I promise to return to food tomorrow but I’m never one to hush when something’s on my mind.  It’s a flaw, they say but who are “they” anyways?

I love being Korean.  Even though I grew up in a traditional household, conversing in my native tongue, eating Kimchi with everything morning, noon, and night, the culture is something that still fascinates me.  It’s so much of who and what I am.  When I was younger, I was told to be ashamed of  it.  The shape of my eyes “weren’t right,” the girls would say, stabbing at me with looks of disgust when I brought rice to school instead of a sandwich.  It’s all very confusing when you’re just a little girl.  You wonder why you look so different and why Daddy eats such weird things.  Then when I got older, to be Asian was to be identified as a sexualized object.  The stereotypes and notions are even that much more visible here, in the South (not that discrimination isn’t present everywhere).  I revel in the fact that when people ask me where I was born and I tell them Texas, they give me this perplexed expression in response or they insist I must be half white because how else could you explain my proper English?  Oh, I get compliments all the time on ‘how good I talk’ for an “oriental.”  First of all, you’re abusing the English language and secondly, who says oriental anymore?  Geez people.  It’s as if to be an Asian person is to be a). shameful or strange b). a submissive sex kitten or c). a regular Doogie Howser.  I unsuccessfully tried to tell people that they were cheating off of the wrong person in Math class (I’m terrible, awful, allergic to numbers)!  My best friend is Caucasian so obviously, I’m well aware that this isn’t always the case but it still happens and I just wanted you to know.  Ah, how I digress.  This post was originally suppose to be about what I heard on Performance Today:

The North Korean Unhasu Orchestra playing at the sold out Pleyel Theatre in Paris.

As proud as I am of my heritage, nothing makes my heart sadder or heavier than North Korea.  Brother pitted against brother, nobody really, truly goes in and their people never come out.  North Korea is said to be one of the most ethnically homogeneous places in the entire world.   So little is known since such little data is provided and no one is allowed to roam freely to observe what’s really going on, yet tiny glimpses show a people that are dominated by fear and oppression. Human Rights Watch has labeled North Koreans as “some of the world’s most brutalized people.”  There are severe shortages of medicine and medical equipment and if people aren’t dying from malnourishment or preventable diseases, they are being tortured in political prisons or concentration camps.  Up to 2 million people have been reported from dying from food shortages alone.  In high school, I read everything I could get my hands on about the Holocaust and the fact that almost 70 years later, atrocities such as medical experimentation, starvation, rape, forced abortions, slavery…are all still occurring…I’m at a loss.  Some 200,000 people are shipped off into these camps with deplorable conditions, sometimes with their entire families (guilt by association) with no hope of ever being released and absolutely no trial and some 10,000 people die every year in them.  Why?  Maybe because you were suspected of being disloyal or Christian.  They are exploited with hard, forced labor and must perform with little or no equipment.  Children and the elderly get the same treatment: torture, starvation, and quotas to fill or else.  It makes my heart hurt so bad.  I never could understand how as one human being you could look at another human being and deem them to be less than what you are.  The massive grip of fear, the manipulation and brainwashing is so much, one could double over and vomit.  Some are so malnourished and ill that they resort to eating raw, un-skinned rats or pick solids from animal feces or pig slop.  I’m sorry if that’s too much.  I’ve never had to do that.  I’ve never known what it’s like to be really hungry or cold.  To sleep on wooden planks in the middle of Winter (the Winter’s can be pretty harsh in Korea) wearing the clothes off of the last prisoner who died, covered in blisters, welts, blood, and dirt.

What can be done that will impart a meaningful difference?  If you know, please tell me.

Ending with a heavy heart.

Love,

Your Squishy Monster

After the classic mandu/mandoo video I posted awhile back, I’ve gotten several requests for variations on it.  You and wonton skins can have a bff set up, if you wish.  They will provide you with hours of endless entertainment if you only you allow your imagination to run wild.  Sometimes, when I’m feeling extra kooky, I fill them with nutella and strawberries, deep fry them and dust them off with powdered sugar.  Does your next question pertain to “how does that taste?”  Um, it kicks ass.  I recently bid baby brother goodbye for his solo adventure in Canada (hopefully, I will get to visit him next week) and sitting very lonely I might add, was the sausage I’d picked up with dreams of some sort of breakfast casserole involving hash browns, cheese, and sausage.  The running joke with my friends is that I can eat just about anyone under the table at a buffet.  For the record, I’d be quite ok if I never ever had to go to another one.  Even so, an entire casserole dish is a bit much for me to polish off by myself.  It only doesn’t have calories if my brothers are here with me to share.  Oh, I miss them

So, I bring to you Kimchi & Sausage Potstickers (between this and the dump dish, I award her as the beauty contest winner, anyways).

Kimchi & Sausage Potstickers

 

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: The Squishy Monster

Ingredients

• 1 lb uncased, natural sausage
• 2 c finely chopped kimchi
• ½ tb soy sauce
• 1 tb sesame oil
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 ts fresh, minced ginger
• 2 stalks green onions
• 1-2 tb red pepper flakes
• 1 egg
• 1 package wonton skins

For the Dipping Sauce

• ¼ c soy sauce
• Juice of half an orange
• 1-2 ts rice vinegar
• 1-2 ts agave or honey
• ½ tb sesame oil
• 2 ts sesame seed

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, pile all of your ingredients in, save the wonton skins.
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes for it to gain a chance to come together
3. Brush an egg wash on all four sides of your wonton skins and take about 1-2 ts of your filling mixture and place it in the center. How you want them to look is up to you, just make sure all of your edges are sealed tightly.
4. In a shallow, but broad pot, sit your steam rack above the simmering water (not touching) and in single layers, steam your potstickers for about 15 minutes, keeping in mind that you want the sausage to cook through.
5. For the dipping sauce, whisk everything together in a bowl.

Notes

The best Kimchi to use is one that is deeply fermented. Your nose will know! The color will be a deep, dark red and the leaves will be super soft. It’s basically “old” Kimchi.

3.2.2124

Nutrition Facts

*Based on a 2000 Calorie diet

Here’s that first dumpling video I posted:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li3igaaAnes&hd=1

For the Garlicky Scallion Sauce:

• 1/4 c Soy Sauce
• 1 1/2 ts Sesame Oil
• 2 ts Sesame Seed
• 1 clove of finely crushed/minced Garlic
• 1/4 ts Ginger
• 2 ts Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 thinly sliced Scallion

You can serve these steamed (as shown), pan fried or made into a soup.

Quick Dumpling Soup:

Bring 5 c Water and 2 ts of Dried Anchovies to a rolling boil.  Add your desired chopped veggies (but make sure you include 2 ts of Garlic in it) I personally like Zucchini & Onions but you can use whatever you like and want to eat.  Salt & Pepper.  Add in your Potstickers and bring all of it to a fierce boil for at least 10-15 minutes.   Before serving, crack a beaten egg into it and gently scramble within the broth with a fork. Add in sliced Rice Cakes if you’d like.  Garnish with Scallions.

These babies freeze beautifully.  Tip: lay them on a single layer on your Silpat, pop into the freezer for 20-30 minutes and when they’re hardened, tumble them into a tupperware.  I’ve kept mine up to 4 months before.

Happy Steaming!

Love,

Your Squishy Monster

So, I bring to you Kimchi & Sausage Potstickers (between this and the dump dish, I award her as the beauty contest winner, anyways).

Watch this video on YouTube Embedded with WP YouTube Lyte.

Here’s that first dumpling video I posted:

Watch this video on YouTube Embedded with WP YouTube Lyte.

For the Garlicky Scallion Sauce:

• 1/4 c Soy Sauce
• 1 1/2 ts Sesame Oil
• 2 ts Sesame Seed
• 1 clove of finely crushed/minced Garlic
• 1/4 ts Ginger
• 2 ts Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 thinly sliced Scallion

You can serve these steamed (as shown), pan fried or made into a soup.

Quick Dumpling Soup:

Bring 5 c Water and 2 ts of Dried Anchovies to a rolling boil.  Add your desired chopped veggies (but make sure you include 2 ts of Garlic in it) I personally like Zucchini & Onions but you can use whatever you like and want to eat.  Salt & Pepper.  Add in your Potstickers and bring all of it to a fierce boil for at least 10-15 minutes.   Before serving, crack a beaten egg into it and gently scramble within the broth with a fork. Add in sliced Rice Cakes if you’d like.  Garnish with Scallions.

These babies freeze beautifully.  Tip: lay them on a single layer on your Silpat, pop into the freezer for 20-30 minutes and when they’re hardened, tumble them into a tupperware.  I’ve kept mine up to 4 months before.

I’ve received several messages in regards to where you can obtain Kimchi.  You can make your own Kimchi or purchase it any Korean Market (sometimes Asian Markets) and I found it at my local Health Food Store as well.

Happy Steaming!

Love,

Your Squishy Monster

Pat means sweet red bean and bingsu means shaved ice.

That’s all you really need to know because beyond that, you squish in what fits in.  I tumbled in chunks of fruit that happened to be on sale at my market.  You can literally add whatever you want to.  Chocolate/peanut butter, liquid cheesecake, guava syrup, crunchy cereals, crumbled cookies, toasted nuts/coconuts, lychee…whatever!

It’s such a popular dessert in Korea and maybe so because it gets H.O.T!  Not to mention, there’s so much walking to be done.  Whenever I visit Korea, I gain about 20 lbs because I’m going pretty hard on all the exciting, stimulating flavors happening all over the place and lose it right back because of the heat + active spirit of everyone around you.

The first thing you’ll want to do is prepare your mochi.  You can omit the coffee for water if you don’t want a “mocha flavor.”

Korean Shaved Ice Patbingsu 팥빙수

 

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: The Squishy Monster

Ingredients

• 2 c shaved ice
• ¼-1/2 c each of any fresh fruit
• ¼ c sweetened red beans (not paste)
• ¼ c rice cake bites/mochi
• 2-4 tb sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

1. In a serving dish, layer all of your ingredients together.
2. Finish off with a generous drizzle of sweetened condensed milk.
3. Mix the whole thing together before eating.

3.2.2124

My dad had like, 6 servings of this.  Fortunately, I guess we’re wired to be immune to brain freezes.

Confession #567, I’ve never had a brain freeze and don’t even know what they feel like.

Hope y’all are staying cool!

XOXO

Your Squishy Monster

That’s all you really need to know because beyond that, you squish in what fits in.  I tumbled in chunks of fruit that happened to be on sale at my market.  You can literally add whatever you want to.  Chocolate/Peanut Butter, Liquid Cheesecake, Guava Syrup, Crunchy Cereals, Crumbled Cookies, Toasted Nuts/Coconuts, Lychee…whatever!

It’s such a popular dessert in Korea and maybe so because it gets H.O.T!  Not to mention, there’s so much walking to be done, lol.  Whenever I visit Korea, I gain about 20 lbs because I’m going pretty hard on all the exciting, stimulating flavors happening all over the place and lose it right back because of the heat + active spirit of everyone around you.

The first thing you’ll want to do is prepare your Mochi.  You can omit the Coffee for Water if you don’t want a “Mocha flavor.”  Also, roll your dough in Powdered Sugar, not Wheat Starch/Corn Starch.  Leave them unfilled and cut them up into bits, instead.  (Cooling your dough helps a great deal in handling it).

My Dad had like, 6 servings of this.  Fortunately, I guess we’re wired to be immune to brain freezes.

Confession #567, I’ve never had a brain freeze and don’t even know what they feel like.

Hope y’all are staying cool!

XOXO

Your Squishy Monster

I brought this over to my friends house.  They wanted nothing to do with it.  I share this recipe with you in hopes that some of y’all will have an adventurous enough spirit to give this a go, at least once…and to be quite honest, I’ve fooled my friends into trying it (unbeknownst to them) before so muhahahah to you! When you dine at any Korean restaurant, it’s typical for a nice spread of various “banchan” (side dishes) to be brought out to accompany your meal.  Everything is served in a manner that quite honestly, can’t be separated from one “muchim” (mixed banchan) to another.  When lured in by the sight of fatty meats grilling table side, pleasantly sputtering in its own juices, and you and your friends are high on the anticipation of comedically large, steaming bowls of this spicy Soup or that savory noodle dish, being brought out for the sole purpose of pleasuring you, it’s easy to persuade them to try everything spread at the table before them.  Hence, the trickery!  I distinctly remember them both eating this and liking it so it’s just a situation of mind over matter.

After spending a weekend with the queen of finicky eaters, I am so not beyond concealing one thing into another just to get someone to eat something.  I encourage you to set this out with your kimchi and see how quickly it disappears!

Whelk {Sea Snail} Salad

 

Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Author: The Squishy Monster

Ingredients

• 1 can of bai top (sea snails), rinsed, drained, cut into pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 ts rice vinegar
• 1 tb sesame oil
• 2 ts fish sauce
• 1 tb sugar
• 2 tb red pepper flakes
• 3 tb red pepper paste
• 1 tb sesame seeds
• ½ english cucumber
• ¼ c shredded carrots
• ¼ c cut cabbage
• 2 green onions

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle your cucumber slices with 1 tb of salt (to draw out the moisture). Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes, drain and squeeze the excess moisture out.
2. In a separate large bowl, mix your “sauce” together which is everything but your veggies and meat.
3. Toss in your veggies and snails.
4. Take your gloved hands and massage/press everything together. It will produce a vibrant ruby salad.
5. Store in the fridge.

3.2.2124

There I go rambling again, lol.  I bring up Engrish because a). I find it endearing, not an ounce of me is referring to it in an insulting or malicious manner.  As I always like to say…”A+ for effort!!” and b). Mixing Rice is exactly what I’m sharing with you today.  CNN reported that it’s among the 50 of the most delicious foods in the World–the World, people…pay attention!  =D

In my humble opinion, I find it to be a visual stunner.  She’s a gorgeous thing with all sorts of colorful veggies stacked up neatly in a circle on her bed of hot, fluffy rice.  She even has a sunny, Yellow Hat!  One of the most beautiful aspects of this dish is that every ingredient has something different to bring to the table (literally).  For example, there’s the Fern Brake that’s chewy and tender, you get satisfying crunch from the Sprouts, gooey richness from the Yolk, a gentle smokiness all around from the Sesame Oil and etc, which brings me to the point that you can really make Bibimbap with whatever you have, like, or is one sale. (Really, I could go on and on but I doubt anyone wants to read an abridged book version of my love for Korean food).

It’s best served in Dolsot Bibimbap form.  (The same dish but served in a very cool (hot, lol) Stone Pot).  I’m very, very sad to say that I do not own one.  It’s fantastic because it serves your entire meal piping hot and it develops a delicious, blistered rice crust on the bottom that you can later swirl around with hot water to drink and cleanse your palette with.

With Bibimbap, you can serve it any which way you’d like.

Here are some other options:
Zucchini, Tofu, Chicken/Fish/Pork, Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, Romaine Lettuce (Mom is particularly fond of crunchy, refreshing pieces of Romaine running through her bowl, it definitely provides a nice burst of cracklin’ freshness)!, Squid Jerky, Daikon, Carrots, Burdock or Bellflower Root, Broccolini, Baby Bok Choy, insert here ____ <<- go wild and crazy.

If you don’t like the idea of all the Sesame Oil, sub with Olive Oil or whatever Fat replacement you’ve got goin’ on.  I don’t feel it tastes the same, but do your thang!!

Here is me and Mom’s Bibimbap!

Watch this video on YouTube Embedded with WP YouTube Lyte.

About to rush downstairs to have another bowl…
Your Squishy Monster =D

Growing up, this was one more thing that I disliked.  No worries.  Today, I love the stuff.  Deep Green and oh-so-glossy, it almost resembles edible emeralds (perhaps I exaggerate) but ask me or mama and we’ll both exclaim that its taste surpasses that of any gemstone (I imagine that those are too hard anyways–lol, I kid).  The great thing about this salad is that it’s absolutely, positively no fuss.  It’s low maintenance and never asks for a lot.  To rehydrate the dried miyuk, you don’t even need to boil a pot of water….all you need is:

Seaweed Salad

 

Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Author: The Squishy Monster

Ingredients

• 1 c dried miyuk (wakame/dried seaweed)
• 1-2 tb red pepper flakes
• 1-2 tb red pepper paste
• 2-3 finely minced garlic cloves
• 2 ts toasted sesame seed
• 2 ts sesame oil
• 2-3 ts rice vinegar
• ½ ts salt
• 1-2 tb sugar

Instructions

1. Soak your dried seaweed for 10 minutes in warm water, rinse in warm/hot water
2. Plunge your swollen miyuk and dress with all your other ingredients.

Notes

Why such variation? Unless you’re baking, I firmly believe that cooking should involve a bit of tweaking of this and that. If this part is altogether neglected, I find that the food lacks soul…personality. Now in this case, it mostly varies on what level of spiciness you’re accustomed to. I always tell folks to never hesitate throwing in their own special ingredient(s). If you think Pickles would make this dish shine, do it, do it, do it! *Refer to my last post*

3.2.2124

Nutrition Facts

*Based on a 2000 Calorie diet

Mama and I both hope you try this dish…

How about designating one weekend to trying new, different or strange foods?
How about miyuk with durian to wash it all down with?!

no?

Love y’all!!!

Your Squishy Monster ^.^

Watch this video on YouTube Embedded with WP YouTube Lyte.

Growing up, this was one more thing that I disliked.  No worries.  Today, I love the stuff.  Deep Green and oh-so-glossy, it almost resembles edible Emeralds (perhaps I exaggerate) but ask me or Mom and we’ll both exclaim that its taste surpasses that of any Gemstone (I imagine that those are too hard anyways–lol, I kid).  The great thing about this Salad is that it’s absolutely, positively no fuss.  It’s low maintenance and never asks for a lot.  To rehydrate the dried Miyuk, you don’t even need to boil a pot of water….all you need is:

Mom and I both hope you try this dish…

How about designating one weekend to trying new, different or strange foods?
How about Miyuk with Durian to wash it all down with?!

no?

lol…

Love y’all!!!

Your Squishy Monster ^.^

I’ve always thought of this classic staple dish as the Korean version of a mac and cheese after-school snack.  Though it’s both spicy and hot, we were served this as kids and one any street corner, you’ll find this being served being enjoyed by children and grownups alike.  It’s definitely comfort food.  Though it may look unfamiliar, the sentiment remains the same.  Chewy rice cakes are smothered in a creamy, ruby sauce which is often studded with fish cakes or hard boiled eggs but at it’s base, it can be enjoyed as is.

From this dish, so much inspiration has been pulled from the creation of Korean army base soup to rabokki which is part ramen, part tteokbokki.

Spicy Rice Cakes Ddukbokki 떡볶이

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

50 mins

Author: The Squishy Monster

Ingredients

• 4 c rice cake sticks (found in the refrigerated/frozen section or near the rice shelves-unrefrigerated)
• 5 c water + 5 large anchovies
• ½ onion
• 1 garlic
• 3 crab sticks or 1-2 sheets of fish cake
• 5 tb red pepper paste (Gochujang)
• 1 tb fish sauce
• 2 tb sugar
• 1 tb honey
• 2 tb sesame oil
• 1 tb sesame seed
• Optional:: green onions, cabbage, carrots, etc.

Instructions

1. Soak your rice sticks for at least 30 min in water (doesn’t need to be hot or cold, your tap will do)
2. In a large pot, bring your stock to a boil with the water and anchovies. Give it about 15-20 min. Drain and add your onion, garlic, pepper paste, fish sauce, sugar, honey and sesame oil.
3. Tumble in your rice sticks. Wait for it to thicken slightly
4. Toss in your meat and sprinkle with sesame seeds

3.2.2124

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~