s h i n s h i n e

Apple Crumble Rice Cake (사과 경단)

This is the time when scary, gory, ugly sweets enjoy their limelight ahead of Halloween.  I tried my own version one year, and that didn't quite work out for me.  

So it's just my playtime of making rice cakes which happens to be right before Halloween.  Although this gyeongdan (경단) is usually a quick and easy kind where rice cakes made with sweet rice flour (찹쌀 가루 - chap ssal ga ru) are boiled to cook, this apple crumble gyeongdan recipe is more involved.  Instead of the usual sugar-sesame seeds-nut filling, apple is all around in this rice cake, in the filling, color and shape.  It's easy to pick up with the stem of the apple, which is a small piece of a cinnamon stick.  The crumbly bottom will also help not stick to each other or to the plate.

As much as I enjoy making and eating gyeongdan, its homemade kind lasts only a day with a shorter window to enjoy the soft-chewy layer.  So make a few, share and enjoy.  You will have leftover apple filling and crumble, which on their own make... duh, apple crumble.  I am also enjoying the leftover crumble on my yogurt with honey.

     

Yields: 16 Rice cake balls

Apple crumble is adapted from Dave Lieberman's recipe

INGREDIENTS:

Apple Filling (Yield: 2 Cups)
2            Large apples
1/4 C      Raisin
2 T         Sugar
1            Lemon, juiced
1 T         All-purpose flour
1/4 t       Ground cinnamon

Crumble (Yield: 2 1/2 Cups)
1/2 C      Walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 C      All-purpose flour
2/3 C      Rolled oats
1/4 C      Brown sugar
1/2 ts     Ground cinnamon
1/4 ts     Salt

Rice Cake
1 C        Sweet rice flour (a.k.a. glutinous rice flour, 찹쌀 가루, chap ssal ga ru).  I used mochiko.
2 T        Sugar
1/4 t      Salt
1           Small red beet, peeled and grated
1/2 C     Water, boiling hot
2 t         Canola oil or any neutral-tasting oil
1~2       Cinnamon sticks
1 T        Pumpkin seeds, toasted
Water to boil rice cakes
Ice water to shock the rice cakes

DIRECTIONS:

Apple Filling
Peel, core and cut apples to small dice and mix in lemon juice.

Mix in with connamon powder and raisins.

Over medium-low heat, cook apple until it's soft yet still holding its shape. Stir occasionally to make sure the bottom of the pot is not burning.

Cool to room temperature.  Set aside to use as apple gyeongdan filling or refrigerate in an airtight container for longer storage.

Crumble
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

Mix together the nuts, flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Gently work in cold butter into the mix until small lumps are formed. 

Put an even layer of the mix on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or silpat.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir to mix once or twice for even toasting during baking.

Cool to room temperature. Set aside or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Rice Cake
Mix well sweet rice flour, sugar and salt.  

Squeeze the grated beet to get 1 TBSP of juice.  Add the juice to the flour mix and discard the grated beet.

Discard 1 TBSP from 1/2 C of boiling hot water.  Add the rest of boiling water to flour and mix with a fork, then with your hand when it's warm enough to handle.  Knead to form a smooth, slightly sticky dough, similar to playdough consistency, about 5 to 10 minutes.  If you need to add more water, add drops at a time at this point, not even spoonfuls.  

Divide the dough evenly to 16 pieces and keep them covered under a wet paper towel.

One by one, roll each piece with your hands to form a round ball.  Press with your fingers to form a pocket and add about 1 teaspoon of the apple filling.  Squeeze with one hand to close the opening without creating air bubbles, then carefully roll to shape it back to a round ball.  Keep them covered under a wet paper towel.

Fill up a pot with water, deep enough for the rice cakes to rise up when they're cooked.  Bring up to a boil over high heat.

Add rice cakes to boiling water.  Depending on the size of the pot, do this in batches.  Do not overcrowd the pot.

When the water comes to a boil again and rice cakes rise to the surface, cook for another 3 minutes to make sure the rice cake dough is completely cooked.  

Transfer the rice cakes to ice water or at least very cold water to stop them from cooking.

Prepare a plate with any neutral-tasting oil (traditionally toasted sesame oil is used, but I find it too strong in desserts).  When the rice cakes cool to room temperature, roll them in oil to prevent them from sticking to one another.

You can serve as is.  Or for garnish, break a cinnamon stick into small pieces and insert in each gyeongdan.  Press one or two sunflower seeds to gyeongdan, next to the cinnamon stem.  Then hold the cinnamon stem and dip it in crumble.   

For more general tips on making rice cakes, check out my songpyeon post (link below).

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KOREAN WORDS
계피        (gye pi)        cinnamon
호박씨    (ho bak ci)    pumpkin seed

Simple Soft Tofu Stew (순두부 찌개 - Sundubu Jjigae)

Ah, the season of hot soups and stews is finally upon us.  I crave hot soups even on hot summer days, so can you imagine what happens when it's actually (not-even-quite-yet) cold outside?  A great reason to start simmering away the goodies of Korean soups and stews.

Soft tofu stew (sundubu jjigae / soondooboo jjigae) has to be one of the most popular Korean stews out there.  It's so soft and warm that you feel like your body will melt away with each spoonful, but there is that peppery kick that will keep you awake until you're done with the whole pot.

Seafood seems to be the most popular kind of sundubu jjigae, but if you just happen to crave this at home, that warmth of soft tofu (순두부 - sun du bu) and that hearty, peppery kick of the broth, here is an easy version of sundubu jjigae.  Sundubu, seasoning mix and water are at the basis of this stew, and if you crack an egg on top, you'll really feel like you've achived a sundubu jjigae.

If you want to add more flavor and make it a proper sundubu jjigae, pick and choose your battle.  Enhance the broth with dried kelp, dried anchovies and/or dried shrimp, all of which are common quick stock ingredients in Korean soups and stews.  Add some zucchini slices, and a package of sundubu is now enough for 2 servings.  If you're really up for the all-out seafood sundubu jjigae, add in cleaned shellfish such as shrimp, clams and squid at the end and boil for another couple of minutes.  They cook very quickly and add more oceany depth to your sundubu jjigae.  

I've certainly done the easy version of sundubu jjigae and a packet of soft tofu was barely enough for myself.  Even at the most basic preparation of the stew, the seasoning with pepper flakes, garlic and fish sauce is what makes it sundubu jjigae, so don't skimp on it.

Below is a simple version of sundubu jjigae, full of flavors and soft warmth you recognize.  It's still easy to make with only a handful of ingredients, but a step up from the barebone version.

 

Yields: 2 Main Servings

INGREDIENTS:

Seasoning
1 1/2 T            Red pepper flakes (고추가루 - go chu ga ru) 
2 t                   Fish sauce
1 t                  Soy sauce
1 t                  Garlic, peeled and grated (about 2-3 cloves) 

Main Ingredients
1 C                  Water
2 pieces           Dried kelp, about the size of two fingers
1/2 C               Zucchini, quartered and cut to slices (about 1/2 of a zucchini)
1 package        Soft tofu (순두부 - sun du bu), cut to 4-5 big chunks
1                     Egg
1 stock            Scallion, trimmed and cut to thin slices

Optional
1                     Jalapeno pepper for extra heat, thinly sliced
1-2 ts               toasted sesame oil to finish off
a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix the seasoning ingredients - red pepper flakes, fish sauce, soy sauce and grated garlic - and set aside.

2. Bring up water and kelp to a boil.  Add the seasoning mix and zucchini to the pot and bring up to a boil.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add soft tofu carefully in the pot. Simmer until zucchini is soft, about 10 minutes.  Be careful not to agitate the pot which will break the tofu into crumbles.

4. Crack an egg into the middle of the pot.  (People usually associate only an egg yolk in the middle of sundubu jjigae (thus the picture above).  For your dinner at home, I don't believe it's that critical.  Feel free to crack in a whole egg.) 

5. Sprinkle scallion and pepper slices on top.  Let it simmer until the egg yolk is cooked to your preference (are you okay with almost raw or at least half-way through?).  Remove from heat.

6. If using, drizzle sesame oil and sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top before serving.

Enjoy!

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KOREAN WORDS
액젓        (aek jeot)                   fish sauce
해물        (hae mool/ hae mul)    seafood 

Maple Syrup Cake in Rice Cooker

I was happy to know the 'tricks' of 'baking' cakes in the rice cooker, especially over the summer.  The rice cooker contains heat to itself, much better than the oven which heats up my whole apartment (well, the season for the oven is coming up).  From gathering the ingredients to pressing the 'Start' button, it takes all of 30 minutes.  Not so surprisingly, the rice cooker has been my go-to kitchen appliance, from making rice to shikhye (식혜 - rice malt drink) to a variety of cakes.

This maple syrup cake can be served as a sweet breakfast item or a dessert that has all the moist, sweet bites.  The cake itself is already pretty sweet, but if you want to put it over the top, drizzle more maple syrup all over the cake.  If you happen to end up with a cake that's a bit bumpy, flaky and patchy because the rice cooker bowl wasn't properly greased or removing the cake from the rice cooker bowl just didn't go smoothly, I recommend the fix of 'make-chocolate-maple-syrup-and-strategically-drizzle-over-the-patchy-spots' as seen in the above picture.  

I have a giant rice cooker (for 10 servings), so the cake always comes out pretty flat for the recipes I create. If you have a rice cooker for 5-6 portions, you'll actually get a better height of the cake.  If the rice cooker is smaller than that, I recommend that you halve the recipe below.

INGREDIENTS)

4 eggs, whites and yolks separated
1/4 C sugar
1/3 C canola oil
1/3 C maple syrup (plus 1/4 C, if you want to make chocolate maple syrup to drizzle over)
1/4 t salt 

1/2 C pecans, toasted & chopped (or walnuts)
1/2 C chocolate

1 C all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder

DIRECTIONS)

Whisk egg whites until foamy.  Add sugar and whisk until the foamy egg white turns into glossy, smooth meringue with a soft-medium peak (i.e., the tip should gently fall when you lift the whisk from the meringue.)

Mix in egg yolks to the egg white foam to combine, followed by canola oil, maple syrup and salt.  Each ingredient should be completely mixed in before the next ingredient is introduced.

Mix in chopped pecans and chocolate chips. (Reserve 1/4 C of the mix for garnish or if you're making the chocolate maple syrup.)

Sift together flour and baking powder.  Add in to the batter and mix to combine completely.  Don't overmix.

Grease the rice cooker bowl by drizzling a couple of drops of oil then wiping the rice cooker bowl with a sheet of paper towel.

Add the batter to the rice cooker bowl.  Steam for 40 minutes or 'Cook' twice (i.e., press 'Cook' then when it's done, press 'Cook' again).  

When it's done, remove the rice cooker bowl and let it sit on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.  Then flip the rice cooker bowl carefully to remove the cake out on to the cooling rack.  Let it cool to room temperature.  

Feel free to garnish with chopped pecans and chocolate chips.  Pour maple syrup if you'd like.

Optional) To make chocolate-maple syrup, microwave the reserved 1/4 C of chocolate chip and nut mix for 30 seconds.  If you see the chocolate chips starting to melt, add 1/4 C of maple syrup and microwave for 10 seconds.  Carefully whisk the chocolate and maple syrup liquid to combine.  If you see bits of chocolate floating around, another 10 seconds in the microwave should take care of it.  When it's well combined, drizzle this warm, sweet, chocolate-y, maple-y syrup, first, targeting the patchy marks if you have any, then all over the cake.  Enjoy!

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KOREAN WORDS
밥        (bap)            cooked rice
통        (tong)           container
밥통     (bap tong)    rice cooker

Rockport, MA

I spent a long weekend in Boston back in July, just hanging out and vegging out for the most part.

The city is also close to many cute fishing towns along the coastline.  We made a day trip out to Rockport about an hour away (with summer weekend traffic) from Boston.  We stopped by Gloucestor nearby and walked around for a bit, then stayed in Rockport for the rest of the day.  Even on a hot summer Saturday, the town was not overly crowded.  After a fried clam sandwich and a giant serving of ice cream, we sat around here and there, admiring the views and soaking in the sun.  After a while, we walked around a little more, checking out knick-knacks in stores, but mostly making the best out of the stores' air conditioning.

Walking aimlessly and watching an endless pool of water in a small beach town were just what I needed.  It was a good day.

        

 

Fast forward to a couple of days ago...

I was wandering around in the land of YouTube (how does it know to recommend all different clips of Gangnam Style to me?) and eventually found my way to this song.  I can't stop playing it!  The original song was by TOY (a popular Korean singer) back in 2007, now remixed by Psy featuring Sung Si Kyung.  

What's important is that you'll have a party in your head with this song.  
All day long.

 

Have a great weekend!

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KOREAN WORDS
배       (bae)            boat, ship
배       (bae)            pear 

Summer 2012

Yes, I am aware that the summer was over a month ago.  But I also tend to be late in joining the party - mentally and physically.  Plus, I'm sitting on a pile of pictures I took over the summer and I figure some are worth sharing.  

Despite the unbearable humidity and heat, this past summer turned out to be a memorable one.  Here are some random tidbits from the summer.

 

My local farmers' market on the Upper West Side.  Every Sunday, there is chatting, singing, picking from what the season has to offer.  And composting!  If you're in New York City area, check your option of composting.  You can drop off food scraps at a Grow NYC stand in different farmers' market locations.

 

 

I had some uninvited guests staying with me for a while over the summer - which ultimately turned into a sad story.  One day I noticed that a pigeon was lingering for a few hours just outside of my window.  I only understood his/her full intention when I woke up the next morning and saw a complete nest set up and a pigeon sitting on an egg (which eventually became two).  

I didn't have a say on this one.  Yet, I found myself keep turning to watch the nest, although very carefully because the parents seemed always anxious about this random creature (that would be me) watching over their private nesting life.  The mama pigeon and papa pigeon were sitting guard on the eggs day and night taking turns.

As the eggs became baby pigeons who became bigger and bigger each day in the care of the watchful mama/papa pigeons, I also felt proud that they decided to build a nest on the other side of my windowsill.  My own Discovery Channel, I called it.  This is such a cozy place even the pigeons noticed and decided to make it their home.  And have you seen my pigeons?  They are the most beautiful birds of them all.

Then one day, the babies disappeared.  They were too little to get out of the nest by themselves.  I think it took a couple of days for the parent pigeons to realize the babies were gone.  I really saw this seriously confused look on their little birdy faces.  I have my guess on what had happened (crows ate them) but no evidence.  Oh I just hope that they don't think I had anything to do with the disappearance.

The mama and papa pigeons didn't stay in the nest after the babies were gone.  But they would come, stay for a while and cry their pigeon cries.  I remember even 2 weeks after the disppearance, they came and cried.  

So that's the gist about my summer guests. I don't want to indulge in the sadness of the whole situation, so I'll stop here.

 

   

I've never had a thing for sunflowers, until this one.

I spent most of my summer in Dekalb Market, Brooklyn.  It will always have a special place in my heart.  I've written enough about it already, so I won't bore you with it.

    

In addition to cooking at work, I've also made plenty at home.  First, many patbingsu (팥빙수), often just shaved ice, sweetened red beans and mini rice cakes, were eaten.  On one occasion, a sprinkle of green tea powder made it look fancier than usual.   

Tomatoes were made into a simple sauce for later days.  Tiny ones were also roasted with thyme and garlic and topped homemade flat breads.  They were also mixed in with pasta along with melted smoked mozzarella.  This summer was a season of tomatoes.

I made kimchi.  I really did.  I think I made kimchi at least 8 times over the last 2 months.  I'll probably make it a couple more times before my kimchi class in November.

I also started making tofu again.  Warm tofu with just the right amount of tangy, crunchy kimchi can make a light, yet satisfying meal.

More rice cooker cakes were attempted.  The oven was hardly used over the summer, but that doesn't mean I didn't get my fix on sweets.  They were all coming out of the rice cooker, some turned out great but some just didn't work with me.  Above is what could have been a 'very berry rice cooker cake,' but maybe I'll just give another try next summer.

 

This picture always makes me smile. At a City Harvest cooking class for kids.

I spent a day in Rockport while I was in Boston for a long weekend.  More pictures of this pretty town to come.

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KOREAN WORDS
여름    (yeo reum)    summer
가을    (ga eul)        autumn