I was going through my pictures of things I made and ate in the past year (and boy, how did I eat so much...), trying to organize them in some order. And here I am, getting a second new year's eve before the year of the dragon starts. Let me take this opportunity as an excuse to share some food that haven't made to blog posts and likely won't for a while for one reason or another (such as, I will be away from my kitchen for a month), plus a couple of all time favorites I keep going back to.
Persimmon rolls in the way of cinnamon rolls. Nice bites of fuyu persimmon (단감 - dan gam) but I should have put a lot more persimmon pieces. Also, a (more) generous amount of sugar and butter could have helped.
A failed loaf of bread that came out pretty flat. With black sesame seeds, ground walnuts and buckwheat(?) flour, it was still good to eat, but the bread wasn't so happy to hold too many good things out of ratio.
Gegukji (게국지) - The idea of this dish - crabs pickled in soy sauce (간장게장 - ganjang gejang), pumpkin and fresh kimchi boiled together much like a stew - is what I achieved, although it's probably far from the actual dish from South Chungcheog province on the west coast. It was an unfamiliar dish even to many native Koreans until recently, but it finally got the deserved spotlight on the popular Korean TV show 1 Night 2 Days. I watched this particular episode when I happened to have ingredients - fresh made kimchi, kabocha and spicy crabs (양념게장 - yangnyeom gejang) - that were close enough to make something similar. So of course, I had to try my own gegukji right away. It was a deeply savory, briny, sweet dish, a comforting stew to be shared on a cold, wintry night indeed. I'm still curious about the real thing though...
Crispy Tofu in Soy Garlic Sauce - One of those days I deep-fried tofu after dipping in batter. Somehow I just haven't gone back to making it for the ...5th time yet.
Oxtail Stew (소꼬리찜 - so ggo ri jjim) with Oxtail Broth - Yum! Love oxtail stew. If you ever get tired of galbi jjim (갈비찜 - braised short ribs), I suggest you try this. I'll probably get the recipe down by...next winter.
Roasted chestnuts (군밤 - gun bam) is an easy way to enjoy fresh chestnuts in season.
Steamed pear (배찜 - bae jjim) is a popular home remedy for the common cold but I also like it as a dessert once in a while, especially when I can get a hold of that juicy, sweet, fragrant Korean Shingo pears.
More will be coming in the new year of the dragon. Stay warm and stay tuned...
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