Easy Cubed Radish Kimchi (Kaktugi) with Kimchi Based Sauces

Here is another options of Kimchi side dishes that everyone love. Juicy & crunchy Kaktugi (white radish) Kimchi . Kaktugi kimchi comes very handy for stew or soup. It is actually very easy to make. It can be served immediately after the mixing is done. You can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Ingredients (2-3 servings):
Pre- preparation:
400g Daikon / White radish (cleaned, skin peeled & cubed)
1tsp of salt
1tsp of sugar

Method:
1) Mix the Daikon, salt & sugar. Let it sit aside for 30mins.

2) Some water will be drained out after 30 mins & pour the water away.

Marinate Ingredients:
50g Chongga Touch of Spicy Kimchi based sauces (TOS)
3g of salt

Method:
1) Use clean plastic glove to mix the pre-prepared Daikon with the TOS Kimchi based sauces & salt.

2) Serve immediately & keep these in clean container in the fridge.
3) Decorate with some spring onion & sliced chili when serve.

Tips: Freshly made Kaktugi Kimchi is great as side dishes.
Tips: Aged Kaktugi Kimchi is great for stew & soup especially during cool weather.

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Korean Spicy Stir-Fry Pork Belly- Extreme Hot

This is a super "Hot" dish. It is seriously hot if you cook this with the 1 whole packet of the Spicy Stir-Fry(extreme hot) sauces. It is label with 5 chili!! Remember, wherever you see any "HOT" Korean sauces, do not empty the whole packet one shot in the 1st attempt, always add 1/4 packet instead, by doing this, you can adjust the additional sauces if you need more. We learn a lesson when we tried out this Korean Spicy Stir-Fry Pork Belly- Extreme Hot version.

This is a "Hot" dishes for people who enjoy super spicy food.

The ingredients

Ingredients (4 servings):
300g Pork Belly sliced (or Chicken)
1/2 ea Red Onion cut into wedges
1 stalk Spring Onion cut into 1 inches length
60g Red Bell Pepper
60g Green Bell Pepper
2 cloves Garlic sliced
3-5 slices Ginger
60ml of water (about 4 tbsp)
**Some Chongga Spicy Stir-Fry Hot Sauces (see Tips)
Salt to taste

Method:

1) Heat wok with 1 tbsp of any vegetable oil, brown ginger & garlic lightly.
2) Add in pork belly & continue to stir fry for about 2 mins.

3) Stir in Chongga Spicy Stir-Fry Sauces (see tips),bell pepper, onion,  & water.

4) Let it simmer for awhile until the meat cooked through & sauces thicken. Last in the spring onion.

5) Serve immediately with white rice.

We found another way to enjoy this spicy hot stir fry pork bell, enjoy with lettuce wrap.  Just wash the lettuce clean, drain the water & chilled it in the fridge.Yes, it was excellent.

Tips on adjustment the amount of Hot sauces:
1) Mild Hot - Use 1/4 packet, which is about 1.5 tbsp.
2) Medium Hot- Use 1/2 packet, which is about 3 tbsp.
3) Extreme Hot - Empty the whole packet, which is about 6 tbsp.

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Korean Fish Stew - Restaurant Grade (Gourmet Style)

My family is so into the Korean fish stew & other K-stuff; we decided to share this great food on my kid's birthday. We love having this Korean theme birthday dinner party. This is so super easy to prepare & presentable. Our guests confirmed this fish stew match their expectation compared to an authentic Korean restaurant.

To prepare this dish, you will take somewhat 10 - 15 minutes, and it serves 4-5 person. You will need the following ingredients,

a. 750 ml of water

b. 1 packet of Chongga Fish stew base

c. 200 gm of Kaktugi kimchi ( or white radish)

d. 5 - 6 slices of fresh mackerel (about 1 - 2 inch thick)

e. 2 stalk of green onion (or spring onion), cut into length of 2 inches

f. 1 onion (cut into wedges)

g. 100 gram of enoki or Bunashimeiji mushroom 

h. 1tsp Korean dried chili powder (if you love some extra spicy kick)

i. 1 box Chongga firm tofu (210g)

j. 100g Enoki mushroom or Buna-shimeiji mushroom

Salt to taste if needed

Method:

Just follow the steps on http://fabulouscake.blogspot.com/2014/08/korean-fish-stew-authentic-and-fast.html

Finally decorate with some sliced Chilis & green onion. 

We served this Korean fish stew with white rice, homemade Kimchi & homemade Kaktugi.

Stay tune on how to make the super easy homemade Kimchi & homemade Kaktugi with Kimchi based sauces.

The finished stuff!

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Korean Fish Stew - Authentic and Fast

Fancy some exotic and easy to prepare? - presenting Korean Fish Stew

When it comes to cold weather, nothing beats a warm spicy soup for winter (and a good sleep after the warm meal). To describe the flavor, it taste spicy, sweet and sourish, but what makes it matter is the ingredients that you put in.

To prepare this dish, it took me somewhat 10 - 15 minutes, and it serves 4. To serve this dish, you will need the following ingredients,

The ingredients

a. 750 ml of water

b. 1 packet of Chongga Fish stew base

c. 200 gm of Kaktugi kimchi (white radish Kimchi)

d. 4 - 6 slices of fresh mackerel (about 1 - 2 inch thick)

e. 2 stalk of green onion (or spring onion), cut into length of 2 inches

f. 1 onion, vertical cut (just like how you would cut an orange)

g. 100 gram of enoki mushroom (if you are using other mushroom, please cut into length size)

The steps are as follows

a. Boil 750 ml of water in a pot and empty the entire fish stew base and the Kaktugi Kimchi into the boiling water and stir well

b. Once the stew base boils, put in the mackerel into the stew and let it boil for 4 minutes over medium heat

c. Add in the green onion, mushroom, onion and let it cook for another 3 minutes over medium heat

e. Done! - that is approximately 10 minutes

Masterclass tips 1 - getting consistent results

a. Kaktugi Kimchi can be bought quite easily, we recommend Chongga brand because it is the number 1 brand in Korea, from our experience, it delivers very consistent quality, even if you can do it yourself, the quality will differ from batch to batch.

Masterclass tips 2 - delivering restaurant grade results.
a. If time is not an issue, get about 100 gm of watercress, Chongga Stew tofu (comes in a pack of 210gm), add the tofu with the fish, and add the watercress with the onions, it delivers restaurant grade result.

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Stir Fry Spaghetti with Kimchi and French Bean

If you are asking, what is stir fried spaghetti, the answer is simple, in Chinese cuisine, we stir fry practically everything, from rice, noodles, rice noodles, vermicelli and anything that is noodle like.

For me, the concept of frying spaghetti started some what in the mid 90s while I was living in London. The reality about frying spaghetti, it is more difficult to break, hence the texture maintains very well. Spaghetti accepts the taste and flavour of other ingredients pretty well.

Now, how did this fried spaghetti with Kimchi comes around? - practicality, spaghetti is a noodle with the best texture, Kimchi - high in flavor and you can kick out the flavoring and seasoning.

Okay here is the ingredients (This serves 2 adults heavy eater, or 2 adults light eater with 1 child)

Ingredients
a. 220 gm of spaghetti
b. 1 table spoonful of cooking oil
c. Onion, chopped - about the size of an egg
d. 100 gm of french bean, cut into 1 cm length
e. 150 gm of minced pork + marinade with 1 tablespoon full of Chinese soy sauce (please refer to masterclass tip 1)
f. 120 gm of kimchi - Chongga brand
g. 3 table spoonful of Kimchi sauce - Chongga brand


How it's done (it took me about 20 minutes to complete this for my wife and daughter)

a. Half fill in a wok pan with water and bring it to boil (I normally while waiting for the water to boil, will chop the onion, and prepare the kimchi)
b. On another pan, heat up the oil, and put in the chopped onion (once the onion begins to sizzle - it's hot enough)





c. Add in the pork, and stir fry till it's almost cooked entirely - be sure to stir it up, lest the mince meat will become meat balls

d. Add in the french bean and stir it well - then add the Kimchi (please refer to masterclass tip 2)

e. Add the spaghetti - By now, the spaghetti would have been near al dente (almost cooked)

f. Add in the Kimchi sauce - 3 table spoonful is what I term as just good, you may add more for more spiciness (but if you really need spiciness - add a chili, but this is not necessarily)








g. Stir it up! to be sure it's totally cooked - take a scoop!

h. Done!

Masterclass tips 1 - Soy sauce, more than meets the eye
a. Korean, Chinese and Japanese soy sauce have different aroma and taste, Chinese soy sauce is saltier, in many sense, it can be used to replace salt. Korean and Japanese soy sauce tends to be sweeter, works very well for dipping and stir fry.
b. For Chinese soy sauce, there are a few different type, thick and regular, the thick soy sauce in general is good for caramelising and marinating (for stew based ingredients)

Masterclass tips 2 - Keep the nutrition, especially when cooking for the family
Why fry the Kimchi towards the end? - easy, Kimchi is one of the healthiest food as voted by Men's health magazine, it is packed with beneficial amino acids and enzymes, prolonged cooking in general diminishes the nutrition quality, hence, adding the Kimchi towards the end of cooking is a good way to maintain the nutrition.

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Spicy Kimchi Omelette with Bacon Sandwich

A nice breakfast is only 10 minutes away, and uses 4 ingredients (minus the bread). I did this on a Tuesday morning at about 6:30 am because my daughter wanted a heavy breakfast in anticipation of a long day.

For this super easy breakfast (serves 3), you will need the followings

a. 3 eggs
b. 1 small onion (somewhat bigger than an egg)
c. 3 tablespoon full of Kimchi Sauce
d. 3 slices of bacon

The method is as follows

a. Sliced up the onion, horizontal cut
b. Break the eggs, and mix the onion and the kimchi sauce (just as in the pic)

c. Heat up the pan, fry up the mix

d. Done! (less than 10 minutes)

Serving method

a. On the bread (preferably toasted), spread a layer of butter
b. Lay the bacon
c. Lay the ommelete (cut into sandwich size)
d. Ready to eat!

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Kimchi Fried Rice - Simple and Easy ( 10 minutes approach)

Just tell me, who would not like something nice that can be prepared quickly and easily?. Especially we live in a fast paced world with children and career to juggle. The idea is simple, simple ingredients, simple steps and voila! Without much delay here is the 10 minutes approach!

Here is the result!

Okay here are the ingredients!(serves 4) - as you can see it requires very simple ingredients.

1 - 4 cups of cooked rice (yields roughly 650 gm cooked rice)
2 - 1 table spoon of cooking oil
3 - Pork Belly - 200gm (for Kosher concerned readers, you may use de-boned chicken thigh)
4 - 250 gram of Kimchi (we recommend Chongga Kimchi - the no.1 Korea brand - it makes a difference)
5 - 4 cloves of garlic
6 - 2 stalk of green onion (or spring onion)
7 - 2 tbsp of Chongga Kimchi Sauce (I call it a TOS - touch of spiciness, add more if you want it spicier)
8 - 1 tsp of sesame oil

Here are the steps:

1 - Chop up the spring onion, garlic, Kimchi, pork belly (sliced).

2 - Heat up the wok, add the cooking oil and a pinch of salt (a very small pinch)
3 - Add in the garlic, stir fry to light brown (tips - the edge start to turn brown)

4 - Add in the pork belly, stir fry to cook (tips - the color of the meat turned white)

5 - Add in the rice then Kimchi, stir fry till it's mixed up well

6 - Add in the Chongga Kimchi Sauce and sesame oil, stir fry till it's mixed up well
7 - Lastly add in the spring onion

By the time you are done!

Masterclass tips 1
Traditional kimchi fried rice normally will fry the Kimchi first, in contrast to our method of frying the kimchi last. Why is that so?, we prefer to retain the crunchiness of of the Kimchi in the fried rice, whereby if we fry the Kimchi first, it will become too soft and blended with the rice (some likes it that way).

Master classs tip 2 and 3
Chongga brand of Kimchi is the no 1 selling brand in Korea, it is very difficult to go wrong unless you are very capable of distinguishing different grade of Kimchi. For situation where you will need to chop things up, choose "Poggi" Kimchi which is whole kimchi, it tends to be juicier and you can chop it into the size that you need.

The Kimchi sauce (we call it TOS - taste of spiciness) is another brilliant product from the boys from Chongga, it allows the fried rice to acquire a distinctive taste of Korean kimchi without using a large quantity of Kimchi, normal recipe will require approx 500gm of Kimchi, it's not about skimping on Kimchi (I love kimchi btw), it's about making space for other ingredients, e.g. more pork belly, fish cakes, eggs and the list goes on.

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