Sweet and crispy chicken / 닭강정 / Dakkangjung (or dak kang jung)

This is of course something that I should not cook during weekdays when I have to really watch what I eat. Tapikan, hari ni rasa a bit blue. Ya, my blues comes on Friday which is kindda weird. Normally, it's Monday blues not Friday blues. Anyway, I think I'm feeling a bit down coz hubby is hardly around this week. Kindda sad..

Oleh kerana itu, maka, aku buat this sweet and crispy chicken. Sedap wa cakap lu! It's sweet, sour and salty. Ala2 rasa sweet sour but better! Tapikan, aku rasa, aku will only cook this once in a blue moon je sebab aku taknak kira the calorie yang ada pada setiap pieces ayam tu. Mau pengsan aku lari atas treadmill kalau aku kira the calorie. I've been a very good girl for the past few days except on the day that I made Hoddeok, so I think I should reward myself with this sweet chicken. kan? huhuhuhuhu..

As always, when it comes to Korean recipes, aku suka ambik from maangchi.com. Eh! maangchi posted my Japchae photo.. hehehe.. glamer jap rasa. This recipe calls for starch powder which aku rasa is tepung kanji. But, mana la aku nak cari tepung kanji. Aku cuma ada corn flour. As I mentioned many times before, when it comes to cooking, aku just make do with whatever ingredients that I have in my pantry. Cooking should be easy. Well, K.Jud (kakak my friend Dila) cakap, when she read my blog, dia rasa memasak tu sangat senang. That's what I want. Cooking IS easy.. jangan susahkan diri sendiri, make do with what you have. It will turn fabulous. The secret ingredient is LOVE! :D

 I didnt add sesame seed sebab the girls tak suka sesame seed.

The chicken is so sinful!

Dakkangjung

Source : Maangchi

Ingredients:
40 pieces of chicken wings
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup starch powder (I used corn flour)
2 eggs
1 tsp ground pepper
vegetable oil for deep frying

Sauce
1 cup of sliced ginger
2 tbs soy sauce 
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup (mulyeot) 
1/4 cup vinegar
1 cup peanuts
1/2 cup sesame seeds (I omitted this)
dried and crushed red hot chili pepper.

Bread and Deep fry:

1. Prepare 40 chicken wings or chunks of chicken, rinse them off in cold water and drain them.
2. Transfer the chicken into a big bowl.
3. Add 2 ts of salt, 1 ts of ground pepper, 2 eggs, and the mixture of ½ cup of flour and ½ cup of starch powder. Mix it by hand.
4. Deep fry the chicken wings in vegetable oil 2 times at about 350-380 degrees (F).

Sauce for coating:

1. Prepare a big wok or pan.
2. Place 1 cup of water in the wok and heat it up.
3. Slice 1 cup of ginger thinly after peeling the skin off and washing, and add it into the boiling water.
4. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 1 cup of brown sugar, ¼ cup of vinegar and boil it over medium heat.
5. 5 minutes after, add 1 cup of corn syrup and keep boiling over low medium heat about 30 minutes.
6. Raise a spoon of the sizzling sauce above the wok in the air and drop it until the sauce begins stopping halfway. Then turn off the stove.

Mix it up:

1. Reheat the sauce.
2. Add the deep fried chicken, 1 cup of peanuts (or any kind of nuts), 1/2 tbs dried red hot chili pepper, and ½ cup of toasted sesame seeds into the sizzling sauce and mix it with a spatula. The amount of sticky sauce will decrease while you are stirring. Then turn off the heat and you are done!

Tip: Before the chicken cools down, you may have to separate each piece of chicken wings to prevent them from sticking to each other.
For spicy food lover:
You can sprinkle 2 tbs of dried and crushed red chili pepper instead of 1/2 tbs.
For vegetarians:
Just make the sauce following the recipe above, and then add whatever dried ingredients you like and make candy! You can use sliced ginger, nuts (almond, walnuts, pine nuts, and peanuts), or sesame seeds.

1. Place plastic wrap on your cuttingboard
2. After mixing all the dried ingredients with the sticky sauce, spread it on the plastic wrapper on your cuttingboard. Wait a few minutes for it to harden.
3. Cut it into bite size pieces and enjoy!

Hoddeok & I'm BACK!!!

Weeeeeeeeeeee.... sukanya hati aku!! Hubby balik from johor pagi tadi. Maknanya I can browse the internet using laptop! Yang paling aku suka, aku boleh berblogging baalik. Rindunya nak berblogging. Dah beberapa hari tak berblog rasa macam ada benda tak kena je.. ..

Bila takleh nak bloghop malam2 buta, mood masak pun gone with the wind. Seksa nak bloghop or browse the net using ipod. Kecik! plus aku kena jegilkan bijik mata untuk baca. Tapikan, sempat jugak aku buat hoddeok semalam and give some to Ju for her iftar. I wanna bring some to K.Yani masa pegi rumah dia semalam but my hoddeok dah habis by then. Tak sangka hoddeok aku mendapat sambutan yang hebat dari anak2. It's so simple but delicious. Err.. aku pun makan gak. Hancus diet aku semalam.. huhuhu.. Takpe la, I need the sugar boost from hoddeok tu.

This week, Iman and Iffah ada latihan sukan. But aku malas sangat2 nak hantar dia org sekolah sebab tak belajar and the students kena duduk tepi padang dari pagi sampai la tengahari. Cikgu pun tak masuk kelas. Dah la this week asyik hujan je, kasut yg putih, jadi merah bila dia org balik dari sekolah. Err.. sebenarnya, I'm trying to justify why I didnt send them to school today.. hahahahha.. I'm just too tired.

Back to Hoddeok.

 Stack it! Can you see the melted brown sugar mix that's about to ooze from the hoddeok?

 Spread it on the plate

The ipod yang banyak berjasa for the past few days.. huhuhu..

Hoddeok recipe

Source : Maangchi

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour
1 cup of luke warmwater
2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs vegetable oil
2 tbs sugar

Filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbs chopped walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon powder

1.Place  water into a mixing bowl.
2.Add white sugar, yeast, salt, vegetable oil, and stir it well.
3.Add flour and mix it with a rice scoop, or by hand.
4.Let the dough rise. It should sit with the lid closed at room temperature for 1 hour.
5.After an hour the dough will rise to double its size. Knead it to remove the gas bubbles in the dough.
6.Let it rise for another 10-20 minutes.

Make filling (for 8 hoddeok):

Making hoddeok.
1.Knead the dough again to remove the gas bubbles.

2.Place and spread about ½ cup flour on your cutting board.

3.Put the dough on your cutting board and knead it. Make it into a lump, and cut it into 8 equal-sized balls.
4.Take 1 dough ball, flatten it, put some filling in the center of the dough, and then seal it to make a ball.

5.Repeat this 8 times to make 8 stuffed balls.

*tip: Use some flour from the cutting board to prevent your fingers from sticking to the dough

6.Heat up your non-stick pan over medium heat and add some vegetable oil.

7.Place 1 ball on the pan and let it cook for 30 seconds.

8.When the bottom of the dough ball is light golden brown, turn it over and press the dough with a spatula to make a thin and wide circle (about the size of a CD).
9.Let it cook about 1 minute until the bottom is golden brown.

10.Turn it over again and turn down the heat very low.

11.Place the lid on the pan and cook 1 more minute. The brown sugar filling mixture will be melted to syrup!
Serve hot!

How To Make Jap Chae

Mula-mula, takmau cerita pasal Japchae lagi coz it's making me hungry. Ni baru lepas lari kat gym, kena allow 1 jam before boleh makan. Semalam the girls balik rumah from school, bagitau result exam. Iffah dapat no. 12 and Iman dapat no. 36. Erm.. patutkah aku menjadi mak harimau sekarang and be very strict with them when it comes to studying? Teringat masa kecik2 dulu, mok and abah tak penah paksa study but still kita orang semua doing ok.

But tengok parents sekarang yang tersangat la kiasu nya, rasa takut pulak. Takut that they wont be able to compete nanti kalau aku biar je dia org study sendiri or just study masa buat homework je. Should I also be a kiasu mom? Ada among my friends yg antar anak pegi tuition as early as 5 years old. Iman is going to be 11 soon, and Iffah is going to be 10 soon. So, Iman ada 2 tahun je lagi to play and be a kid. Bila dah masuk 13 tahun, orang akan expect dia to act macam orang dewasa.. *sigh*.. dilema sungguh..

Anyway, back to japchae. When my korean SIL first served me Japchae, I fall in love with it. Tapi tak penah buat sebab rasa macam susah je nak buat. Pastu bahan2 pun macam susah je nak cari. Ok, aku cakap "macam" ye. The truth is, it's so easy to make. Semalam, aku memberanikan diri untuk mencuba. Bear in mind, I've tasted it before, so it's easy for me to tweak the taste to rasa macam japchae yang penah aku makan. For those yg tak penah rasa, japchae ni rasa a bit sweet and salty. Sedap!!

 Sekali tengok, macam meehoon pun ada gak

Bila tengok dekat2, macam suun gemuk.

Japchae ni actually Korean glass noodles yang dibuat dari sweet potato. Aku beli the glass noodles from Jusco. Kat sana ada jual. But aku lupa la pulak nak ambik gambar. 

Gambar the noodles yang kering which I took from here.Thank you owner.

Yang ni pulak banyak jual kat korean mart. Mana2 pun sama, as long as it's glass noodles. 

Recipe for Japchae

Maangchi.com

Ingredients:

• Starch noodles (“dangmyun”)
• 150 grams of beef
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 1 medium size carrot
• 1 medium size onion
• mushrooms (5 dried shiitake and 1 package of white mushrooms)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 7-8 green onions
• soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and sesame seeds (I ran out of light soy sauce, aku guna kicap manis je)

Makes 4 servings.
How to prepare your ingredients before stir frying:

1. Soak 5 dried shitake mushrooms in warm water for a few hours until they become soft. Squeeze the water out of them and slice thinly.
2. Slice a package of white mushrooms (2 cups’ worth).
3. Cut a carrot into thin matchstick-shaped pieces 5 cm long.
4. Cut 7 -8 green onions into 7 cm long pieces.
5. Slice one onion thinly.
6. Slice 150 grams of beef into thin strips.

Now let’s start!

1. Boil 2 bunches of noodles in boiling water in a big pot for about 3 minutes. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.
2. Cut the noodles several times by using scissors and add 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside.
   *tip: Take one sample and taste it to see whether or not it’s cooked properly. If it feels soft, it’s finished.
3. In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold water 3 times. Remove any grit or dead leaves thoroughly while rinsing. Squeeze it gently to get the water out, then cut it into 5 cm pieces.
4. Add ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sesame oil and mix it and place it onto the large bowl.
   *tip: When you drain the hot water from the pot, don’t discard the hot water. Put it back into the pot so you can cook your spinach quickly.
5. On a heated pan, put a few drops of olive oil and your carrot strips and stir it with a spatula for 30 seconds. Put it into the large bowl (don’t burn it!).
6. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your sliced onion. Stir it until the onion looks translucent. Put it into the large bowl with your carrots.
7. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add the sliced white mushrooms. Stir it for a bit and then put it in the large bowl.
8. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your green onions. Stir for 1 minute and put it into the large bowl.
9. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your beef strips and your sliced shitake mushrooms. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then put it into the large bowl.
10. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 3 tbs of sugar, 2 tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of ground pepper to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds on the top.
11. Serve with rice and Kimchi, or as a side dish.

The video

Those who wanna cook this but tak tau mana nak cari the noodles, boleh email aku. Nanti aku tolong belikan :D

Vegetable pancake with Asian chives (buchujeon)

Will talk later... I'm having monday blues..

Seaweed & Barley Tea

I was introduced to seaweed soup and barley tea few years ago. Kalau tengok cerita korea, mesti ada adegan menyediakan seaweed soup masa birthday hero or heroin drama tu. Mina, my korean SIL, akan masak seaweed soup as part of the side dish everyday.

Masa dalam pantang, seaweed soup ni la yang dia telan, pagi petang, siang malam. And memang boleh kurusla kalau makan seaweed soup dengan nasik. My plan is to include seaweed soup as part of the food yg aku makan time diet ni. The taste is quite sedap, rasa macam soup ikan bilis. Once I'm back in KL, I'll post a simple seaweed soup recipe.

Sekarang ni, aku cuma takat boleh post gambar seaweed yang aku beli kat kedai Ahjuma kat Ampang tu je. Masa beli seaweed soup, aku ternampak barley tea. Lama betul aku tak minum barley tea. Kat rumah Mina, barley tea ni sentiasa ada dalam peti. Orang korea suka minum barley tea, dia org kata it helps to boost the immune system. Maybe sebab tu budak2 korea ni jarang demam and selsema kot. Kalau minum barley tea, yang pastinya, aku akan kerap visit the loo. Jadi macam paip air pulak.. Tak tahan..

 Barley Tea

Dried Seaweed

Bulgogi

Mabuk tengok cerita korea, sampai masak pun masak makanan korea. Aku guna ready made bulgogi sauce je, tak kuasa aku nak prepare bulgogi from scratch. I first tasted bulgogi few years back, adik ipar aku, Mina, masakkan. Hubby la yang suka sangat bulgogi. He ate bulgogi masa dia exchange student way back in 1986.

Oleh kerana kesian kat hubby aku yg kempunan nak makan bulgogi tu, maka adik ipar aku tu buatkan. Seksanya tengok dia buat bulgogi from scratch sebab nak kena hiris datang tu halus. Pastu kena prepare all the fruits etc. The truth is, takde la susah sangat. Tapi untuk orang yang sedang bermalas-malasan seperti aku, memang susah.

Eh! Lupa nak bagitau. Semalam Iman tersembam muka kat tepi swimming pool kat KKlub. Dah lebam sebelah pipi anak aku tu. Aku cakap kat dia, kalau kawan2 dia tanya kenapa, cakap mama yang lempang. She was like "mamaaa!". hehehe.. tak sanggup nak cakap macam tu kat kawan2 dia. I told her to apply something to help reduce the bruises, dia kata tak payah la, sikit je. *sigh*.. anak aku dah besar. Kalau tak, dulu, asal jatuh sikit je, nangis. Ni, air mata pun takde.

 Nampak tak the bruise kat pipi dia? Ambik gambar guna ipod, takde la nampak nasty sangat kan the bruises? tapi actually dah biru2 dah muka dia. sian anak mama.

Bulgogi ~ Iffah's and hubby's favourite.

Recipe 

Getting Started: http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/issues/bulgogi.htm

Soy sauce (about 1/4 c): Although you can find soy sauce in an American grocery store, it's highly recommended to buy Japanese or Korean-style soy sauce at an Asian market near you.
Sesame oil - 2-3 tbs
Asian Pear (1): Choose only one fruit. Mina guna Sango pear (korean pear yg bulat, besar tu)
Sugar
Black pepper (3 dashes)
Onions (1)
Garlic (2 -3 cloves/pieces)
Green onions (about 5 - both white and green parts)
Vinegar (about 1 T): This is optional and again, Asian vinegar is recommended.

---

Directions:
It is very important to freeze the meat first, this aids you in cutting the meat into thin slices. After freezing, slightly defrost in the microwave - make sure the meat is still frozen, but workable.
Cut the meat into thin slices, as thin as possible - but watch your fingers!
Put the slices into the large mixing bowl and sprinkle sugar over it and mix with hands or chopsticks. Let it sit for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the marinade.
Place onion (1) and pear(1) into food processor or blender until liquid and pour into small bowl.
Mix soy sauce (1/4 c), sugar (2 or 3 T), black pepper (2 or 3 dashes), sesame oil (2 to 3 T), (optional - vinegar). After mixing, taste it. You want to have a slightly salty, sweet taste. If it's too salty, add a bit more sugar.
Chop garlic into small pieces (or use garlic press), cut green onion into 2 to 3 inch pieces and put into sugar/meat mixture.
Pour both sauces into the garlic/onion meat mixture and mix well , using hands or chopsticks. It is important to mix thoroughly so the marinade is evenly distributed throughout the meat. Refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.
Cook in frying pan until the meat is cooked thoroughly and serve with sticky rice. Korean people eat this dish with red leaf lettuce filled with rice and meat. Other items to eat with bulgogi (Korean beef stir-fry) are Korean spicy pepper paste, Korean bean paste, sesame oil mixed with salt, sliced garlic and raw green onions. These are optional and are usually placed in the lettuce leaf along with the rice and beef.

Bulgogi Sauce (the one that I'm using now)