Korean cucumber salad (oi muchim)

As a kid, I remember watching my mom toss together this refreshing cucumber salad as an easy side dish for meals. I hosted a Korean lunch for friends today and decided to make this recipe: https://kimchimari.com/korean-cucumber-salad/ It's surprisingly quick and easy to make. This cucumber salad offers a bright complement to well-seasoned fatty proteins. For… Continue reading Korean cucumber salad (oi muchim)

South Indian legume and rice dry porridge (pongal)

We wanted to try a new porridge. We tried this recipe, but it turned out not to be soupy at all: https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/pongal-south-indian-rice-lentil-porridge-vegan/ Its texture is more like the mung bean filling of Korean sweet rice cake (dduk). The flavors are nice, and it is tasty as a drier rice and mung bean dish. This recipe… Continue reading South Indian legume and rice dry porridge (pongal)

Baked Japanese potato croquettes

We had about 24 oz leftover mashed potato and seasoned minced chicken from the torijaga (Japanese chicken and potato stew). We felt inspired to try this recipe: https://www.justonecookbook.com/baked-croquette/ Our modifications: first, we folded in about 1/2 cup frozen peas to the mashed potatoes. Second, instead of mixing the minced meat into the mashed potato, we… Continue reading Baked Japanese potato croquettes

Laurie Colwin’s baked mustard chicken

On our day off, we decided to try a recipe that takes too long for a weeknight meal: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016200-laurie-colwins-baked-mustard-chicken?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share Our modifications: first, we halved the recipe, using 4 skin-on drumsticks and 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. Second, instead of mincing the garlic, we microplaned it to ensure it would be evenly incorporated into the dijon… Continue reading Laurie Colwin’s baked mustard chicken

Japanese chicken and potato stew (torijaga)

We have started cutting down on red meat, but we still crave old recipes such as nikujaga (a Japanese meat and potato stew featuring thinly sliced or minced beef or pork). We found this recipe for torijaga (chicken and potato stew), which uses chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces: https://youtu.be/jA-qNOIJ-LE Our modifications: first, we used… Continue reading Japanese chicken and potato stew (torijaga)

Kichidi (Indian savory rice and legume porridge), version 2 and our favorite recipe

After a few days of heavy, rich meals, we made this masala kichidi recipe to cleanse a bit: https://www.funfoodfrolic.com/masala-khichdi-recipe/ This is our favorite kichidi recipe to date. Our modifications: first, we used 1/2 cup white jasmine rice and 1/4 cup pink masoor dal (i.e., red lentil), soaked in water for 15 mins; and 1/4 cup… Continue reading Kichidi (Indian savory rice and legume porridge), version 2 and our favorite recipe

Korean spicy fish and radish stew (maeuntang)

We had a lot of daikon, and I suddenly had a craving for this dish. We tried Maangchi’s recipe: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/maeuntang We followed Maangchi’s guidance to use fresh whole fish. We found two beautiful red snapper, which the fish monger graciously cut into 2-inch pieces (and we kept the head and tail). Our modifications: first, for…… Continue reading Korean spicy fish and radish stew (maeuntang)

Sicilian-style pasta with roasted cauliflower and crispy capers

We tried this recipe with Sicilian flavors, and it was delicious. https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pasta-roasted-cauliflower-and-crispy-capers Because its flavor base includes anchovy filets in addition to lemon zest, capers, and pecorino, this recipe is not vegetarian. (Dec. 2022) Note: Instead of 4 anchovy filets, you can use 2 tsp anchovy paste (1/2 tsp paste = 1 filet).

Vegetarian Korean spicy beef-style soup (yuk gae jang)

I love traditional yuk gae jang, which relies heavily on beef, and searched for a plant-based version that would still taste authentic. We tried this recipe by Chef Seonkyoung Longest: https://seonkyounglongest.com/vegan-yukgaejang/ This soup tasted remarkably similar in flavor to genuine yuk gae jang. We followed the broth recipe instructions exactly, but we tweaked other parts… Continue reading Vegetarian Korean spicy beef-style soup (yuk gae jang)