Fried Tofu

Ok I stunned myself when I cooked this tonight. It was totally yum and it's my own recipe. I have had a go at it before but not been so impressed with the result. This evening, I first consulted the Lee Wade book on Korean Cookery and as often happens with that book the ingredients and instructions combined simply do not add up to what is in the picture so I hurled it aside in frustration and improvised.

Pictures soon I promise...I was too busy eating it to think about photographing it this time.

Ingredients

half a block of tofu cut into one inch long and 1 cm thick pieces

soy sauce

approx 1 tablespoon sesame oil

approx 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil

sea salt

quarter of a spoon of dwaenjang

a few pinches of sesame seeds

1 small spring onion


Directions

• Cut the spring onion into diamond shape slices and put to one side

• Mix about 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and the dwaenjang together in a small bowl. You might need to add a tiny amount of hot water to the paste to get it mixed, depending on how solid it is.

• Heat a small amount of sesame oil and olive oil together in a small frying pan.

• Fry the tofu for about 5-10 minutes, turning ocassionally until it is well browned on both sides. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt on ocassionally. Once it is almost done, pour about half a tablespoon of soy sauce into the pan and as it sizzles away, move the tofu pieces through it.

• Arrange the tofu pieces on a plate in an attractive manner. Add a bit more salt depending on how much you like ( I like mine quite salty). Sprinkle the spring onion on top and then drizzle the soy sauce and dwaejang mixture over the top (put a bit on first...then add more if, having tasted it you want more). sprinkle a few sesame seeds over the top. Voila, a yummy side dish or snack!

Sheer beauty on a plate. ^^













Aiiigo!

Dwenjang Chigae (Soya bean soup)

Dwenjang is the DADDY of korean soups. One of the most famous of Korea's soups, its super easy to throw together using what ever items you happen to have in the cupboard and its really healthy. Cheap, healthy and yum..it doesn't get much much than this does it? Its perfect for when you get home from work and want to sort something out quickly. The base soup is also vegetarian although you can add fish and meat if you want to.

Are you sold?!! I damn well hope so because dwaenjang rocks. Can't comprehend my irrational love of soup? Ermmm. Yeh me neither.

So I have seen a lot of dwaejang recipes right? Just google it and you'll find tons. Different ingredients everytime which might leave you wondering if it really is a kind of soup on its own. Well, the beauty of it is while there are a few pretty much essential ingredients, you can be flexible after that and add the things you like in the quantities you like. Therefore I am going to be a rebel and depart from the usual recipe format ie insistence that you have a strict list of ingredients and instead I list core ingredients and suggested optionals. Kind of a pick n mix salad bar idea really.

This recipe is sufficient for one person as a main dish (with rice of course) and perfect as a sidedish in a meal for say three or four people.

Ingredients

Core Ingredients

• about 4 cups of water - or enough to fill most of a black Korean cooking (see picture)

If you are boiling the rice as opposed to using a rice cooker, do the rice first and save the water you cooked it in...it is common in Korea to do this and then use the water for soup...plus it's more energy efficient.

• roughly 1 and a half large table spoon of dwaenjang

• 1 teaspoon gojuchang

• 1 medium potato cut into 1/2 inch cubes or about 4 baby new potatoes cut into halves

• half a small courgette cut into half moon shape slices - I think that they are known as zucchini in the states - a thin green squash (see picture for example) ho pak in Korea

• half a block of tofu -cut into slices or cubes

• half a small onion

• sea salt

• sesame oil

• one piece of ta shi ma seaweed (if you don't have any don't worry too much)

Suggested extra ingredients - add however much you think you would like (use your instincts)
shredded chinese cabbage
anchovies
shell fish eg clams or mussels - very commonly used in Korea
sliced beef -fry first before adding to soup
chillis -sliced - This is one of my favourite extras - but I like my soup with a kick
mushrooms of varying types -shitake especially recommended (and the long thin mushrooms - enochi)
a few pinches of gochugaru red chilli powder - again, this will hot it up
1 spring onion/green onion/yang pa (same same) sliced - if you add it, either do it right at the end or just sprinkle on top for decoration
fried pork pieces

Directions

• Put the water in the bowl and bring to the boil. If you are using the ta shi ma, put it in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes with a few anchovies if you have them. Then take the ta shi ma out but leave the anchovies.

• Add the gochugaru (if you are using it) and and the potatoes. Let it cook for about 4 -5 mins - you need to give the potatoes a chance to soften up a bit but not too much.

• Add the onion and the courgette/squash and a dash of sesame oil and pinch of salt.

• Stir in the dwaenjang and the gochujang.

• Add whatever other ingredients you are going to (unless I say above to add them at the end) and let the soup bubble away for about another 5 minutes, adding the tofu a few minutes before serving.

Serve with rice and kimchi.

Lovely jubbly.

Le Grand Chef

This movie is a must see for anyone interested in Korean food, and its also a thoroughly enjoyable story. The story is based on a manga series and follows the fortunes of two rival chefs battling it out in a cookery competition to win a rusty sushi knife (yeh go figure).

It's pretty easy to tell who is going come off better from the start (just look at the picture and work it out if you don't believe me!) but its enjoyable along the way, and full of intricate, and beautifully presented food. Your mouth will quite literally be watering afterwards. There are some fun sub plots and also some genuinely sad moments that are handled in the film with beautiful sensitivity.

You can see it on the mysoju.com website although of course if you have access to it by buying it you should do that (ahem).