lower its rate of obesity.

I commented on this article and my experience with home-cooked meals and weight loss here.

Overdependence on processed, junk and fast foods, rather than occasional indulgence, has produced a generation of Americans in which two-thirds are overweight or obese. Some children don't know the difference between a eggplant and an egg or realize French fries are made from potatoes.

American parents can't depend on schools to teach these skills. As Oliver discovered, American school cafeteria offerings often are just as convenience-oriented, processed and nutritionally deficient as what's sold in fast food restaurants.

Many U.S. schools no longer offer Home Economics classes. Giving your class a Food Pyramid chart and saying, "You figure it out, good luck," is a recipe for lifelong dependence on microwave meals.

But many Americans know what they don't know about cooking. A lack of basic culinary knowledge has made TV chefs from Julia Child to Jamie Oliver as famous as rock stars. Deftly wielding a chef's knife is considered revolutionary and entertaining, attracting millions of viewers who want to learn how to cook that way.

Here's my American experience: My grandmother, who raised me, refused to teach me how to cook. She said I was "too smart" for that. When I told her I wanted to take the only cooking class my high school offered, she said it was a waste of my time. A progressive feminist, she said cooking was "housewife" work, and the last thing she wanted me to be was "just a housewife."

My grandmother and I missed a grand opportunity. She denied herself an important avenue of teaching me her culture and her values. I caught some glimpses of her German-Irish background in the foods she made. Because I didn't learn those recipes at her side, I didn't learn why those foods were important.

As a college newlywed, I realized quickly we could not survive or thrive eating the highly processed yet vegetarian food served in our school cafeteria. I started reading recipes on the Internet collecting them in a three-ring binder. That first improvised cookbook is still on my shelf.

Shortly after graduation, we moved to Korea to teach conversational English in Chuncheon, located east-northeast of Seoul. On frequent trips to the capital city, I continued buying cooking and history books at Kyobo Bookstore.

Korea was the first place where I was able to really stretch myself and grow as a cook. I don't think I would have been quite as interested in Korean cuisine if I already had a stronger sense of culinary identity. Because I was a blank slate, I soaked up all the spiciness and complexity of Korean food like a sponge. Now, I can make Korean dishes better than most American ones.

Back to Jamie Oliver's Battle of the Bulge in West Virginia. I applaud his attempts to create a desire for home-cooked, "real" food. But as long as highly processed foods are less expensive and quicker to prepare than dishes made from fresh, basic ingredients, he will face an uphill battle not just in West Virginia, but all over America. It's worth fighting but will take a long time to win hearts and minds.