s h i n s h i n e

Homemade Pepero/Pocky - Chocolate Dipped Breadsticks

Korean Pepero or Japanese Pocky sticks are chocolate-covered thin cookie sticks that can be easily made at home, especially if you use store-bought breadsticks. The only part you have to worry about is dipping breadsticks in melted chocolate and rolling in... whatever you want. The end results are giant (relatively speaking), elaborate Pepero sticks that disappear in no time. 

This is rather a how-to guide with a few tips and ideas rather than an exact recipe. Depending on the breadsticks used and types of sprinkles, varied amounts of ingredients will be required. However, as you can see from the picture above, only a couple of ingredients are all you need for this simple version of homemade Pepero.

I dipped some in semi-sweet chocolate and rolled them in chocolate sprinkles. I also rolled white chocolate-covered breadsticks in crushed almond slices and coconut flakes. It is trickier to work with white chocolate because it is thicker and hardens faster when it's melted, so I had to spread white chocolate on breadsticks with a pastry spatula (rather than dipping). It also means you may have to reheat white chocolate a couple of times in the middle of the project. While it is more cumbersome to use white chocolate, it certainly takes on different colors better. Stir in a tiny spoonful green tea powder for a green color base to roll in any sprinkles or leave it as is.

Different sprinkles on the chocolate-covered breadsticks make these homemade Pepero look and taste fancy, but they also hide the untempered look of chocolate which can appear dull.  It's a great feeling when I find shortcuts to cover up my laziness but end up with giant Pepero sticks donned with all kinds of sprinkles.

For those of you who are not familiar, November 11th is known as Pepero Day in Korea. Do you see a similarity in the shape of Pepero and 11/11? Exchanging a variety of Pepero on this highly commercialized non-holiday has become very popular. Maybe I should've waited until November for this post, but why wait when there is another highly commercialized chocolate non-holiday right around the corner? We can enjoy homemade Pepero all year round starting now.

HOMEMADE PEPERO/POCKY
Yield - 40 sticks

INGREDIENTS:
20 plain, thin breadsticks (half of a packet)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chocolate sprinkles
1 cup white chocolate sprinkles
Other sprinkles of your choice such as fine coconut flakes and chopped almond slices

DIRECTION:
1. Cut breadsticks in half, preferably with a serrated knife. I cut them in half so that they are about 6-inch in length.

2. Fill a small saucepan with water 1/3 way up.  Heat water over low heat and when water comes to steaming hot, place a metal bowl filled with chocolate chips on top of the saucepan. Let chocolate melt a little, then stir often with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula to incorporate. Make sure no water touches the metal bowl or chocolate.

3. Once chocolate is melted, bring the setup with melted chocolate in the bowl over the saucepan to your workstation. This will keep the melted chocolate warmer longer. Dip the cut-end of a breadstick in chocolate, gently shake off excess chocolate and roll in sprinkles of your choice. Rest on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the breadsticks. If chocolate hardens, heat it on the stove again just until chocolate starts to melt. Stir to incorporate with a rubber spatula and go back to 'dipping and rolling.'

4. Once the chocolate is set, store in an airtight container.

! TIPS !
! Feel free to substitute semi-sweet chocolate with white chocolate and use a pastry spatula to spread melted chocolate on breadsticks.
! Mix in a small amount of green tea powder (start from 1/4 teaspoon of powder for 1 cup of white chocolate). It infuses a hint of green tea flavor, but it's mostly for the color.

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KOREAN WORDS
사랑    (sa rang)    love
사람    (sa ram)     a person, a human being

Simple Dongchimi (동치미), Winter Radish Kimchi

Colorful dongchimi (동치미) for children

Last Saturday, the Korea Society hosted its annual family day with the theme of Seollal, the Korean New Year's Day. Kids played traditional games, made lanterns and learned how to do a proper bow for the elders on the New Year's Day. This year, I joined in on the fun and led jumeokbap (주먹밥) workshops throughout the day for kids and adults.

I also prepared dongchimi (동치미), winter radish kimchi, to go along with rice balls. It is often a mild, broth-based kimchi with tart, crunchy radish sticks. You can add a couple of hot peppers to infuse spicy heat to dongchimi. Traditionally, Korean Mu (무) radishes, some as big as your forearm, are fermented in whole with other ingredients in a big earthenware pot buried underground.

But of course, I don't have any yard or even a space in the fridge to ferment a few whole Korean Mu or patience to let them ferment in whole. So I make a simple version of dongchimi that starts fermenting within a day or two and can be stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks. Korean Mu is in season from late fall, and this is the time to make it. It is a popular ingredient in the wintertime for various uses from stews to salads, as well as its quality of facilitating digestion. 

For the Korea Society's event, I made a special version for children. I cut the radish to cubes so that it's easier to eat in one bite. I also cut carrots to thin, small rounds and punched out flower shapes from red and yellow bell peppers using vegetable cutters. With just a few more ingredients, it became pretty and colorful dongchimi that's easy for kids to try. Leftover bell pepper pieces were finely chopped and used to mix in rice for rice balls.

The pictures and the recipe below show a mix of my regular version and adjustments for kids. Fear not, it tastes like dongchimi all the same, but you'll find more colors and smaller bites in dongchimi for kids.

Simple Dongchimi (동치미), Winter Radish Kimchi
Yield - about 2 quarts or 8 cups

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups water, filtered
1/4 cup coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 Korean Mu radish, about 2 lbs.
2 scallions, trimmed
8 cloves garlic, peeled
1 piece ginger, about the size of 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1/2 onion, medium-sized, sliced
1/2 Asian pear, medium-sized, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 apple (any sweet apple such as Gala or Fuji), medium-sized, peeled and sliced

Optional)
2~3 bell peppers of different colors to add color to white dongchimi
1~2 skinny carrots to add color
1~2 tablespoons coarse sea salt for bell peppers and carrots
1~2 red peppers (such as red Fresno pepper), sliced thinly with seeds to add spicy heat

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring water, 2 tablespoons of coarse sea salt, and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate to chill the water.

2. Place scallion, garlic, ginger, onion, Asian pear, apple and red pepper, if using, on the bottom of a deep container.

3. Peel and cut the mu radish to 2-inch sticks (or cubes for children). Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of coarse sea salt on radish sticks and mix well. Let rest until the outer layer of the radish sticks have softened slightly and liquid is released, about 15 minutes to 30 minutes. Wash off any remaining salt from the radish in cold water, about 3 times until there is no slimy feel to touch. Gently squeeze out excess water and add the radish to the container from Step 2.

4. If using, remove and discard the seeds and white membranes from bell peppers. Cut bell peppers to bite size or punch out different shapes with vegetable cutters such as this. Go through the same salting process for bell peppers and add to the container. Leftover bell peppers after cutting out shapes can be chopped and used for colorful rice balls.

5. Pour the chilled salt water over the ingredients. Water should be enough to immerse the ingredients. If necessary, cut out a piece of parchment paper and press it down with a plate to keep the ingredients under water.

6. Close the container with a lid or plastic wrap. Leave it out at room temperature for a day or two until bubbles form on the surface and the liquid has developed its sweet, tangy flavor.

7. Transfer dongchimi into a jar with a lid or an air-tight container. It keeps for about a month stored in the refrigerator.

8. Optional) If you want to mimic thin, crushed ice that comes with dongchimi that's stored underground in an earthenware pot, keep a cup of dongchimi broth in a shallow container or a bowl in the freezer. When thin ice starts to form after about an hour, scrape with a fork. From there, scrape with a fork every 30 minutes and put it back in the freezer until serving.

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KOREAN WORDS
진실    (jin sil)    truth
사실    (sa sil)    fact

Layer Cake with Nutella Mousse Frosting

Yes, I made the sponge cake in the rice cooker as usual for the latest iteration of my Nutella dessert evolution. You can make it look and taste slightly different depending on how you use the optional garnishes listed below. Whether you choose to drizzle rum over to keep the cake moist with a hint of boozy bite, put a few whole hazelnuts on top or chop them up to garnish the cake, you'll love the Nutella mousse frosting as thick as the cake layers and all around the cake.

Since I've covered making cakes in the rice cooker a few times before, check out my other rice cooker cake posts (Triple Lemon Cake, Sweet Potato Cake) for more detailed steps along with pictures on how to make a sponge cake in the rice cooker. The whole cake can be made a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator. If you want to break up the project, sponge cake and Nutella frosting can be made a day ahead (even cut and drizzle rum on each layer), covered in plastic and kept in the refrigerator. Then assemble the cake the next day at your leisure. While the cake should be kept refrigerated, it tastes better when it's been out at room temperature for a few minutes. The cake softens and the mousse layers that were kept in shape from gelatin also softens, which makes this whole cake just a sweet hazelnut happiness, regardless of how you decorate the cake.

Layer Cake with Nutella Mousse Frosting
(7-inch in diameter)

INGREDIENTS:
Basic Sponge Cake in Rice Cooker
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, whites and yolks separated
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup plus a few drops neutral-tasting cooking oil (such as sunflower seed or canola oil)

Nutella Mousse Frosting
adapted from Martha Stewart's Chocolate Hazelnut Filling
1 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4 oz. packet)
2 tablespoons cold water
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Nutella

Optional)
1/4 cup rum
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1~2 teaspoons cocoa powder

DIRECTIONS:
Basic Sponge Cake in Rice Cooker
See other rice cooker cake posts for more step-by-step pictures (Triple Lemon Cake, Sweet Potato Cake) 

1. In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, add egg whites and whisk until foamy. Add half of sugar and keep whisking until the foam starts to become fluffy and glossy. Add the rest of the sugar and whisk until the foam gets slightly stiff, glossy and its tip falls gently when you lift the whisk. This is called egg meringue with a medium peak.

3. Add egg yolks to the meringue and gently whisk to mix in completely. Add in vanilla extract and oil and whisk to completely incorporate it into the meringue.

4. Grease the inside of the rice cooker bowl with oil. Pour the batter in the bowl and tap the sides to remove big bubbles in the matter. 'Steam' for 40 minutes or 'Cook' twice (meaning, after it switches from 'Cook' to 'Warm,' press 'Cook' again). In case you have a 'Cake' setting in your rice cooker, follow the direction for the cake setting.

5. Transfer the rice cooker bowl to a rack and cool for 5 minutes. Carefully turn the rice cooker bowl upside down and place the cake on the rack to cool to room temperature. 

6. Place a plate on the cake, which will determine the size of the cake (in this case, 7-inch in diameter), and cut out a cake base using a serrated knife. Cut the cake into 3 layers and cool on the rack.

7. Drizzle each layer with rum if using. If you are making the cake ahead, wrap in plastic and store in the refrigerator.

Nutella Mousse Frosting
1. In a small sauce pot, add 2 tablespoons of cold water. Sprinkle gelatin and let it sit for 5 minutes to bloom.

2. Bring it to warm over low heat, just until gelatin powder has been dissolved. Turn off heat and let it rest.

3. Whisk heavy cream until foamy. Add sugar and keep whisking to a soft-peak consistency. Don't over-whip.

4. Drizzle the gelatin liquid all at once to the whipped cream and whisk to incorporate. If the gelatin liquid is stiffened, warm it just until it gets loose again before adding to the whipped cream.

5. Take 1/2 cup of whipped cream and mix in completely with Nutella. Then gently fold all of the Nutella-whipped cream mixture into the whipped cream with a wooden spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until needed.

Assembly
1. Dot the center of the cake stand with Nutella whipped cream. Place a layer of the cake in the center of the cake stand. Place 4 strips of parchment around the cake that can be used for catching excess decoration and be pulled out later.

2. Spread 1/4 of Nutella whipped cream with a cake spatula. Place another layer and spread another 1/4 of Nutella whipped cream. Place the last layer on top and use the remaining whipped cream to spread on top and on the sides. It's easier to spread whipped cream from the top down to the sides.

3. Decorate the cake however you want to. I sprinkled chopped hazelnuts and dusted with cocoa powder.

4. Gently pull out the parchment paper strips. It is better to wait a few hours to overnight before tasting if you can wait. Store the cake in the refrigerator, loosely covered with plastic wrap.

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KOREAN WORDS
오리    (oh ri)    duck
소리    (so ri)    sound

Spicy Chicken Stew (매운 찜닭 mae un jjim dalk)

I keep going back to this dish during the wintertime. What could be better than a big pot full of falling-off-the-bone tender chicken meat, along with soft bites of sweet potatoes, cabbages and carrots? Don't forget the soft-chewy rice cakes and sweet potato glass noodles! You can't go wrong with the oh-so-hearty gochujang marinade either.

Even after making it so many times, I still get excited about this dish every time. It's an easy crowd pleaser that you can make ahead. Even if you are not hosting a dinner party, make the recipe with a whole chicken.  You will want to have this for a few dinners during the week.

Often a Korean recipe written in Korean starts with making the base stock or broth. One of the reasons for it is that making stock is usually not an all day process in home kitchens. Throw in the bones, a few basic vegetables you find with a big pot full of water for an hour or two while you prepare the rest of the recipe, and there you have your quick stock. This is enough for the stew and an extra quart or so for another dish in the future. I am a big fan of making use of a whole chicken, but if you don't want to get into it yet, buy a mix of dark meat and breast meat along with chicken stock.

Once I put together everything for chicken stew, I take slight variations from there. Sometimes I add sticky rice cakes and sweet potato noodles (당면 dangmyeon, mainly used for making japchae, sautéed glass noodles with vegetables) and the stew serves as a complete meal. Sometimes I pick a few pieces of chicken and vegetables, add handmade quick noodles to the stew with a bit more broth, which becomes a one big happy pot of bubbling spicy noodle stew (picture at the bottom). Sometimes I add chopped kimchi in the remaining broth at the end along with rice and nori (김 gim) flakes and sesame seeds, which becomes a tart, homey ending to a meal. Depending on which direction I take, I add or eliminate sticky rice cakes and/or sweet potato noodles. 

If you want to make this chicken stew, enjoy it as your dinner along with egg-tofu custard, radish salad, kimchi rice and lemon soju, and take some home for your weekend without the hassle of grocery shopping, I'm holding a class in March at Haven's Kitchen. I'll be there to guide you along the way! For more information and registration, go to my class page or visit Haven's Kitchen website.

SPICY CHICKEN STEW (매운 찜닭 maeum jjimdalk)
Yield - 4 Main Servings

INGREDIENTS:
Quick Chicken Stock
1 Chicken carcass and other bone parts
8 cups Water
1 Onion, peeled and cut to chunks
5 cloves Garlic
1 piece Ginger, size of 5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly
2 teaspoons Black peppercorns
Also other vegetables as available (carrots, celery stalks, bay leaf, etc.)

Chicken Marinade
1/4 cup Gochujang ( Korean red pepper paste)
2 tablespoons Dwenjang ( Korean fermented bean paste)
2 tablespoons Toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons Grated garlic (about 5 cloves)
1 tablespoon Ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
1 tablespoon Gochu garu ( Korean red pepper flakes)
1 teaspoon Sugar

Chicken Stew
1 Whole chicken (about 3-4 lbs.)
4 oz. Dried sweet potato starch noodles (당면 dang myeon)
3~4 cups Chicken stock (from above)
2 cups Cabbage, cut to chunks (about 1/4 of a head)
1~2 Japanese sweet potatoes, medium-sized, peeled and cut to chunks
1~2 Russet potato, medium sized, peeled and cut to chunks
1~2 Carrots, peeled and cut to chunks
2 Scallions, trimmed and cut to thin slices
2 teaspoons Toasted sesame seeds, crushed
Optional) 1/2 cup ~ 1 cup Sticky rice cakes, soaked in cold water if frozen

DIRECTIONS:
1. Make the marinade by combining gochujang, dwenjang, sesame oil, grated garlic, grated ginger, soy sauce, gochu garu and sugar. Set aside.

2. Remove skin and break down a chicken to 8 pieces (2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings and 2 breasts). Cut the breast meat to chunks. Mix half of the marinade in the chicken in a bowl. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes to an hour. You can also leave the marinated chicken overnight in the refrigerator.

3. After the chicken breakdown, make quick chicken stock by adding the chicken carcass in a pot with water, onion, garlic, ginger and whole peppercorns. Bring up to a boil then simmer for 1~2 hours. Check once in a while and skim off foam and fat that rise to the top.

4. In a separate pot, add marinated chicken and 2 cups of chicken stock. Boil over medium heat for an hour, until meat is very tender, almost falling off the bones.

5. In the meantime, soak dried sweet potato starch noodles (당면 dang myeon) in 1 cup of chicken stock until soft.

6. Once the chicken is completely cooked, add cabbage, Japanese sweet potato, potato, carrot chunks and onion slices along with the remaining spicy marinade to teh pot. Bring it up to a boil and cook until all vegetables are completely soft.

7. Add soaked sweet potato starch noodles in the pot. Add sticky rice cakes if using. Boil until the noodles are completely cooked, soft and chewy. Add another cup of chicken stock to adjust the stew consistency if desired. Remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Sprinkle scallion slices and sesame seeds for garnish. Serve hot. 

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Hotteok (호떡 Pancake with Cinnamon Peanut Syrup Filling)

Happy New Year!

I'm starting the new year on a sweet note. This all-time favorite street food of Korea is actually pretty easy to make at home if you'd allow yourself time and patience. This is the basic, common hotteok that I've tasted growing up when there was only one sweet hotteok variety (or that's what I remember at least).

Sweet rice flour makes it a little soft chewy-sticky, the texture I can't resist, but feel free to use only all-purpose flour for the dough to make it a little fluffier. Mixing in honey keeps the filling together as well as helps sugar melt a little faster while cooking. As usual for any pan-frying, it takes a hot skillet with enough oil at all times. Try the recipe as is or feel free to come up with your own filling (hint - japchae makes a great savory filling. Find my japchae recipe here). Either way, you will have fun making and eating them!

HOTTEOK - PANCAKE WITH CINNAMON PEANUT SYRUP FILLING
Yield - 8 pancakes

INGREDIENTS:
Dough
1 packet (7g) Instant active dry yeast
3/4 cup Lukewarm water

1 1/4 cup or more All-purpose flour
1/2 cup Sweet rice flour (Mochiko or Bob's Red Mill sweet white rice flour)
2 tablespoons Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon plus more Neutral-tasting cooking oil, such as canola or sunflower seed oil

Cinnamon & peanut syrup filling
1/4 cup Turbinado raw cane sugar or brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon powder
1 tablespoon Toasted sesame seeds, crushed
1 tablespoon Honey
1/4 cup Toasted peanuts, chopped roughly

DIRECTIONS:
1. Stir dry yeast in lukewarm water. Break down lumps and set aside until you see a few bubbles. Pour the yeast water into a bowl with all-purpose flour, sweet rice flour, sugar and salt. Mix to incorporate everything completely with your hand until you can form a dough. The dough is pretty wet and sticks to your fingers, but not wet enough to be runny. Adjust consistency with all-purpose flour as necessary.

2. Add oil to the dough and mix until oil is absorbed, about 5 minutes. By now it should be a little shiny and smooth. Cover with plastic and let it rest in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 30 minutes to an hour. During this cold season, I keep it next to a heater and it's ready in 15~20 minutes.

3. While you wait for the dough to rise, prepare the filling by mixing sugar, cinnamon powder, sesame seeds and honey completely.  Mix in peanuts to incorporate.

4. Keep a spoonful of oil nearby to dip your fingers whenever the dough starts to stick to your hands. Punch down the dough to remove gas and bring together to shape it like a ball.  Divide the dough in half, cut another half from each piece and then another half from each piece, creating 8 equal-sized pieces. Keep them covered with plastic wrap.

5. Drizzle oil to coat a heated skillet over medium heat. Take a piece of the dough and press down to a round on your palm. Place about 1~2 tablespoons of the filling in the middle. Pull up the edges and seal the dough with your fingers.

6. Reduce heat to low. Carefully put the dough ball with its sealed side down on the heated skillet. Press down with a greased spatula to form a flat round. When the edges turn translucent, check the bottom. When the bottom is golden brown, flip to the other side and press down lightly. When both sides are golden brown, transfer to a plate and cool for 5 minutes since the sugar filling can be very hot right off of the skillet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

7. This is my own solution for any leftover filling, if you happen to have some. Mix the filling with a few drops of water.  After you cook all the pancakes, melt the syrup on the skillet over low heat. Add a few more drops of water as necessary to adjust consistency. Pour it over the pancakes or serve it separately as a dipping sauce.

If you have any leftover hotteok, cool it down to room temperature, put it in a ziploc bag and store in the freezer. You can reheat it on the stove or in a microwave when you crave hotteok next time!

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KOREAN WORDS
새해    (sae hae)    new year
올해    (ol hae)       this year