.: evil jungle prince :.

Yesterday I experimented with some new Greek mezes which I hadn't tried preparing before: fried lima beans and okra in olive oil and vinegar. Both turned out tasty but the okra dish was the stand-out dish which, when eaten with fresh white bread from the oven, sent me right to meze heaven.

Here are the fried lima beans. These were altered slightly from the original recipe which called for egg batter to make a crispy coating. I used olive oil instead. I'm sure the egg batter would have resulted in a crispier fried bean but as I dislike the taste of egg, I thought I'd experiment.

1. Soak the dried lima beans overnight. In the morning, boil them until they are soft. Drain.

2. Dust the beans with flour mixed with a little salt and pepper. Next coat the dusted beans with egg batter (or olive oil if you want to make it eggless like my version). Finally, dust the beans a third time with bread crumbs.

3. Heat olive oil and fry the beans until crispy. I used a wok which worked well and fried the beans a small batch at a time.

My next dish was okras in olive oil and vinegar, which is a superstar dish if I've ever tasted one. The subtle tartness combined with a pinch of sugar rendered these into the perfect savory dish to mop up with a bit of freshly baked white bread. Drool!

1. Prepare the okra by washing it and coating it with a small amount of white wine vinegar and salt. No need to drench it. Allow the vinegar to penetrate by allowing the okra to sit for 30 mins in its vinegar coating.

2. Begin by frying an onion, diced, in olive oil. Then add your washed okra and fry briefly in the oil.

3. Add 1-2 freshly chopped tomatoes or half a can of chopped tomatoes with a little water. Add 1 tsp sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add enough water so that the okra is nearly submerged. Simmer the okra mixture for 30-45 minutes or until the majority (but not all) of the liquids are gone. Serve hot, warm, or cold with fresh white bread that can soak up the excess liquids from this dish.

P.S. As usual, please don't bother with thin, tasteless Italian olive oil. Greek olive oil is what makes these dishes with its robust, fruity flavors!

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 07:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been eating a heck of a lot of Korean food these past weeks, so in the spirit of mixing it up a little, I'm switching back to my other favorite food tonight: Greek. Tonight's dinner was Greek tomato soup with noodles (domatosoupa me zimariko) served with freshly baked Greek style white bread (psomi).

This was an ideal dish for me to make as I had some good quality tomatoes that were quickly going soft. So that they would not go to waste, I remembered this recipe and thought I'd give it a go. It's a simple dish that is considered a 'fasting' dish to be prepared during periods preceding the major festivals in the Greek Orthodox Church. I'm not religious myself but any dish which calls for the deletion of eggs and meat are fine by me -- I generally don't like either one!

1. To make the soup, I began by boiling 4 cups of water. Into the boiling water I placed 4 diced tomatoes, 2 diced onions (small), 1 stick of cinnamon, and salt/pepper to taste.

2. This mixture was allowed to simmer for 20 mins. I adjusted the salt a second time and then added a fist full of noodles. These were allowed to simmer with the soup until soft.

3. I then served the soup with freshly chopped parsley and freshly baked bread slices.

I loved the simplicity and heartiness of the dish, and it was made all the better with fresh bread right from the oven. The smell of tomato soup and fresh bread were... something divine, really!

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 03:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Last night we had friends over for our semi-regular 'tapas' get-together. This time the event took place at my house, so I was set to the challenge of coming up with something bite size and yet substantial. After some thought, I decided on making a veggie gujeolpan (구절판 or "Korean Platter of Nine Delicacies"), served with a sour soy sauce to pour on the crepes (see center of dish) once filled with the various condiments.

My veggie version of consisted of flour crepes (center), tofu, salted cucumber strips, marinated shitake mushrooms, parboiled sesame bean sprouts, salted radish strips, parboiled garlicy broccoli, marinated button mushrooms, and salted carrot strips.

Sesame Bean Sprouts: these were made in advance by parboiling bean sprouts for five minutes, draining, and then combining with a little salt, garlic, and sesame oil to taste. These were then refrigerated.

Mushrooms: these were first marinated by combining 2 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp finely chopped green onions, 1 tsp minced garlic, 2 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp pan roasted sesame seeds, and some ground pepper to taste. Once closer to the time of serving, these were fried very briefly in a wok.

Broccoli: this was parboiled briefly, drained, and then combined with garlic and salt to taste.

Carrots and Radish: these were julienned into strips and placed into water with a bit of sea salt. After five minutes, they were drained, lightly squeezed of excess liquid, and then placed into their sections.

Crepes. first I made a batter of 1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 1/4 cups water. A small amount of crepe batter was then fried, rotating the pan to create a very then crepe. These were fried and removed before changing color, retaining their whiteness. I then placed the crepes on a cutting board and used a drinking glass to 'cut' out small, circular shapes. So that the crepes did not stick together, I placed a few halved pine nut pieces between each one.

Sour Soy Sauce dressing: this was prepared by mixing 3 tsp soy sauce, 4 1/2 white vinegar (rice), and 1 tsp water. This was then drizzled onto the crepes after being filled with the various goodies.

This dish was a big hit and I'll be making it again soon. Next time, however, I will find a better serving implement that allows guests who are not "chopsticks skilled" to more easily serve themselves.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 08:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This week I've tried using a new kimchi recipe book and have found it to be far superior to my old kimchi bible. What a revelation! I now realize that much of frustration regarding recipes that were "good but not quite right" has been due to recipe inaccuracies in the latter. Very frustrating, but at the same time very exciting to be moving along now.

I found the following recipe for kkaktugi (깍두기 - cubed radish kimchi) to be just the recipe I've been hunting for. The taste of the kkaktugi was light and refreshing without being overly salty or sour.

1. To make the kkaktugi, I first filled a big glass bowl with cool water. (Don't use a metallic bowl because it's reactive.) I then tossed in a fistfull of sea salt and created a salt brine. (Don't use table salt -- the kimchi will go bad.)

2. Next, I cubed a large daikon. (Ideally, use a Korean radish, but a Japanese daikon will do fine.) The cubes were then placed into the salt brine for twenty minutes.

3. Meanwhile, I created the seasoning by combining 1/2 bulb of garlic (finely grated, so much so that it's mushy), 1 small knob of ginger (also finely grated), about 7-8 tsp of Korean anchovy sauce (ideally use salted and fermented small shrimps but fish sauce will do), 1.5 tsp sugar, 3 tsp chili pepper flakes, and 1/2 bunch of green onions (sliced into 1 inch, skinny lengths). Set aside.

4. After 20 mins, I removed the radish cubes from their brine. I then rinsed them very briefly with water and drained. Next I placed the cubes into bowl and "colored" them with 2 tsp of chili pepper powder.

5. After the cubes had been "colored," I added the seasoning and mixed everything with my hands. Don't be afraid to get dirty -- it's fun!

6. Last step: I placed the kkaktugi into a sealed glass container and allowed them to ferment, unrefrigerated at room temperature, for 40 hours. After this time had elapsed, I placed into the refrigerator. This last step allows the kimchi to properly alter its chemical makeup and the flavor will become zesty and mature.

I think I have found the perfect kkaktugi recipe and I'm so happy now!

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

What an unusual day today has been. In the morning, we had a minor earthquake: 3.5, centered about 10 miles from here. Now in the late afternoon we have heavy rain (very unusual for the season -- in fact, any rain is unusual) and thunder. It suddenly occurs to me how quickly one becomes accustomed "the usual" here in the desert -- hot days with clear, cloudless skies. Anything else which deviates from this norm seems... otherwordly, almost.

But deviating from the norm makes life interesting, which is why I decided to prepare today's dish -- a first for me. And to my general delight, it turned out wonderfully. Seasoned seaweed salad (미역무침 or miyeok-muchim) is a chilled salad served with spicy, seasoned seaweed and seafood, and it really fit the bill when it came to satisfying my cravings for Korean food. I loved the texture of the chewy seaweed combined with those classic Korean seasonings: garlic, chili, and vinegar. This was seriously delicious.

1. To prepare this wonderful dish, I began by de-shelling some shrimp and dropping them very briefly into salted, boiling water. I removed them as soon as they turned pink. After allowing them to cool, I cut them in half and then placed them into the refrigerator to cool.

2. I next placed the knotted seaweed into a pot of boiling water and allowed it to boil for 15 mins. The seaweed was then drained, rinsed with cold water, and placed into the refrigerator to cool.

3. Into a small pan of fresh, boiling water, I placed one bunch of green onions cut into 3-4 inch lengths. These were immediately removed, drained, and placed into the refrigerator to cool.

4. Finally, I prepared the spicy seasoning by combing 2-3 cloves of garlic (grated), 2-3 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp of white Korean vinegar (rice vinegar ok), 1 tsp gochujang sauce, 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds, and 2 tsp sesame oil. After the main ingredients had cooled down completely, I combined them with this spicy sauce and served.

This dish livened up my spirits (and taste buds) on such a dark, moody day. Amazing how food can affect one's mindset, isn't it?

Update: even stranger weather came an hour later, with the strongest winds I have ever seen in this area -- check out these strange cloud formations and the swaying palms.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Sometimes I cook strictly by the rules but other times I like to cook according to what I crave. This is a good example of the latter. O-hitashi spinach rolls are actually an old dish from Japan, but in this case I Koreanized them by preparing them with yang nyeom jang sauce, as opposed to the typical soy sauce marinade in the Japanese version. The result was a zestier roll which suited my cravings just perfectly.

1. First I began by preparing a traditional Korean yang nyeom jang sauce. I combined 3 tsp soy sauce, 2 hot green peppers (minced), 1 tsp chopped green onion, 1 large clove garlic (crushed), 1 tsp chili pepper powder, 1 tsp roasted sesame seeds, 1 tsp sesame oil, and a dash of black pepper. Set aside.

2. Next I dropped fresh spinach into boiling water and removed immediately once the spinach wilted. I ran cool water over the spinach and then gently squeezed out the liquid from the spinach. I then added 1 tsp of the yang nyeom jang sauce to the spinach, mixing with the fingers, squeezed out excess liquid again, and then created a roll shape. This was then cut into pieces with a very sharp knife.

3. Finally I topped the o-hitashi with some extra sesame seeds. I served them on rice with some yang nyeom jang sauce on the side.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)