Category Archives: Side Dishes (Banchan)

Fresh Napa Cabbage Kimchi Salad (Baechu Geotjeori)

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Sue • 14 Comments

Fresh Napa Cabbage Kimchi Salad

I’ve been buying 2kg of Kimchi from a Korean grocery store. That usually lasts us for about one month. Now that I’m back to food blogging again, I thought I “ought to” make Kimchi myself instead of buying it. With homemade Kimchi, you get to taste it when it’s most fresh which is a great deal for my husband as he loves eating fresh Kimchi (1-2 days old). I reckon he can eat 1 cup worth of fresh Kimchi on the spot. So I decided to make fresh napa cabbage Kimchi salad (Baechu Geotjeori 배추 겉절이) to fill up my empty Kimchi jar. Though Baechu Geotjeori is normally made with an intention to consume within a day or two in a typical Korean household, if you can’t finish it all like that, just put the remainder into an air tight glass container and eat it as your normal fermented Kimchi.

Fresh napa cabbage Kimchi salad is a particularly popular companion food to Bossam (Korean steamed pork) and Kalguksu (Knife cut noodles with soup). Shall we start making some fresh Kimchi salad then?

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Categories: Side Dishes (Banchan)
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Crispy Sweet Potato in Caramelised Sauce (Goguma Mattang)

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Sue • 4 Comments
Crispy-Sweet-Potato-in-Caramelised-Sauce-Goguma-Mattang-1

Crispy and sweet surface but it’s soft inside

If your local Korean restaurant serves this crispy sweet potato glazed with caramelised sauce as one of the complimentary side dishes, I bet this would be the first one to disappear to one’s tummy. What do you reckon?

Its short name is Mattang (맛탕) and it is a particularly popular kid’s snack in Korea. When my mum made this dish as a side dish for dinner, I used to eat this only and I didn’t touch any rice or other side dishes, so I often got myself into a trouble. Were you that naughty as kids too? :)

Apparently, Mattang originated in China. They have a cooking method called 拔絲 (básī), which roughly describes the sugar caramelisation process. More specifically, the sugar is melted so well that it looks like a thread is coming out from the sugar syrup. Also based on the look and the number of threads coming out of the syrup, you can tell the cook’s expertise in cooking. I found this fact very interesting. Let me know, how you go with the thread! But I have to say, I was very glad that Koreans decided to adopt only the caramelisation method not the fancy look of the thread for the recipe! ;)

Goguma Mattang 2

The final word before introducing the recipe, in contrast to its fancy description – crispy sweet potato glazed with caramelised sauce (Goguma Mattang 고구마 맛탕) – it is very easy and simple to make, so you should try this for your dinner tonight!

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Categories: Side Dishes (Banchan), Snacks, Vegetarian
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Korean Potato Pancakes (Gamja Jeon: 감자전)

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Sue • 11 Comments

Korean Potato Pancakes (Gamja Jeon) with soy sauce

It’s been a very hot sizzling summer season this year. I’ve been wishing for a decent heavy rain and my wish was granted late last week. But perhaps I should have specified how much rain for how long I wanted it for. It’s been miserably raining with strong wind constantly blowing for around 5 days in a row and now I am wishing for the sunny blue sky again. Will you please come back soon?

Blowing tree branches and constant rain drops woke me up this morning. As soon as I opened my eyes, I knew I had to have some pancakes. But what do I have in my fridge and pantry that doesn’t need me to go out to fetch fancy ingredients? I had two potatoes, some onions and green chilies on hand. Then it was easily determined that I am going to make some Gamja Jeon:감자전 (Korean potato pancakes).

Do you have any food you crave on a rainy day? What’s your craving food?

Korean Potato Pancakes (Gamja Jeon) 1

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Categories: Side Dishes (Banchan), Vegetarian
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