Kimchi Latkes!

Every year I choose a different culinary tradition to model our Holiday dinner around.  We’ve done Victorian England, with Roast Goose and Christmas pudding, we’ve done Shanghainese Soup Dumplings, once visiting my Sister and Brother in Law we did Puerto Rican Christmas. Bringing in these varied traditions helps to educate me as a cook and to educate my children with the many flavors of our abundant human experience. I can’t remember which year we chose to cook traditional Hanukkah treats but now Latkes always make an appearance in our home around this time of year.  So simple and so good.  And I love how the story of Hanukkah resonates especially around the time of the Winter Solstice.  As the nights get longer and the days get shorter the story of Hanukkah meditates on finding a miracle of light in the darkness and finding freedom in the midst of oppression. And of course the tradition of eating fried foods to celebrate the miraculous oil that lit a single lamp for 8 days…  a holiday that celebrates with fried food!!!!  That is a wonder for sure!

This year I can’t believe that I’ve never thought to replace the onion in the Latke recipe with kimchi before.  It is simply amazing!  You can add more spiciness, more chiles or gochugaru to the mix if you like.  I doubt you can make these and not fall in love.

Wishing you all a great miracle this Hanukkah.

 

Kimchi Latkes

2 cups shredded potatoes (I like em with skin on but either peeled or not is fine)

½ cup of kimchi that has already had all the juice squeezed out of it.

3 eggs

3 heaped Tablespoons flour

Salt and Pepper

More chiles/gochugaru (optional)

Oil for frying (we used peanut oil but your choice of high heat oil)

 

Put shredded potatoes in cheesecloth or nut bag and squeeze as dry as possible.

Cut the squeeze dried kimchi into small dice or tiny strips.

Beat eggs.

Combine potatoes, egg, kimchi, flour, (gochugaru if you want), salt and pepper.

Heat a heavy skillet with a ¼ inch of oil on the base to medium high heat.

Press heaping spoonfuls of potato mixture onto the hot skillet squashing the pancakes down to ¼ – ½ inch thickness.  Cook until brown on both sides…  approximately 3 minutes each side.

Serve hot with apple sauce and sour cream – YUM.

Fashion Headline Japan loves our Umeboshi (Kiyoshi Makoto)

It’s not everyday we find ourselves gracing the pages of fashion magazines, let alone cutting edge Japanese taste makers, Fashion Headline Japan!.

follow this link for the google translation of the page

or here in the original Japanese

Check out 10 fun facts about Kim chi and find out how to make Ozuké style kim chi at home

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Our recent video with Hatchlab is creating quite a buzz! Find out more kimchi secrets (and watch our video) !

Hatchlabs 10 fun facts about kim chi

Ozuké style Kimchi Grilled Cheese

thumb_600Visiting Santa Fe recently I was introduced to these sandwiches and could not wait to get back and reverse engineer it so that I could make it with Ozuke kimchi. It is both hearty and satisfying and yet feels good on the belly because of the kimchi.

For two people

4 slices of good sourdough bread
a lot of unsalted organic butter
4 oz of cheese – I used a combination of swiss and gruyere but goat cheddar would work really well, too
4 oz Ozuke kimchi

Preheat a cast iron pan over medium heat and melt some butter in it. The secret to great grilled cheese is butter so be generous. Then butter one side of all four slices of bread. Put them in the skillet butter side up and let them get warmed up. When you flip them put cheese on two slices of bread and let the cheese melt. Turn the heat down so that the bread does not over cook. When the cheese is melty divide the kimchi onto the two cheesy breads and then put the cooked sides of the other bread on top so that when you flip the buttered side goes in the skillet. Keep cooking till the kimchi warms up and everything is gooey.

Serve with an Ozuke pickle on the side.

Kung Hei Fat Choi! – Radish Cakes with Kimchi

kung-heiEvery year lunar new year is a wonderful opportunity to gather friends, make lots of food and celebrate together.  In true Cantonese spirit we had a rowdy time.  Some glimpses of traditional practices that I remember from my childhood growing up in Hong Kong –  Late night flower markets with strings of naked tungsten lights strung overhead.  Spring so fully embodied by pink peach buds poking out from a tangle of bare branches and glossy bulbs of narcissus bursting white and gold from sleek green leaves.  Huge round tables filled with food and five separate conversations juggled with skill by fast talking aunties, hands waving and voices rising in a merry mashup of indignation, mirth and scandal.  Daylong preparations in the kitchen where clever hands and patient steps work steadfastly towards the glory of consumption. New clothes, lucky packets filled with money, trays of candy, dried fruits and watermelon seeds. Bright red paper with fresh black calligraphy inviting prospects with a few well placed words, joss sticks and fire crackers and visits to spruced up grannies who ply you with ancient candy and squeeze your arms. In true South China style I remember a cacophony of good will and a tumultuous amount of good food. 🙂

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I started my preparations the week before curing pork belly from a friend’s farm. This method “laap yuk” works wonderfully well in Colorado’s dry and temperate climate.  I keep my house cooler than most (around 67 degrees) which also worked out perfectly.  The technique was simple first I submerged 2×4 inch strips of pork belly in a half and half mix of tamari and rose scented rice wine (mui gwai lo), pressed the meaty pieces under the liquid for 24 hours (room temperature).  I then used butcher’s twine to hang the bacon in my kitchen with a steel bowl under on the counter to catch any dripping fat etc.  It then hung and cured for 5-7 days.  As it cured you could see the outer skin dry out, a sweet rice wine smell emanate and a matte sheen from the fat curing on the surface.  I still have two pieces of this precious cured pork in my fridge it is so simple and really is a marvel.

This year I decided to make Radish Cake a traditional new year dish and also a favorite dim sum dish.  (You know the cart with the griddle top that goes around… in Cantonese “Lor Bak Go”).  I got the recipe from my best friend Des who lives on Cheung Chau Island in Hong Kong.  He got the recipe from asking his Aunties.  He said it was very difficult to decipher because they were all talking at once and arguing.  I am allergic to shellfish so I substituted the shrimp and scallop with shitake mushrooms, my home made bacon and some finely chopped kimchi.  Next year I think I might use dehydrated kimchi for better textural contrast…  however the kimchi worked out fantastically giving the Radish Cake a great spicy flavor.

 robert cake8 pounds of Daikon Radish (grated – traditionally done by child labor)
600g of sharp rice flour (plain rice flour NOT glutenous or sweet rice flour)
1tblspn salt
a small lump of rock sugar
1 cup of small diced cooked pork belly (crispy is good!)
1 cup of squeezed dry finely chopped kimchi (next year I will dehydrate!)
1 cup of diced shitake mushrooms
black and white pepper
dried shrimp dried scallop dried fish – (if you’re not allergic to it it’s great! soak in water first then dry fry to prepare)

In a massive wok..fry up the radish with salt/sugar/seasoning

cover wok allow to soften and release juice

once radish is soft drain out the radish juice and mix it with rice flour to make a solution

prep other ingredients. (fry bacon, squeeze and chop kimchi etc.)

mix rice paste solution with soft radish and mix in other ingredients.

at this stage do a taste test by making a small pancake in a frying pan.

make your final adjustments. (we like lots of white pepper!)

Steam for 1 hour (small tin) 1hour 30 min for a big one.  Cool completely before cutting.  Cut in slices and fry up on a griddle til outside is crispy.

Serve with cut spring onions, srirracha and hoisin sauce.

Korean Kim Chi Stew: Gettin Jjigae with it.

More goodness from our favorite guest blogger, Michelle Auerbach:

Ok, so my husband seems to have had a parting of the ways with the owner of the local Korean restaurant. I don’t usually think of Korean food and fisticuffs in the same sentence, but let’s say we got awfully close.  He was defending my honor. It involved appetizers. Long story. The problem is I love Korean Food, and though the restaurant where I live is a pale imitation of Steve’s Lunch in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I cut my teeth on Bibimbop with tofu, it was what we had. Well, no longer. So I have been exploring the world of Korean food via cookbooks and the internet. This is a little recipe I cobbled together from several that involved pork and a few other things I don’t eat. It tastes like the best Korean restaurant food without the threat of violence.
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  • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
  • three small potatoes cubed in a large dice (You can use carrots, zucchini, and greens too if you want)
  • 2 cups kimchi (the kind made with Napa cabbage), roughly chopped
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp kochujang (this is Korean chili paste that you can get at Asian groceries. It’s not essential, but it helps.)
  • 1 Tbsp kochukaru (this is a Korean chili flake powder. You can substitute chili flakes for it.)
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 cups of water
  • 1 block of tofu, cubed
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  1. Saute the kimchi in the sesame oil till it smells crispy, just about three minutes.  Add the potatoes, the onion, the kochujang, kochukaru, and the soy sauce. Mix till combined.  
  2. Add the water and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the tofu. Cook until the potatoes are soft. 
  3. Serve with the scallion on top. You can serve over rice, quinoa, or just eat it with a spoon. For condiments you can use more sesame sauce, more soy sauce, or sriricha. 
 
Enjoy in the peace and comfort of your own house.

Leftover Rice? Quick and Easy Kimchi Fried Rice

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Blog post by our blogoddess, Michelle Auerbach.

This is perfect for when you have left-over rice and a jar of Ozuké Kimchi, the napa and garlic kind. It’s now really winter out there, and something hot and spicy and a little oily will warm you up right away. Plus, it is fast and can be made with any of the proteins listed, so it’s flexible. The recipe is very loosely adapted from Quick And Easy Korean Cooking by Cecelia Hae-Jin Lee.

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil (sesame is good, as is coconut)

1 onion, chopped

4 oz of chopped pork loin, 1 package of tofu cubed, or 2 eggs

1 more Tablespoon vegetable oil (or more if you need for sticking)

3 cups of cooked rice (brown, white, whatever you have)

2 green onions, chopped

1 cup kimchi with a lot of kimchi liquid

Salt to taste

Heat the oil (depending on the protein, you may need more than one Tablespoon – tofu does not give off it’s own fat). Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes. Add protein. If you are using pork or tofu, fry it for about 5-8 minutes, until cooked through, and for tofu a little golden. If you are using eggs, scramble the eggs.

Add more oil and then the rice, green onion, kimchi and kimchi liquid and cook until it is all warmed through. Salt to taste and serve hot in bowls. Eat with your fingers wrapped around the bowl and maybe some extra kimchi or chili-garlic sauce for the top.

 

Green pozole topped with kim chi

I just returned from a great trip to New Mexico and as always I vowed to eat green chile on everything and wear more big hats and cowboys boots. So far, none of those have been happening- but I was inspired to make some posole for dinner and top it with our zuké kim chi.

I adapted this recipe from Rancho Gordo:

Pozole Verde

1/4 pound Rancho Gordo posole (whole dried hominy)

1 1/2 onions, white or red, peeled and halved

Salt

4 garlic cloves, peeled

15 to 20 tomatillos, paper skins removed ( I used some canned ones from this summer)

2 poblano chiles

1 serrano chile

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano

1 1/2 quarts vegetable or chicken broth

Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Soak posole overnight in water to cover generously. Drain.

Place it in a saucepan with fresh water to cover generously.

Add 1/2 onion, bring to a simmer, cover partially and cook at a gentle simmer until the corn kernels are tender, 2 to 3 hours; many will split open. Season with salt and cool in the liquid.

On a hot, dry griddle or skillet, roast the remaining halved onions, garlic, tomatillos and chiles, turning occasionally, until they are charred and slightly softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Work in batches if necessary.

Put the roasted poblano chiles in a paper bag to steam until cool.

Transfer the other vegetables to a bowl and let cool, collecting their juices.

Skin the poblanos, discarding seeds and stems. Discard the serrano chile stem but don’t skin or seed.

Put all the roasted vegetables in a blender, in batches if necessary, and puree until smooth.

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over moderate heat.

Add the vegetable puree and adjust heat to maintain a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

In the blender, puree the cilantro, oregano and 1 cup of the broth. Add to the vegetable mixture along with 4 cups additional broth.

Drain the posole and add it to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and return to a simmer. Thin with additional broth if necessary. Serve in warm bowls.

Top with kim chi.

Chow.

Serves 6

Kimchi Curry

I love how necessity is often the source of inspiration.  This idiom is more than often the case for me when I’m doing my nightly conjuration of dinner.  Sometimes it’s more “what’s there” than “what do I want”.

Tonight I was ahead of the game.  I wanted to get Halloween dinner done early.  I’d been eyeing the chickpeas I cooked off yesterday and I knew they couldn’t be hummus…  I am out of garlic and there was definitely no time to go to the store.  So Channa Masala they became.  I went with a roasted tomato and heavy cream curry sauce – perfect.  When I came to put the coconut chicken curry together I found myself in a bind.  NO ONIONS!  I used the last onion in the chickpea curry.  HOW DO YOU COOK A CURRY WITH NO ONIONS!?!  Sometimes I stare in the fridge for inspiration…  “what do I have that has garlic, onions and ginger already in it???  (as well as shallots and four kinds of chilli peppers???)  KIMCHI COCO-CURRY was born tonight.  It is SO good.  I usually rarely use that many caps in one paragraph but here let’s just imagine a Japanese television host yelling dramatically and many neon lights flashing.

Well we are pulling the costumes together so I’ll leave you with the recipe…  I think I need a little bit of purple lipstick to finish my hipster witch outfit 😀

would you take cooking tips from this mug?

Kimchi Coco Curry

1 Jar Kimchi

1lb Chicken Tenders cut into chunks

2 Tbs Coconut Oil

1/2 tsp Turmeric, 1/4 tsp Nutritional Yeast, 1/4 tsp Cumin, 1/4 tsp Garam Masala, 1/4 tsp whole Peppercorns, 1/4 tsp Paprika

1 Jar Coconut Milk

6 new potatoes

settle new potatoes to boil in some water and salt, turn down to a simmer.

melt coconut oil in pan and throw in a whole jar of kimchi….  as you stirfry the kimchi start to add spices, turmeric, yeast, cumin, garam masala, peppercorns and paprika.

when you’ve got a nice hot mess add the chicken and brown on all sides.  (approx 5 minutes on medium high)

add coconut milk, bring to a boil then simmer.

add potatoes when they are soft.

serve over rice you could garnish with a wee bit of fresh corriander that would just take it over the top.  ENJOY!

Kim Chi dressing recipe from Michelle

First off, I want to thank Willow and Mara for the opportunity to say anything at all about food in the presence of their culinary artistry.  Second, full disclosure, I have been eating their creations since Mara used to give them to me in little Ball jars – which I would hide from my children so I didn’t have to share.  So, I’m not just a fan but a long-time Superfan.

Okay, that said, here is an easy way to make salad dressing from the juice left over in the kim chi jar when you have finished eating it out of the container with a fork before breakfast. The juice has lots of goodies in it, so aside from drinking it straight while no one is looking – you should share the love.

All the juice left in the jar

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons lemongrass, fresh, chopped

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons fish sauce (not necessary if you are vegetarian)

Shake it all up in the jar.

If you want to use it on a salad, here is what I do – no amounts necessary here, as it really works with whatever you have.

Lettuce or spinach

Fresh mint

Fresh cilantro

Fresh basil

Sprouts of some denomination or another

Chopped cucumbers

Grated Carrot

Dressing above

Cooked rice noodles

Protein of some kind (steak, tofu, chicken, whatever you have around)

Make a huge salad with all your veggies.  Arrange the cooked rice noodles at the bottom of a bowl.  Put as much salad as you can in the bowl.  Top with the protein of choice.  Pour the dressing over the salad and eat.

This salad originated as a recipe for Asian steak salad that my friend Jen cut out of a magazine and then I took a picture of the clipping and it was on my phone till I lost it.  This is what I came up with after all that, when I was hungry and had some of the dressing made with the kim chi juice left over in my fridge.  It fed a hungry teenage boy happily (with steak) and me (with tofu) proving universal appeal.