My Korean KitchenIngredient Descriptions | My Korean Kitchen

What Kinds of Pear for Bulgogi?

sue — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 02:12:53 +0000

(William Pears – Sorry, I don’t think you are suitable for Korean cooking)

One of my readers asked me if I can specify the type of pear I use for making Bulgogi. Because my recipe just says “pear”. Well, since I could only get one type of pear in Korea (It might be different in other big cities, but at least that was my case) I didn’t understand your confusion. Sorry.

So this is the type of pear you can use for Korean cooking.

(Korean pear, picture from Food for thought)

Its skin is a bit rougher and thicker, so you don’t eat the skin. However the flesh part is marvelously juicy (but not as much as watermelon) and sweet and has a crunchy texture like an apple. They are fairly expensive even in Korea, so I didn’t buy them often (about US $2-3 per pear).

Koreans usually add pear when they marinate meat. Because it makes meat softer (Apparently the enzyme called calpain does this part). You can substitute pear with kiwi or pineapple as well, but I prefer using pear. Also, if you marinate the meat too long the meat can go too soft, so watch out.

I heard that Korean pears are available at the green groceries in the US, but since I don’t live there I can’t give you the detailed information about them. So if any of you see Korean pears where you live (in any countries), please let us know (for your Korean food companions).

By the way, if you are in the US, it seems like you can buy Korean pears on the internet as well. So here are the links.

From Kgrocer

From Koamart

My New Cooking Wine – Temporary? or Permanent?

sue — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 11:07:27 +0000

White wine for fish and chicken (left) and Red wine for red meat (right)

Koreans use refined rice wine fairly often for their cooking, including myself. It gets rid of the smell of meat and adds a refreshing taste to certain foods.

So I went looking for refined rice wine to add to our meal for the day. I went to a supermarket. Ah, wait a minute. I can’t get it at the supermarket like I could in Korea. So I went to a liquor store.

Of course I asked the wrong question and asked for cooking wine, and was given a red merlot and a white chardonnay. It cooked well with the meals, but I should have asked for the refined rice wine instead.

So I gave it a second try. This time the guy was puzzled until I said “like sake”.

Now I have found rice wine (It was Japanese sake), but at $27 Australian for 750ml compared to $8 for 1800ml in Korea I might have to rethink my recipe list.

Nothing is ever perfect, is it?

Chicken breast – I was going to use white wine for this, but I didn’t have a cork screw

Meal of the day – Club sandwich ( filling includes iceberg lettuce, baby endive, tomato, cheese and chicken fillet)

I will still try to find refined rice wine (a cheaper one) but if I can’t find it, I guess I have to stick with a red and white wine. How are you following my recipes about the refined rice wine? Do you use other wines instead? What is your cooking wine?

Square Cucumbers

sue — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 10:46:33 +0000

Look at these square cucumbers! Have you seen these before?

I recently found them at a local supermarket. It was only US $ 1.50 for 3 of them. I found that they are easier to peel and use for cooking than round ones.

Those kinds of special vegetables are called “incubated vegetables”. They are classed as partly organic cucumbers (the sprays don’t touch the vegetables). Apparently, it takes a lot of effort to grow for farmers, because they need to put them individually in a certain place (arrangement, wrapper, padding etc), so they are 10-20% more expensive than regular types. However, these cucumbers stay fresh longer and often taste better.

Have you tried these yet?

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Tuna Salad Sushi Rolls

How to Pick a Fresh and Delicious White Radish

sue — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:18:08 +0000

I got a question from one of my readers. She was wondering if I have any tips on how to pick a fresh white radish(Mu-무). Let’s see how I pick it at the market. I go to the white radish corner and stare around to see if there is a cute looking radish. Cute looking radish!?

What kind of method is that? I don’t know when that idea stuck in my mind, or maybe I read it somewhere that small radishes without any bruises or scars taste good.

To answer her question properly, I researched a little bit.

What is considered as a fresh and delicious radish

Evenly sized with clean and smooth surface (no bumps on the surface if possible).
Have as white skin as possible (it doesn’t taste as nice if it is darkish).
Heavy radish
Have as little green part near the head as possible, because green means it got too much sun so it doesn’t taste as nice.
Cut one leaf. If its inside section is green and fresh it is a good one, if it is whitish is bad.

The picture below is the white radish I bought about a month ago. By the description above, I bought a bad radish. I thought it tasted nice though.

How to store a white radish

Cut the leaves off and wrap it with news papers then keep it in the fridge. (The leafy part should face downwards).

So the conclusion is that I was partially right about picking a cute looking radish.
If you have your own way of choosing it, do tell me. I would like to know.

Thinly Sliced Radish Kimchi

Radish and Oysters on Rice (Gulbap in Korean)

Vegetables Wrapped with Pickled Radish (Mussammari in Korean)

Chili Powder (Gochutgaru in Korean)

sue — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 07:48:49 +0000

One of my blog readers, Anthony, asked me what kind of chili powder I used for the thinly sliced Kimchi I made the other day. (I was confused about what to buy when I went chili powder shopping the other day, so I understand your curiosity, guys)

Showing a picture seems to be the best answer, so here is a picture of chili powder I used for Kimchi. (150 g – 2800 won (US $ 2.90), I use this for other cooking as well.)

Here is more information about chili powder if you are interested.

How to make chili powder

Take the stem off the red chilies, open them, and take out the seeds.
Wipe them with a cloth and dry them in the sun. (until they completely dry out. It usually takes a couple of days or up to a few weeks)
Once they are dried enough, pound (grind) them up.

Chili Powder for different purposes (by the thickness of its grinding)

Finely ground chilies : Gochujang (Chili paste), condiment for cooking
Medium ground chilies : Kimchi, Cubed Radish Kimchi (Ggak Ddu gi)
Thick ground chilies : Young radish Kimchi (Yoelmu Kimchi), Young vegetable Kimchi (Put Kimchi)

I think mine is between finely and medium ground chilies.

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Thinly Sliced Radish Kimchi