Cafes

It Is really interesting to see so many cafes here in Korea, especially in Seoul. It really strike you at first but it is great as you can always have a cup of good coffee or tea at anytime. As you know I am a tea drinker and although I am in Asia, here in Korea are more inclined to drink coffee than tea. Cafes are were people meet and socialize.There are not many pubs or bars, so you either meet at a cafe or at a restaurant. Sometimes you find estrange things in the menu like green tea latte ( don't recommend it...) or pomegranate vinegar or lemongrass vinegar... Yes, Korean people like drinking water mixed with vinegar. It is supposed to help with your digestion...
Cafes are very fashionable places. The decoration and design of these places are worth the coffee you are paying just to see it.

They are also multipurpose spaces from meeting people or studying to sleeping or watching TV.

So if you are into cafes this is the country for you!!!

Korean food

Sorry for not writing earlier but I have been very busy settling in and learning korean!!! I promise to write a bit more often, especially as since I am here I have learnt new recipes using very unusual ingredients. The recipe I am more proud of is Doegan jjigae (Soy bean paste stew) that is delicious. It is served with kimchi ( spicy cabbage), rice and other side dishes.  I have been very lucky as the main ingredient of this soup is soybean paste and a friends' mum gave me some she made!
But I am sure you can find the ingredients in any asian supermarket. If you live in London head for Chinatown.

Deon Jang Chigae

Ingredients:

• 1 medium size potato
• a zucchini or a squash
• 1 medium size onion
• garlic
• 1 green chili pepper
• 7 dried anchovies
• 1 green onion
• 100-150 grams of tofu
• soy bean paste (doen jang)
• 4 shrimp

Almost all Koreans love this food, and I think you will, too!

1. Prepare a ceramic pot to put all the ingredients in.
2. Peel the potato, cut it into 2 cups worth of cubes, and put them into the pot .
3. Cut zucchini into 2 cups worth of cubes, and put them into the pot.
4. Cut your onion into chunks, and put them into the pot.
5. Slice your green chili pepper, and put it into the pot.
6. Prepare 7 large dried anchovies by removing their heads and intestines, chop them up, and put them  into the pot.
7. Chop up 4 shrimp and put them into the pot.
8. Mince 5 cloves of garlic and put it into the pot.
9. Your pot will now be 2/3 full with your ingredients.
10. Submerge everything in water and cook it over high heat.
    *tip: Don’t put too much water, just enough to cover everything
11. When it starts boiling, add 4-6 tbs of bean paste, stir the stew, and keep cooking
12. When the stew is sizzling and all ingredients are cooked, cut your tofu into cubes, chop up 1 green onion, and add them to the stew.
13. Occasionally stir the boiling stew with a spoon.
14. Serve it with a bowl of rice and other side dishes.
    *tip: to check whether or not the ingredients are cooked, taste the potato.

Comfort food... especially if you have tonsillitis.

There are certain moments, especially when not feeling well that you need something to make you feel better. I have to say that there is nothing better than a good broth to make you feel better. I like making a very simple vegetable broth made out of carrots, tomatoes, celery and good olive oil.
If you are not feeling well, like me (I have tonsillitis as we speak) nothing is going to make you feel better than a cup of this fragrant and comforting cup of soup.

Ingredients

• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• ½ bulb fennel, roughly chopped
• stalk from a head of broccoli, roughly chopped
• 2 tomatoes
• 8 button mushrooms, halved
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 3 fresh parsley stalks
  
  
  
  

  Preparation method

  1. Put all the ingredients into a large pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer very gently for 20-30 minutes. Strain into a large bowl and allow to cool.
  2. Use within 3 days or freeze. To freeze, reduce the stock by half by boiling vigorously and cool. Pour into ice-cube trays and freeze. When frozen put the cubes into a bag, label it, and when you want to use one, just put in a jug and add boiling water to dissolve the cube.
     
     
     
     
     Enjoy!

The start of a new season...

I don't know about you, but when a new season starts I feel like buying new cookery books and try new recipes. I can't wait for our next cooking meeting to cook new recipes and eat with some of my most favourite people.
This time we will really miss our friend Sam who apart from being one of our best cooks, she is a truly friend. She decided to move to Lincoln. She will be very missed....
At this time of the year I enjoy cooking with fresh ingredients such as asparagus, peppers, tomatoes...
I will try to post as many recipes as I can!
If you have any recipe that you enjoy cooking in spring, please send it and I will publish it in my blog.

An apple loaf cake to die for...

I have to say that I have taken this recipe from Nigela's blog although I have gave it my own touch! the first time I made it was great but I thought that a few extra ingredients wouldn't do any harm...
This is a recipe to do when you don't know what to do with those apple you get in your weekly delivery box or if you have apple trees and you are desperate to use the apples you are piling in your garden.

I promise everyone will love this recipe!



Ingredients:

Wet ingredients
150g melted butter
150g brown sugar
2 eggs
4-5 apples grated

Dry ingredients
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1-2 tsp cinamon
200g dry fruit (I like dry apricots)
100g walnuts
handful of chocolate chips

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Mix all the wet ingredients first and then mix with dry ingredients, bake in a loaf tin for 45-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Enjoy, it is a very simple but delicious recipe