Kimchi Chigae (Kimchi Stew) 韩国泡菜汤

Kimchi chigae is one of the most common food that you can find in most of the Korean restaurants. It is mainly cooked in a Korean claypot with cabbage kimchi, tofu, green onions and other ingredients. This is very simple to make and the rich flavour can increase your appetite easily especially in the hot weather like this while warming you up in the chilly weather. Both epic! You can add either seafood or pork into the stew to enhance the flavour. I used pork in my recipe and it tasted amazing. 

I was brought up in a Chinese family and soup is more like a side dish for us. When I first had Kimchi Chigae in a Korean restaurant in London, I was given a bowl of rice. So I get the meat and vegetables from the chigae and eat with the rice. I noticed some weird stares from the staff (Koreans apparently) but I did not know what I have done wrong. This happened a few times until I saw it on a drama and I realised that Koreans have their way in eating this. They add the rice into the stew, lightly press the rice to the bottom and then only they scoop the soup, rice, ingredients in the stew into their bowls for serving. Hmm...I've learnt this up and found it taste a lot better eating this way because you can enjoy the flavour of the stew itself so much better. Try this out and hope you will like Korean food a little more from now on ^^

Ingredients: (serve 2-3)

100g Cabbage kimchi (cut into 2cm wide)

100g Pork (belly/loin, thinly sliced)

200-300g Tofu (cut into cubes)

150g Oyster Mushroom

2tbsp Garlic （finely chopped)

2tbsp Sesame oil

500ml water

a pinch of salt

Steps:

1. Heat a pot (you can use claypot if you have one) at medium heat and add sesame oil followed with garlic. Stir a little and add the pork into the pot and sir fry until the meat becomes lightly golden.

2. Add kimchi in and stir fry for a few seconds.

3. Add water into the pot and bring to the boil. Cover the pot with lid and lower the heat to let it simmer for 20minutes.

4. Remove the lid and turn to high heat. Mushrooms and tofu can now be added into the soup. 5. Stir very gently to avoid breaking the tofu. 

6. Simmer under high heat for 5 minutes. Taste and add salt to adjust to your taste. Remove from heat and ready to serve. 

Enjoy!

Tips: You can add some hot pepper paste (gochujang) if you want more heat and thicker soup!

Jeyuk Bokkeum (Korean Stir Fried Spicy Pork) 韩式辣炒猪肉

A few weeks ago we happened to have popped into a chain supermarket that sells different kinds of imported groceries. We always like to hang around places like this because we can find so many things that we used to eat/use when we were in the United Kingdom especially snacks and some cooking ingredients from other countries. We actually went there for the bread flour (it is not easy to find bread flour in Malaysia) and we bumped into this Korean goods corner. I found this hot and spicy Kalbi Marinade and the picture on the label reminds us the grilled black pork in Jeju Island, South Korea. My husband was so excited and we got it home and made this spicy stir fried pork. This was the first time I used the sauce and I remember I saw red pepper paste and other ingredients on the label so I believed I do not have to add too much flavour into it. It is spicy, sweet and very hot! We liked it so much but I know I should reduce the marinade next time to avoid sausage lips after eating this XD

Ingredients: 
300g Pork belly (about 1inch wide but thinly sliced)
1 1/2 tbsp of Hot and Spicy Kalbi Marinade (I added 3tbsp and it was fiery!!)
1/2 Onion (wedged)
2 cloves Garlic (sliced)
1/2 stalk Leek (cut into 1/2 inch wide)
100g Oyster mushrooms (washed and roughly sliced - they shrink after cooking)
some Cabbage Kimchi (roughly chopped) - optional
2tbsp Sesame oil
3tbsp water
A pinch of salt

Steps:
1. Add the marinade into the pork and stir well. Leave it aside for at least 20 minutes.
2. Heat a pan at medium heat. Add sesame oil and followed by onion and garlic. (Sesame oil get burnt easily so do not wait too long)
3. Stir fry the onion for a few seconds and add the pork (including the marinade) into the pan. Stir fry until the pork is crispy on the outside.
4. Add kimchi, leek and mushroom and stir fry a little (do not reduce the heat).
5. The heat and ingredients dry up the pan in second. Add water from the sides at this stage together with a pinch of salt and stir fry until the sauce is reduced to the maximum. 
6. Remove from heat and ready to serve with steamed rice or wrap with fresh lettuce the Korean way of eating. Enjoy! 

Dry Pork Curry (干咖喱猪肉）

It was a lazy weekend and I decided to cook a dish that we can actually finish the whole plate of  rice with it. Curry pork came into my mind and it was really easy both in preparation and cooking. The sauce is so thick like what I wanted it to be and the spiciness was enough to heat up every single cell in the body! We loved it though because it goes really well with rice and the flavour can easily spice up your taste buds in seconds.  

Ingredients:

200g Pork (with bone or boneless, cut into big chunks)

1 Onion (sliced)

1tbsp Minced garlic

1tbsp Minced shallots

1tbsp Minced ginger

1tbsp Curry powder (I used Baba's, Adabi is less hot in my opinion)

1tbsp Chilli powder (reduce to suit personal taste)

1tsp Turmeric powder (optional)

2tbsp Coconut milk powder

4tbsp Evaporated milk

500ml Water

1/4tsp Sugar

1/2tsp Salt (adjust to personal taste)

3tbsp Cooking oil

Steps:

1. Heat a pan at medium heat. Add cooking oil into the pan and followed by onion slices. Stir fry the onions until they are softened. 

2. Add garlic, shallots, ginger and fry until fragrant.

3. Make a well in the middle of the pan and add curry powder, chilli powder and turmeric powder. 

4. Stir gently for 10-15 seconds until fragrant (it is right when your nose starts to feel itchy!)

5. Add in pork and stir fry until the meat turns into white colour on the outside.

6. Pour the water into a large bowl and stir in the coconut milk powder until no lumps. Pour the mixture into the pan from sides. Stir well and bring it to a boil. Continue simmering with lid on for about 20 minutes.

7.  Remove the lid and add the evaporated milk. Stir well and continue simmering without lid for 10 minutes or until the sauce reaches the desired thickness.

Ready to serve ^^

Tips:

• This is a healthier version of curry because only small amount of coconut milk is added. If you like a richer flavour you can always swap the evaporated milk at the end with a thick coconut milk mixture - mix 3tbsp of coconut milk powder with 6tbsp of water OR add 40ml fresh coconut milk straight away.

• The powdered spices can absorb plenty of oil but do not bother to add gallons of oil. You will get a better fragrance if you keep frying. The main point is keep stirring to make sure they mix well in the pan and not getting burnt.