Ttukbaegi-gyeran-jjim

by Pamela Pyke, Chosun 3rd Dan instructor

    Cooking in a Ttukbaegi is great fun. Ttukbaegi are the beautiful brown glazed bowls that so many soups, stews and bibimbap come in. One of my favorite dishes to make in my ttukbaegi is Gyeran-jjim, steamed eggs.

    Just imagine the most fluffy and bubbly scrambled eggs you’ve ever had.  This dish is so easy to make. Set your Ttukbaegi over a medium high flame and add either a chicken, vegetable, or  anchovy kelp broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Beat your eggs with chopped scallion and a touch of fish sauce. Lower the heat and stir in your eggs. Cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes. Lift off the lid to reveal this yummy delight! Drizzle on some sesame oil and you are set. Traditionally you would serve this with rice and Gim(toasted seaweed).

    One morning I woke with a deep yearning for this dish. I got everything ready and then realized I did not have any sesame oil. As far as I’m concerned I cannot eat Gyeran-jjim without this last little touch. I’m a little out of my mind and absolutely refuse to spend $5-$6 dollars on a measly 4 oz. bottle of sesame oil from the Shop Rite, so off I go to Woo Ri, my favorite Korean market. It’s only an hour drive down to Northvale, N.J. where I can get a ½ gallon can of sesame oil for $15.00 and be back by ten am!! It was the best Gyeran-jjim I ever ate! So worth the effort.

I’ll write about Woo Ri next month, but this is where you can buy a ttukbaegi in all different sizes.

Remember if you really want to take the leap in preparing Korean cuisine get yourself a copy of Maangchi’s Real Korean Cooking and all her recipes are executed on her You Tube page.

Haengbog meogneum!!

Mrs. Pyke

When it comes to researching Korean cuisine I follow two amazing Korean women who have shared their love of good home cooked Hansik (Korean food). Go to You Tube and check outmaangchi.com and omma's kitchen.com

We would love to hear from you... send comments or questions to chosuntkd@yahoo.com

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Ginseng Chicken

By Pamela Pyke, Chosun Taekwondo Academy 3rd Dan Instructor

     During the hot summer months of July and August Koreans fight fire with fire!You would think you would eat Ginseng Chicken (Samgyetang) on a cold wintry night, but not in Korea! Ginseng Chicken is served at the height of summer. Long lines are seen outside the Ginseng Chicken restaurants as patrons wait to sweat away the heat of the summer. The idea behind this is if you sweat bullets as you eat this amazing meal you will cool down. This is

considered a very therapeutic experience.

     A beautiful Cornish hen is stuffed with short grain rice, garlic, jube-jube (date), ginseng root and lowered into a pot of boiling water. This simmers away for about an hour. Each are served a stone pot with your own chicken. Break open the super tender chicken to reveal the sticky rice, garlic, jube-jube and ginseng root. The chicken and broth is seasoned at the table with salt and pepper. The broth is heavenly. Eating the now tender ginseng root revitalizes your entire being. On our last trip in 2014 the game was to see who could empty their stone pot completely. Cheers would abound as each person displayed their empty bowl!

     This meal is easily enjoyed by Americans because it is quite mild compared to some of the more exotic flavors we experience in Korea. I have made this at home and was thrilled with the results. As my chicken simmered I added sliced ginger to the broth to kick up the flavor. So easy and super yummy!

     Not all soups are served hot during the summer in Korea. Mul-naengmyeon is a soup that is served icy cold. We experienced a bowl of this at lunch with Master Ahn. A sweet and tangy icy broth served with chewy buckwheat noodles, radish and beef brisket. It was so unusual! I thought I was drinking a salad!

     Please consider experiencing these amazing soups with us on our tour in 2016. An adventure awaits your palate and your Taekwondo practice.

Haengbog meogneum

Happy Eating!

Pam Pyke

When it comes to researching Korean cuisine I follow two amazing Korean women who have shared their love of good home cooked Hansik (Korean food). Go to You Tube and check out maangchi.com and omma's kitchen.com