The continued culinary adventures
Sep. 9th, 2007 08:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarigwaemirHaste Street, on the Feast of St. Peter Clavier
I made dwenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) for dinner yesterday and fried rice today. No photos this time around because I forgot to take out the camera, but continuing to record the recipes for my own edification.
된장찌개 (soybean paste stew)
- Basically, you use whatever ingredients you have on hand to make this stew. This time, I put in beef, potato, onion, mushroom, pepper, bean sprouts, and tofu. My mother puts in daikon, but I don't really like cooked daikon, so I left that out. She also usually uses squash, but unfortunately, I ran out of squash after making the curry last week. (I'm a little bit surprised by the fact that no one else seems to use squash in their curry. At least half of all the dishes my mother makes uses squash in them, so I think of it as nearly a vegetable staple. Pepper too, although I think that's more a function of adding green color to a dish.) Anyway, you don't have to stick by the list of ingredients I used, but I wouldn't recommend putting in carrots or lettuce or broccoli. Spinach might work, although I think spinach tastes better in a bean paste soup (dwaenjangguk) rather than a stew. Bean sprouts and mushroom are definitely optional, but I do recommend including potatoes because potatoes go well with bean paste. As for the beef, you can substitute pork or seafood (shrimp, octopus, squid, clams, mussels, etc.) or just stick with tofu for a vegetarian stew.
- Heat the pot. Add oil and finely chopped garlic, then brown the meat first if it's not precooked. If you're using beef, it should be chopped into small pieces if you want to avoid it getting tough. Slice the vegetables (everything except the tofu and bean sprouts) into large, flat chunks and sauté in the pot with the meat.
- Add water to fill the pot enough to cover the meat and vegetables. Cook until boiling, then add the dwenjang (like miso, but fermented for a longer period of time with more ingredients; here's the Wikipedia entry). About two spoonfuls will do for a small pot but you should add enough to your taste.
- Add some of the "brine" from kimchi to give some spice to the stew. (You can try using red pepper powder instead, but my mother says it's less effective.) Also add the bean sprouts, and let cook until the potatoes are done.
- Add the tofu and let cook for about a minute longer. Eat with rice.
볶음밥 (fried rice)
- Well, everyone knows how to make fried rice, so I'll just note down some points. This time, I put in pepper, onion, carrot, squash, egg, Spam and mushroom.
- Scramble the egg first then set aside. Add oil and finely chopped garlic to the pan, then add vegetables (diced into small pieces) and stir-fry.
- Add rice and eggs. Be sure not to add too much rice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Next time, I think I'll try it with sausage. I think I'll also add more egg.
- According to my mother, the best way to store the rice is in the freezer, not the fridge. Take it out, let thaw, and reheat in the pan before eating.
I'm having trouble connecting to AIM these days...it used to disconnect me every half hour, but now it won't even let me on, which is why I missed the (rescheduled) chat. -_- Sorry, everyone. As for everyone who ever talks to me on AIM, you can probably catch me on Gtalk or MSN more reliably.
I thought about writing a very emo post about feeling lonely and--what's infinitely worse--feeling disgusted with myself for doing very little about the loneliness (plus a lot of worrying about the image I might present to other people as being unfriendly, cold, and uninteresting). But then it occurred to me this afternoon, while I was walking about feeling miserable and wretched, that I'd probably be happier if I stopped putting pressure on myself. So I went to see Stardust at the local movie theatre, instead of waiting to come across a friend to go see it with, and it cheered me up immensely. I think maybe I should focus more on doing the things that I want to do, especially now that I have the freedom to go do them on my own time.
Yours &c.
Post-script: Stardust was an awesome movie, and despite some changes to plot and character, it held together well on its own without diverging too much from the original novel. I thought it was visually spectacular, and although I had some initial misgivings about the cast, the actors all did a phenomenal job.
I made dwenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) for dinner yesterday and fried rice today. No photos this time around because I forgot to take out the camera, but continuing to record the recipes for my own edification.
된장찌개 (soybean paste stew)
- Basically, you use whatever ingredients you have on hand to make this stew. This time, I put in beef, potato, onion, mushroom, pepper, bean sprouts, and tofu. My mother puts in daikon, but I don't really like cooked daikon, so I left that out. She also usually uses squash, but unfortunately, I ran out of squash after making the curry last week. (I'm a little bit surprised by the fact that no one else seems to use squash in their curry. At least half of all the dishes my mother makes uses squash in them, so I think of it as nearly a vegetable staple. Pepper too, although I think that's more a function of adding green color to a dish.) Anyway, you don't have to stick by the list of ingredients I used, but I wouldn't recommend putting in carrots or lettuce or broccoli. Spinach might work, although I think spinach tastes better in a bean paste soup (dwaenjangguk) rather than a stew. Bean sprouts and mushroom are definitely optional, but I do recommend including potatoes because potatoes go well with bean paste. As for the beef, you can substitute pork or seafood (shrimp, octopus, squid, clams, mussels, etc.) or just stick with tofu for a vegetarian stew.
- Heat the pot. Add oil and finely chopped garlic, then brown the meat first if it's not precooked. If you're using beef, it should be chopped into small pieces if you want to avoid it getting tough. Slice the vegetables (everything except the tofu and bean sprouts) into large, flat chunks and sauté in the pot with the meat.
- Add water to fill the pot enough to cover the meat and vegetables. Cook until boiling, then add the dwenjang (like miso, but fermented for a longer period of time with more ingredients; here's the Wikipedia entry). About two spoonfuls will do for a small pot but you should add enough to your taste.
- Add some of the "brine" from kimchi to give some spice to the stew. (You can try using red pepper powder instead, but my mother says it's less effective.) Also add the bean sprouts, and let cook until the potatoes are done.
- Add the tofu and let cook for about a minute longer. Eat with rice.
볶음밥 (fried rice)
- Well, everyone knows how to make fried rice, so I'll just note down some points. This time, I put in pepper, onion, carrot, squash, egg, Spam and mushroom.
- Scramble the egg first then set aside. Add oil and finely chopped garlic to the pan, then add vegetables (diced into small pieces) and stir-fry.
- Add rice and eggs. Be sure not to add too much rice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Next time, I think I'll try it with sausage. I think I'll also add more egg.
- According to my mother, the best way to store the rice is in the freezer, not the fridge. Take it out, let thaw, and reheat in the pan before eating.
I'm having trouble connecting to AIM these days...it used to disconnect me every half hour, but now it won't even let me on, which is why I missed the (rescheduled) chat. -_- Sorry, everyone. As for everyone who ever talks to me on AIM, you can probably catch me on Gtalk or MSN more reliably.
I thought about writing a very emo post about feeling lonely and--what's infinitely worse--feeling disgusted with myself for doing very little about the loneliness (plus a lot of worrying about the image I might present to other people as being unfriendly, cold, and uninteresting). But then it occurred to me this afternoon, while I was walking about feeling miserable and wretched, that I'd probably be happier if I stopped putting pressure on myself. So I went to see Stardust at the local movie theatre, instead of waiting to come across a friend to go see it with, and it cheered me up immensely. I think maybe I should focus more on doing the things that I want to do, especially now that I have the freedom to go do them on my own time.
Yours &c.
Post-script: Stardust was an awesome movie, and despite some changes to plot and character, it held together well on its own without diverging too much from the original novel. I thought it was visually spectacular, and although I had some initial misgivings about the cast, the actors all did a phenomenal job.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-10 04:36 am (UTC)I might try making some of these. :DD
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-14 09:23 am (UTC)(Whoa, I'm replying to this comment really late. Sorry! >_<)
this comment is on SUCH an old entry...
Date: 2007-10-18 02:07 am (UTC)Thanks for posting it, btw.
Re: this comment is on SUCH an old entry...
Date: 2007-10-19 09:02 pm (UTC)