.: evil jungle prince :.

I must have been peering into the future a few days ago when I made up a new batch of kimchi (paech'u mak kimchi, or cut and jumbled style kimchi). With all of its garlic and ginger, Korean food makes for such excellent comfort food when one is feeling under the weather. Go figure I'd start to develop a cold on the same day my kimchi was ready to eat.

But what to eat with it? After a little thought I decided on tuboo steak, or Korean tofu steaks with yang nyeom jang sauce. These are easy to make if you have some firm tofu lying around and make for an excellent vegetarian dish, either as a banchan side dish or as a meal unto themselves with a big bowl of rice. What really makes these special is the yang nyeom jang. The pungent, salty, hotness works as a great counterpoint to the subtle taste of the tofu.

1. Prepare the nang nyeom sauce by mixing 3 tsp soy sauce, mincing one green pepper, 1 tsp green onion, 1 tsp crushed garlic, 1 tsp chili pepper, 1 tsp roasted sesame seeds, and 1 tsp sesame oil. Set aside.

2. Cut firm tofu into squares. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper, and then coat them entirely with flour. Dust off excess flour and set aside.

3. Heat oil and fry the tofu steaks until they are quite crispy/firm on either side. Drain off excess oil by placing on paper towels. Drizzle on nang nyeom sauce upon serving.

Recipe: Tuboo Steak
From: Korean Cooking for Everyone
Page: 60
Recipe Rating: **** (four stars)
<--- click for more info on this book

And here is the cabbage and radish kimchi (섞박지)which just became ready to eat today. This type of kimchi requires only 2-3 days of maturation before it is ready to eat, unlike other types of kimchi which require many weeks. It is considered a "popular daily kimchi," according to my kimchi cookbook. It's also a little different in that the cabbage is broken into pieces before the 'so' (seasoning) is added -- most cabbage kimchis are left semi-intact, the so (seasoning) added between the leaves. In this case, the leaves are broken and jumbled together with the so, crisp radish pieces, and green onion.

I was pretty happy with this kimchi!! The taste was refreshing and light, and the addition of the radish cubes only accentuated these tastes and textures. This combination really made for the perfect under-the-weather meal.

Recipe: Paech'u Mak Kimchi (Cut & Jumbled Kimchi)
From: Kimchee Cookbook
Page: 114
Recipe Rating: **** (four stars)
<--- click for more info on this book