Radish Kimchi

One of my favorite kimchi is radish kimchi.  My last staycation I had; I made 4 quart jars of cabbage kimchi and 3 quart jars of radish kimchi... let's just say I ran out a month ago of the radish kimchi. Thus this staycation, I've made another batch of radish kimchi.  Fortunately, I've prevented the fridge from smelling only of kimchi by storing my quart jars in gallon freezer bags. :)

I found this radish kimchi (Kkakdugi) recipe at maangchi.com  There are a bunch of awesome korean recipes on there.

Ingredients:

4lbs of korean radish (picture above)

2 Tbsp salt

2 Tbsp of sugar

4 stalks of green onion

1 tsp of minced ginger

2 Tbsp of minced garlic

1/4 c of fish sauce

2/3 cup of gochugaru (korean hot pepper flake)

1/3 c of radish juice

Directions:

1. Cut radish into cubes as seen above.

2. In a large bowl, massage radish with salt and sugar.  Let stand for 30 mintues

3. Drain and reserve radish juice and set aside

4. In same large bowl, mix cubed radish with the rest of the ingredients

Let marinate for 3 days or so on the kitchen counter.

Delicious! Mouthwatering! Spicy!





Pulled Pork

This is one of my favorite recipe finds.  I don't think I ever had a pulled pork sandwich growing up so I had to look this one up. Found on Good Housekeeping's website "Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork."  Also, it's quick and easy. Just throw the ingredients into a crock pot and let it do it's thing for 5-7 hrs.

Of course, I end up changing up a few things to adapt to my taste.  Don't use as much mustard...and since I love chipotle peppers, I add a few peppers from a can of chipotle in adobo sauce.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 c ketchup

1/3 c of cider vinegar

1/4 c packed brown sugar

1/4 c tomato paste

2 tbsp sweet paprika

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp of yellow mustard

1 1/2 tsp of salt

1 1/4 tsp of black pepper

2-3 chipotle peppers

4 lbs boneless pork shoulder (pork butt)

Sandwich buns

1. Throw in everything but the pork shoulder into a crock pot set on high.

2. Cut the fat off of your pork butt and section into 4 pieces.

3. Set your crockpot on High if you are short on time. It'll be done in 4-5 hours.   Or if you have all day, set it on low and it'll be done in 8-10 hrs.

4. Check on it every 2 hours and turn the pork.

5. Just before you are ready to serve it, remove the pork and shred it with a fork.

6. Leave the sauce in the crockpot to boil off some liquid and thicken. 

7. Toast up some buns (the onion buns at Walmart go pretty good with the pulled pork), spoon some pork and plenty of sauce on top.

Sorry no after pictures... we ate them up before I could snap a photo lol.

Chicken Satay

Finally posting my chicken satay recipe!  This is another one of those comfort foods that I didn't grow up cooking in the kitchen.  I associate my satay experiences with Wat Thai in LA, the Thai restaurants in LA, and of course Thailand... specifically Chonburi, Thailand...a coastal region just an hour or two from Bangkok.  There is an epic story (epic in that it is told every time I see my mom's side of the family) of when I visited the summer between 5th and 6th grade.  I went alone one summer and stayed with my relatives in Bangkok and Nakorn Ratchasima...hmm and I think Khao Yai. Either way, I stayed with my aunt in Muang Chon/Chonburi for a week... and I ate a record 40 chicken satay in one sitting at a food stand near her house.  Granted they were 2-bite-sized piece. And, ever since she makes sure she takes me there every time I visit.

Even though we didn't have it at home on a regular basis, this recipe comes from my mom. She knows how I like my chicken satay and I get my need to be efficient from her :)

Marinade (min 2 hrs) & Grill the Chicken:

1 tsp of curry powder

3 tbsp of coconut milk, the thicker portion

1 tbsp of golden mountain soy sauce

2-3 chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise in ~1/4inch pieces

1) In a ziploc bag, mix the curry powder, coconut milk, and golden mountain sauce.

2) Place the sliced chicken breast into the ziploc bag (you can make another batch of marinade if you the chicken doesn't fit in one) and let it marinate for at least 2 hrs. I prefer overnight...you can taste the difference.

3) When ready to grill, soak the wood skewers (which can be found at your local Asian market for pretty cheap $0.99 for 50-10" skewers) in water for about 1/2 an hour or a few minutes.

4) Skewer the chicken and grill em up.  About 3-5 minutes on each side on a medium heat grill.

Check the thickest portion of one of your satay and make sure it is nice and white (not pink).



 

Peanut Sauce:

1 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter

1-2 tbsp of red curry paste (depends on how spicy you want it)

1 cup of coconut milk (can add more if you want the sauce thinner)

about 2 tsp of sugar

big pinch of salt

1/4 of a small lime

1) Combine all ingredients into a medium saucepan on medium heat.

2) Let it simmer on low heat while you grill your satay.  (Don't let it burn)

Cucumber Salad:

2 -4 mini cucumbers, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces

2 tbsp of Thai sweet chili sauce

2 tbsp of white vinegar

a few sprigs of fresh cilantro, chopped

 1) In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.

Enjoy! Serve with some toasted bread.