Spicy Korean Kimchi Tofu Soup

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

After several days of waiting for the stars and planets to line up so I could make my 'Way Home' Korean soup and salad course, I finally did the deed. I thought I was poised to do it on the weekend, but the weather was insufferably hot, and by the time it cooled off, I had an additional inspiration to make a noodle dish to enter in a contest by a fellow foodblogger and discovered that I was missing a key ingredient which required a trip to an out-of-town Asian market to find it (which is another story unto itself that I will save for a leisurely afternoon a little later in the week).

So...back to the Spicy Korean Kimchi Tofu Soup. When I began researching and developing the recipe, I had a feeling that it would be tasty, but little did I know just how tasty. The generic chicken broth was brought to life by the vibrant spice of the kimchi, while the spice of the kimchi was pleasantly mitigated by the gentleness of the broth. I think the word is symbiosis. Or perhaps it's synergy. Actually, I think it's both!

The recipe will be posted at the end of the month along with my 'Way Home' film review. If you would like to receive an e-mail reminder when the recipe and film review are posted, send a request to cheiter@thingsasian.com.

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09:05 PM PDT Permalink |

After All...Tomorrow is Another Day...

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

The weather was very hot again today, so I decided to postpone my soup and salad course for one more day. Instead I did a little shopping in a nice, air-conditioned grocery store for the last few items I will need.

The soup recipe calls for chicken stock, soy sauce, ginger, scallions, mushrooms, kimchi, and firm tofu, all of which I now have in my kitchen. And the salad will be improvised depending upon what strikes my fancy when time comes to compose it. My son Will is with me for the whole week while his dad is traveling, so he will be here to enjoy a nice light Korean lunch with me.

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12:18 AM PDT Permalink |

Shopping for Korean Soup and Salad Ingredients

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

It's time to make the soup and salad course for my 'Way Home' Korean dinner menu, and amazingly I have nearly everything I need, thanks in part to all the goodies I'm growing in my garden. The mesclun greens are at their peak, my first yellow squash is ready to pick, I'm still getting snow peas and plenty of haricot vert, and there's fresh mint and basil. I'm still deciding what combination of things I'm going to include in the salad, and will let inspiration prevail tomorrow.

The dishes I'm planning to prepare are Kimchee Tofu Soup and Mesclun Greens with Spicy Beef tossed in an Asian Vinaigrette. And I will probably add a main course just to round out the table. There's chicken in the freezer just waiting to be turned into a tasty Korean dish.

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09:11 PM PDT Permalink |

A Long-Awaited Thrill Ride

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

Several months ago, Rene bought a motorcycle. An 800 cc Suzuki Marauder. A sleek and shiny black beauty with a customized chrome exhaust system that I can hear from several blocks away. This motorcycle is something he's always wanted, and since buying it he has spent countless hours riding it, maintaining it, reading cycle-related magazines, and watching American Chopper on the Discovery Channel.

Unfortunately, as much as I want him to enjoy the exhilaration of cruising the open road, and would never deny him that free-wheeling pleasure, I can't say that I was wholeheartedly supportive of his purchase, since I was ejected off the back of a Honda Gold Wing many years ago as a passenger in what could easily have been a fatal accident. I was incredibly fortunate to have walked away from the scene with nothing more than a few scratches on my hands and both the hip pockets ripped right off the butt of my expensive Guess jeans. I was definitely lifted on the wings of angels that afternoon.

Needless to say, I've been hesitant to get back in the saddle, but because Rene is so enamored of his newfound passion, how could I refuse his invitation to go for a spin (not to mention that he is probably the most cautious and safety-minded guy I know). But for a thousand different reasons, including stressful schedules, bad timing, inclement weather, and mechanical malfunctions, it has taken nearly a year for us to straddle the beast and go for a ride.

Having just returned from my first ride in nearly twenty years, I gotta say that it was truly worth the wait.

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11:37 PM PDT Permalink |

Enjoying the Leftovers

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

It's been hotter than the hinges of Hades these past few days in the Napa Valley, so I was grateful to have all the leftovers from the Korean Kujolp'an appetizers, since they included so many fresh, crunchy vegetables. My son Will got to enjoy the plate I composed for last night's photograph, and I nibbled on various components of the feast all day long. What an extended treat, and a welcome respite from the kitchen in the summer heat.

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10:53 PM PDT Permalink |

Korean Kujolp'an Appetizers

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

In keeping with this month's food theme to accompany the delightful film 'The Way Home', today was the day I chose to make my Korean appetizers. This was only the second time I've ever prepared Korean food, and for the appetizer, I chose Kujolp'an, a classic 'Nine Treasure' assortment of fillings for delicate, paper-thin pancakes. The nine fillings I chose were thinly sliced beef marinated in Korean barbeque sauce, stir-fried shrimp, red radishes, blanched snow peas (picked fresh from my garden), julienne cucumber, garlic sauteed mushrooms, pan fried scallions, sweet and salty pickles, and spicy kimchi, which I purchased from Tin's market in Oakland, and as warned on the label, exploded in a spirited fermentation ejaculation in my kitchen sink when I opened it. Huzzah!

Just to round out the meal, I prepared a ceviche of orange roughy marinated overnight in fresh squeezed lime juice, an extra item not originally on the menu, and truth be told, not even a Korean dish. But I had been craving it for weeks, ever since I bought the package of fish filets for last month's Golden Fish Nuggets, and just couldn't wait another minute to have it. It was absolutely delicious in its pristeen simplicity, as was the rest of the meal.

The beef was tender and savory, although I cheated and used Korean barbeque sauce from a jar (just for comparison's sake, as I will be making my own when I prepare the main course next week). And the accompaniments were the perfect combination of flavors. I especially loved the blanched snow peas, which I chilled overnight and cut diagonally into bite-sized bits. Now that I have them growing in my garden, I think I'm addicted. (perhaps a snow pea intervention is in order). Alas the vines are a tangled mess and are almost played out, as they were the first to sprout and the first to bear. I might get one more coveted serving from them before time to plow them back into the ground from which they sprang.

But I digress. The Kujolp'an appetizer is anything but. The modest portions of each of the nine items I prepared turned into a feast all unto itself. I can't imagine eating four more courses after the banquet we just consumed. And believe it or not...there are leftovers. Guess what I'm having for lunch tomorrow...

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11:57 PM PDT Permalink |

Shopping for Korean Ingredients

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

Today was shopping day for the fresh ingredients to make my 'Way Home' Korean appetizers. And since the produce is always nice and fresh and so much more economical at my favorite Mexican market, I started there. And anything Asian I couldn't find, I left on my list for a second stop at my neighborhood market. But even there, I still found one thing lacking, so I will have to stop by my favorite gourmet grocery for a piece of daikon radish. Fortunately, I had already shopped at Tin's Market in Oakland on my birthday excursion for two of the most important components: kimchi and a cheater jar of Korean Barbeque Sauce that I will use to marinate the meat.

For tomorrow's appetizer, I'm going to be making Kujolp'an, a nine item assortment of spicy grilled meat and crisp vegetables to fill wraps made with leafy lettuce and delicate pancakes. I will also be serving a couple of different dipping sauces, one spicy, one sweet and sour. And just to make sure the presentation makes a filling meal, I've added a fish ceviche marinated in fresh squeezed lime juice and rice vinegar. It's not exactly authentic Korean fare, but I've been craving it for days now and had the fish on hand, so I thought it might make a nice accompaniment to the Kujolp'an.

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12:12 AM PDT Permalink |

Serving Dishes for a Korean Dinner

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

The last time I made Korean food, I went with basic serving dishes in white, off-white and a few subtle Asian patterns. But my recent research has reminded me that Korea is also known for that lovely celadon pottery, of which I have none. So over the next few days, I will be visiting all my favorite haunts for some more authentic pieces to supplement what I already have.

I think I spotted a few items of celadon ware the last time I was in Shackford's, our local downtown kitchen and restaurant supply shop. I love browsing around in there and even if I don't find what I went in there looking for, I rarely walk out empty handed. And one of my favorite thrift shops is right next door, so it's two birds with one stone in that neighborhood.

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12:01 AM PDT Permalink |

Special Cooking Utensils for a Korean Dinner

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

To prepare the menu for my 'Way Home' Korean dinner, I will need a wok, a rice cooker and a grill, plus several items from my garden variety cookware. Since I live in a duplex rental with a testy smoke alarm, and have included so many different types of meat on the menu, my stove-top grill pan is out of the question, and I have yet to invest in an outdoor grill. So I will be using my little George Foreman electric grill. Although it is pretty much the 'Easy-Bake Oven' of grilling, I find that it works fine for an intimate dinner for two. It's efficient, simple to use, non-stick and easy to clean.

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12:01 AM PDT Permalink |

Beverages to Go With a Korean Dinner

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

Although I have my doubts about being able to find any of Korea's native beers, which include Hite, OB and Ponghak, I will be serving some kind of Asian beer with my 'Way Home' Korean dinner, most likely the ubiquitous Chinese brew TsingTao, or perhaps a nice cold Sapporo, given the Japanese/Korean connection when it comes to food.

Korea also produces several types of spirits, including yakju, a liquor fermented from rice; soju, a clear, strong distilled liquor made from sweet potatoes; takju, a thick, unfiltered liquor fermented from grain; a variety of fruit wines made from plums, cherries, and pomegranates, and certain types of medicinal spirits distilled from herbs, seeds and roots such as ginseng.

Drinking etiquette in Korea requires pouring beverages for each other. Younger people pour for their elders, and those with lower rank pour for their superiors. When pouring, the right sleeve should be held in place with the left hand, and glasses should never be allowed to run dry.

A popular Korean hangover cure called baejangguk is a broth made from beef bone and marrow, cabbage leaves and clotted ox blood. Baejangguk is often served by pubs in the early hours of the business day.

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12:01 AM PDT Permalink |

Tanabata: My Favorite Japanese Festival

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

Each year in Japan, on the seventh day of the seventh month, they celebrate the festival of Tanabata. It's my favorite Japanese festival, and certainly the most romantic. The Japanese version of Tanabata is based on the Chinese tale of a handsome young cowherd and a beautiful weaver.

This beautiful illustration is just one of many from my favorite Tanabata book titled The Seventh Sister, A Chinese Legend, retold by Cindy Chang and illustrated by Charles Reasoner. Follow this link to order from Amazon.com.

As the story goes, each night the celestial maiden and her beautiful sisters weave the starry tapestry of the night sky; and each day the seven sisters come down to earth to bathe in a pond near the cowherd's pasture. One day, the cowherd spies the celestial maiden, and while she bathes, he steals the magical robe that gives her the power to fly. When the sisters finish bathing, they take to the skies again, and the celestial maiden is left behind. When the young cowherd comes to her rescue, the maiden is sad because she cannot return home, but she stays with the cowherd and soon falls in love with him.

Over time however, they realize that the sun no longer sets, and there is no nighttime for rest and sleep because the maiden is not there to help her sisters weave the tapestry of the night sky. It is then that the cowherd confesses the theft of her robe, and the maiden knows that she must bid her lover goodbye and return to her home in the sky.

But the maiden is so sad that, as she works her shuttle, her tears fall on the tapestry, each one creating a twinkling star. Over time, she cries so many tears that they become a river of stars. Meanwhile, back on earth the cowherd too is sad. However, a kindly magpie takes pity on him, and once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, the magpie enlists the aid of his flock to create a bridge of wings across the river of stars so that the two lovers can be together for one special night.

In the night sky, you can see the two lovers, Orihime the weaver, and Hikoboshi the cowherd, as two bright stars, Vega and Altair, separated by the starry river of the Milky Way. And every year, on the seventh of July, the Japanese celebrate Tanabata, which means Seven Evenings, by decorating the streets with pink streamers tied to the ends of long bamboo poles. The whole city turns pink with them, and lovers write special prayers on tiny pieces of paper and tie them to the streamers in hopes that they will be carried up to heaven where their wishes will be granted by the gods. It's a tale and a celebration of romance quite unlike any other.

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03:11 PM PDT Permalink |

Deciding on the 'Way Home' Korean Menu

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

Appetizers:

Korean Appetizer Platter with Pancake Wraps
Sweet 'n Sour & Spicy Dipping Sauces
Korean Pickles & Kimchi

Soup & Salad:

Tofu Kimchi Soup
Mesclun Greens with Spicy Grilled Beef

Main Course:

Mixed Korean Bulgogi Grill with Assorted Marinades
Garlic Ginger Rice
Stir Fry Vegetables with Chili Paste

Dessert: Fresh Fruit Marinated in Spice Infused Rice Wine

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12:06 AM PDT Permalink |

Researching Korean Recipes

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

For my 'Way Home' Korean dinner, I will be relying on inspiration from Corinne Trang's Essentials of Asian Cuisine, plus a little help from several Internet websites, although I always modify the recipes to suit my own tastes.

Last year's '301/302' Korean menu featured Breaded Prawns with Chili Mayonnaise, Homemade Kimchi, Sweet Daikon Radish Pickles, Chilled Cucumber Soup, Korean Mixed Bulgogi Grill, Vegetable Pancakes with Dipping Sauce, Fried Jasmine Rice and Peaches Marinated in Rice Wine. Some of the dishes were so delicious that I want to reprise them with this month's menu, especially the Mixed Bulgogi Grill and the marinated fruit. But I would like to try some different dishes for the appetizers, soup, salad, main course accompaniments and dessert.

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06:01 PM PDT Permalink |

Celebrating Independence wtih Friends, Fireworks and a Ring-tailed Rodent

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

Although we celebrated Independence Day in my childhood, throughout my adult life, the Fourth of July has always been somewhat of a non-event for me. During my restaurant days, I always had to work, and of course they didn't celebrate it when I lived in Japan, and since Rene works as a caricaturist at Six Flags, he always has to work, and Will usually spends the day with his Dad.

When I mentioned this unpatriotic non-tradition to my friend Alice, she kindly invited me join her family for a barbeque at her home in Napa. Alice's friend Chizuko is visiting from Japan, her daughter-in-law Cheryl is from the Philippines and her son Eric's girlfriend Nikki is from India, so it was a very international gathering, and there were lots of different spices on the buffet. Curried corn on the cob and chicken satay, grilled pork loin, spicy chicken wings, and shrimp brochettes. My contribution to the banquet was an Asian style cole slaw made with rice vinegar, sesame oil and ginger-root.

It was a delightful afternoon of lively conversation that included lots of chat about international film, and Chizuko surprised me with an international cookbook that featured a beautiful makizushi recipe by her friend Masumi Hiraga. When it was all over, Alice sent me home with a grocery bag filled with the makings of yet another international feast from the extra abundance of the buffet.

Afterwards, I came home to a very quiet house, so I took a long nap. When I awoke, it was nearly dark and time for the fireworks to start downtown. And although I wasn't inspired to go downtown by myself, I got to watch what I could see of them from my patio. They were somewhat obscured by the crabapple tree, and I could only see the ones that were launched very high, but it was an unexpected treat nonetheless.

And as if that weren't enough excitement for one day, shortly after I came back inside, I heard some rather vigorous crunching on the back porch. When I looked out to see what it was, I discovered a HUGE raccoon eating my cat Mochi's kibble. I've seen possums before, and even had to trap a couple of them and let them loose in the vineyards, but this was my first raccoon. That fat rascal must've been 25 or 30 pounds with a magnificent ringed tail at least 18 inches long. Of course I shrieked and he ran, and I have no idea how he got into or out of the fenced yard. But I guess this means I'll have to stop leaving food out there and bring Mochi in at night whether she likes it or not.

At day's end, after celebrating the Fourth of July for the first time in many years, reflecting upon the meaning of Independence Day, I have come to realize that as a full-time freelancer, it may be the most meaningful holiday of the year.

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11:13 PM PDT Permalink |

Revisiting Korean Cuisine

This Month's Film: The Way Home
Cuisine: Korean

About this same time last year, when my weblog was in its infancy, I chose Korean cuisine as my monthly focus, with a darkly delightful film called 301/302. This time I have chosen a much lighter Korean film and a different menu of Korean dishes to go with it. Having only eaten Korean barbeque in a Tokyo restaurant a couple of times, I was still fairly new to the cuisine last year, so I did quite a bit of research on Korean food in general. Here is what I discovered:

In my research of Korean cuisine, I learned that, although exotic to my western palate, the most popular traditional dishes are mainly composed of commonplace meats, seafoods, vegetables and seasonings. No doubt, it's the way they are combined that give them their ethnic flair. Typical dishes include fresh green salads, hearty soups, savory stews, meats and seafoods simmered with fresh vegetables, barbequed meats, fermented seafoods, pan-fried omelets, rice medleys, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, and boiled, pickled or sauteed vegetables. The most esoteric ingredients appear to be chrysanthemum greens, bellflower root, and chili paste. Other than that, even the spicy kimchi recipe doesn't call for anything I can't buy at my local grocery store.

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09:42 AM PDT Permalink |