Sunday, 12 February 2012

  • Korean Street Food

    Haha I suck! I'm sorry I haven't updated in what...a year? Anyways here's some tasty shots of Seoul street food for you.

    Nestled under the subway tracks near Chang-Dong station in the northernmost part of Seoul, we found a big row of tents with amazing smells wafting from the roof flaps. I've had some of the best food in Korea at these cozy establishments. It's amazing what they can whip up in such a tiny kitchen.



    Pajeon 파전 - Korean Pancake

    This is one of my favourite things to eat here. It's made with flour batter, eggs, and green onions/scallions, served with a mixture of soy sauce & vinegar for dipping. The basic type of this dish consists of just scallions along with flour and eggs but endless variation of this dish can exists by simply adding other ingredients such as seafood, kimchi, or vegetables.



    Gyeran Jjim 계란찜 - Silky Egg Custard

    This is quite similar to the Chinese egg custard I like to make but this is much lighter. It's like you're eating a cloud. A delicious eggy cloud. Mmmhmmmmmm! 



    Kimchi Jigae 김치찌개 - Kimchi Soup
    Tofu, kimchi, very spicy just the way I like it. Korea is all about their soup (jigae). Every single work lunch I've had will come with soup without fail.


    A fried pork dish. Sorry I can't remember the name of it. It's served with sweet mustard. You also get thinly sliced pickled radish to wrap the pork with.
     

    I've been living as an expat here in Seoul for a year now and I renewed my contract to stay another year recently. Life here is always busy and lots of fun although it's not always kittens and rainbows. Parts if this year have been extremely difficult but in the end I'm much happier here than I would be back in Toronto. In a few days I leave for a scuba trip to Malaysia. It will be good to take another break from this homogeneous society that exists in Seoul. See you soon! 

Sunday, 08 May 2011

  • French Pastry Class

    Before I left for Korea my sister and I went to a pastry class led by the head pastry chef from the Four Seasons in Toronto. He gave us a lot of tips and tricks but it was really more of an eating class than a cooking class. I was in a gluttonous chocolate heaven.

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    Making tuille

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    A sinfully divine german chocolate mousse cake.

     

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    This brownie had whipped egg whites folded in to give it a light and fluffy texture. I'm not sure if I can go back to eating regular brownies now.

     

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    Finally the pièce de resistance. These profiteroles were filled with a chocoate mousse and then dipped in a chocolate ganache. This was probably one of the tastiest things I've ever put in my mouth (insert dirty joke here).

     

    Sorry I can't give you the recipes because they all belong to him. Enjoy with your eyes! x 

Thursday, 07 April 2011

  • Kimbap


    Hello my loyal visitors. Apologies for my absence but I have a good excuse. I've moved to SEOUL!!! I've been here for 7 weeks and I'm completely in love with Korea. I'm still in the honeymoon stage and these fuzzy feelings will diminish soon but for now... everything is still fresh and exciting.

    Here's a simple recipe for kimbap. For those of you who haven't tried it yet, it's pretty much korean sushi.

    Ingredients:
    • 4 sheets of nori (dried seaweed)
    • 2 cups cooked rice
    • 2 tsp sesame oil
    • 2 tsp salt
    • a cucumber cut into long strips
    • imitation crab cut into long strips
    • ham cut into long strips
    • pickled radish cut into long strips


    You can play around with the ingredients. Be creative and experiment.



    Directions:
    • When rice is almost cooled, mix with sesame oil and salt.
    • Using a bamboo sushi roller lay the dried seaweed shiny side down.
    • Spread 1/2  cup of rice onto 2/3 of the seaweed leaving the top 1/3 bare.
    • When spreading the rice onto the seaweed, make sure your hands are wet so they don't turn into a sticky mess.
    • Lay the first ingredient down around 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the nori.
    • Lay the other fillings on top.
    • Roll from the bottom like you're rolling a sleeping bag.
    • Compress the roll to make the fillings stay in.
    • Moisten the top of the nori to hold the roll together.
    • Cut each roll into 7-8 pieces.


    Enjoy!



    (I also boiled some quail eggs and ate them with a sprinkle of salt and cayenne pepper. Delicious.)


Tuesday, 15 February 2011

  • Valentine's Day Dinner

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    This year marked the first Valentine's Day in 5 years that I've been single. It wasn't so bad at all. What did I do? I catered for a couple and punctured my thumb while trying to cut open a lobster! It was worth it though since they loved it.

     

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    Broiled Lobster Tails with Clarified Butter

     

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    Shrimp Fettucini Alfredo

     

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    NY Strip Steak with Sautéed Vegetables and Blue Cheese Butter

     

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    French Vanilla Mousse

     

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    Almond Truffles (especially fun to make)

     

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    Cocoa Peanut Truffles

     

    I'm too tired to write out the recipes. I'll type them out later. *YAWN*

    Happy Valentine's Day!

Thursday, 10 February 2011

  • Avocado and Cheese Omelettes

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    Life has been busy! It's rare that I get to make a nutritious and filling breakfast. Usually I'll grab a granola bar and run out the door. Weekends are made for lazy brunches in silk pj's. Here's a simple recipe I love to whip up and then nurse a cup of steaming earl gray with the arts&entertainment section.
     
    Ingredients:
     
    2 large eggs
    1/2 avocado
    salt and pepper
    olive oil
    2 tbsp parmesan
    handful of cheese of your choice (I used cheddar and mozzarella)
     
    Directions:
     
    -Beat eggs and parmesan together in a large bowl
    -Heat and grease a non-stick pan with olive oil then pour in the eggs.
    -Slice the avocado thinly into long fingers and add both the avocado and cheese to the eggs
    -Put under a hot grill/broiler for 1 minute until the cheese melts, then fold the omelette in half and tip onto a warmed plate.
    -You could get fancy and add bacon and tomatoes. I like to add hot sauce and whatever yummy things I can find in the fridge.
     

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    My tea and biscuit heaven. Mmm mmm good. Has anyone tried these yoku moku butter cookies from Japan? They are ridiculously priced but light and rich at the same time.