Korean Sauces 101

I decided to finally write a recipe for Korean Gochujang sauce...I eat it all the time with my Bibimbap.  Now I just have to adjust the recipe. I tried it out and it should be fine.  You CAN substitute soy sauce for bean paste if you have none.

Bibimgochujang Sauce

1 Tbsp Gochujang paste

1½ tsp honey

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp white or apple cider vinegar

½ tsp Chinese-style soybean paste

1 tsp fresh garlic paste or ½ tsp garlic powder

Dash of cayenne

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Love and best wishes 

Kyle Swayne

Jam on!

If you know me, then you know I learned to love making jams and pickles....and when I grow my own stuff and put them in a jar, it makes me feel spectacular!  So tonight after working at my call center, I came hope to use up all my cranberries from trying to ferment my own Sauerkraut.  So I then made some cranberry-apple jam.  I also had some left over, so....I decided to add some mango to make some spectacular jam.

Cranberry-Apple Jam

1 small bag of cranberries, chopped in fourths
One Apple finely chopped or minced
3/4 - 1 cup of sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 - 2 tsp of pectin

Makes about 2-3 cup jars

Basically just boil slowly on medium, adding water when needed.  Cook for about 30 minutes. You can puree it with a hand-mixer.  Add to a jar and seal.  Boil covered in water in a caner about 30 min or so.  Take out and place on a towel and let it cook, weak any water from the top or around (gently) with a towel.  Once it pops on top, that means it seals. 

Mango-Cranberry Jam

1 handful of Cranberries, quartered
1 mango sliced and diced
1 tsp pectin
1/8 cup sugar

Makes 1 cup jar

Cook about 30 min in a pot.  Add water when necessary. Place in jars, making sure not to get any on the rim.  Boil about 30 min covered in water in a caner.  Take out and weak water away gently with a towel. Once it pops on top after cooling, then it is sealed.

Have fun playing around and making different fruit or vegi jams!
Love,
Kyle S.

Rotmos

Everyone loves mashed potatoes, but have you ever had mashed....rutabagas? Rutabagas are a great alternative for potatoes, especially for someone on a diet.  They are lower in carbs, they have more fiber, they are higher in vitamins, etc. They also taste, great...or at least I think so...they taste, to me, like a mix between a potato and a turnip.

I wanted to make a recipe for something rutabaga and saw a while ago on wikipedia that there was a dish called rotmos. It means 'root mash' in Swedish and is often served along side ham or cooked swedish sausage like falukorv.

Rotmos

1 Rutabaga peeled and cut into cubes
2 potatoes peeled and cut into cubes
1 large carrot peeled and cut into cubes
Water for boiling
salt for water
salt and pepper for seasoning
(butter is optional)

Basically cut up the roots and put them in a large pot and cover them with water.

Cook the vegis until the rutabagas turn a nice golden yellow. Then you drain the water and mash up the roots!

I ate mine with some nice Italian sausages.

A lot of people it it with nice boiled peas. I hope you try it and enjoy this dish!

Loooooooove Kyle!

KIMCHI!!

So it's been some time since I've written a blogpost. Well, honestly...its been too long.  A recent conversation with one of my subscribers (Shoutout to Jen!) led me to thing about my blog and remember the intense desire to keep writing blogposts...er- at at least one more...at that... Anywho! If any of y'all know me well, then you know that I love things that take time to make through microorganisms (I.e. wine, yogurt, etc.).  So I thought I'd give a good try at kimchi.

For a little back story, I learned to like kimchi after eating a delicious kimchi taco at choo choo when I worked there.  It wasn't the traditional kimchi taco that they usually sold, but a variation that I made.  It was very delicious and suggest you make it.

Kimchi Taco

Flour Tortilla
Sweet bulgogi meat (I believe hangar steak)
Kimchi
Deep-fried tofu
A mayonnaise-based peach chipotle sauce

Now I'll try to explain Kimchi

Kimchi:
1 Nappa Cabbage (cut into bite-sized pieces 2"x2")
1/2 Korean radish or daikon radish cut into thin strips (2 inches long and 1/4 inch think)
3 green onions (cut diagonally into bite-sized pieces)
Salt for salting the vegis

Sauce:
1-2 cups of powdered korean chili peppers
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 - 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 apple or pear
1 Tbsp gochujang chili paste (optional)
1/2 tsp ginger ground or 1 tsp ginger juice
2 tsp rice-wine vinegar
1 Tbsp of old kimchi juice culture

First you need to take the three vegis (cabbage, radish, and green onion) and put them into a large bowl.  Next sprinkle 1 or 2 big handfuls of salt over them and mix well (depends on how teeny your hands are).  Let them sit for 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours or until the vegis are salty and limp.  Drain off the water and then wash the vegis in three changes of water.

Next you have to make the sauce...it's not hard...basically puree the crap out of it in a blender.  You may have to add some water or something. Then place it into the vegis, once they have been thoroughly drained, and mix.  You may have to wear a glove if it's too spicy. Put it in a covered pot like the one in the picture and let it sit out for a day or so.

Lactobacillus Kimchii is the main agent at work pickling and preserving this food, but works along with other bacterium.

Good luck...and remember...there is risk for contamination or spoilage if not done well...so if you're brave enough to try it, then maybe you should also seek other resources. Luckily mine turned out well. I was surprised because I set it in the sun for several hours and actually heard it bubbling like it was supposed to.  It freaked me out, but apparently it worked. 

Good Luck!
;D Kyle!