Recipe: My own version of Dduk Bok Gi

With the recent craze of k-pop, k-drama, etc, my taste buds are in a k-food frenzy. I love spicy food to the max and when I'm lazy to go out I'll just cook this easy but yummy korean spicy rice cake, dduk bok gi. This dish is excellent especially on a cold and rainy night, and it will only take you 30 mins to the max! Everyone has their own version of dduk bok gi, based on their own taste preferences and what you put in (other than the rice cakes), so here is mine! :)

 

What you'll need*

*Remember that you can put in anything you like. I put in the spam and sausage because I happen to have them in the fridge.

-Korean rice cakes (u can buy either fresh or packaged ones)

-Go chu jjang (korean spicy red pepper paste)

-Fish cakes (i used the square ones this time)

-Korean red pepper powder

-Soy sauce (I used the korean Gook Gan Jang, which is soy sauce for soup base, but honestly all soy sauce works fine)

-Minced garlic

-Dried Kelp for soup base

-Anchovy soup base (it'll be better if u use dried anchovies but unfortunately I don't have them this time round)

-Kimchee (optional)

-Sugar

So first I put my rice cakes in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes. I had to do this because my rice cakes are packaged, and not those fresh ones. You don't have to do this if you use fresh rice cakes.

Next, prepare you soup base by putting in a few pieces of kelp, a little bit of anchovy stock powder, and a piece of fish cake. Boil for 10 minutes. (note that I don't usually use exact measurements, but i estimated them roughly based on how much water I use)

After 10 minutes, take out the kelp and the fish cake from the soup.

Add 3 tablespoon of red pepper paste (1 or 2 if you don't like spicy), 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar (more if you like sweet), 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and 1 tablespoon of chili powder (skip this if you can't stand spiciness). Now put in your kimchee (a few pieces is sufficient), rice cakes and spam. Boil for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the fish cakes into small strips.

This is what it should look like after 5 minutes of boiling.

After 10 minutes

15 minutes!! Ta-da!!

Now it's ready to serve!!

The rice cake should be chewy, and taste according to your preference of spiciness and sweetness. Note that if you can't finish your whole pot of dduk bok gi, which happens to me all the time, you can store them in a container in the fridge. When you want to eat it later on, add a little water and boil them again. When I was visiting Korea, I see the ahjummas in Seoul stirring the dduk bok gi non stop, adding water whenever it gets dry.

Most korean food have the same key ingredients, and that's how I became a Korean food addict these past days because my kitchen is full of Korean ingredients. The most basic ingredient for most Korean dishes, such as soon tofu, gam ja tang, etc, are this amazing red pepper paste. 

Keep this in your kitchen and you'll find yourself cooking all sort of Korean dishes. 

That's it for today! Lack of restaurant reviews as I'm on a strict diet, and so that explains the home cooking :)

Dine LA: XIV by Michael Mina

Dine La, one of the best events in LA, is here again!! We love Dine La for its affordable 3 course menu served by 4 star restaurants. On regular occasions, tasting menu at these restaurants could range from $100-$200, but during Dine La promotions, 3 course menu are set at only $44. Though some are quite a bit of a disappointment, as they tend to choose the cheapest dish to be put on the menu, some that we've tried previously are quite good, such as Ortolan, Belvedere at the Peninsula, and this time, XIV by Michael Mina. (Its actually the roman numbers 14, I originally thought that its the alphabet XIV, which doesn't really make sense =.=) Michael Mina owns many restaurants at SF, Vegas, Miami, etc and the most famous would be Michael Mina at San Francisco (he even publishes his own cook book!)

Looks more like a club on the outside than a restaurant

Dine La menu

Regular menu

complementary appetizer which is surprisingly very yummy!!! toasted pita bread with sea salt and something similar to humus.

Appetizer choice 1 - Ahi Tuna tartar, quite ordinary

Appetizer choice 3 (no one order the 2nd option which is the salad), Butternut Squash Bisque. Plate initially came with the sides and cream on the center, and soup came separately on a vase, which was later poured in. Its very creamy, sweet, and not too heavy. I think it's better than the tuna. 

Kobe Skirt Steak, from the regular menu. It's the best dish of the night, which proves that the regular menu is much better.

Main course option 2, Crab Risotto. Again, no one chose the 1st option which is the chicken. 

Main course option 3, braised short ribs. I don't understand why all places serve this as main course for dine LA. Ortolan and Spago had this the previous time we went. While Spago's was a big disappointment (taste like chinese braised pork) and Ortolan's was not bad, XIV's was better in my opinion. More juicy, tender and less sour. On the menu it says "coffee potato" but the potato taste so bland, no coffee taste at all.

Dessert option 1, glazed doughnuts. Quite disappointed with the limited dessert options.

Dessert option 2, Root Beer Float. (why would you serve a root bear float at a 4 star restaurant??) Anyway, I happen to love it, but I'm a biased for root beer. It's my fav soda. But this is quite different from the normal, it has root beer like sorbet in it and another fruit like sorbet mixed in it. Served with warm cookies. A twist to an ordinary item. 

Overall, I think the food is not bad, but the options are quite limited and well I think they should have 1 more dessert option instead of the current two. However, next time, I'd like to come for the regular menu instead of the dine LA.