Koreanize Your Kitchen/Meal 002: Korean and Philippine Chicken Dish Faceoff

Daak Tori Tang Vs. Adobo

There's nothing really special in what I cooked.  Alex bought 2 whole chickens last Saturday.  He cooked Samgyetang with the other one and asked me to cook "Daak Tori Tang" or Spicy Chicken Stew with the other and I told him I found it funny serving our guests with chicken-chicken dishes...kkk... So he just asked me to make "Bibimkuksu" (another simple noodle dish you can make if you have one or two of the basic Korean ingredients).

But I just remembered the other whole chicken again yesterday and decided to cook "Adobo" with some of it  and cook "Daak Tori Tang" with the rest.

Here's what's left of my adobo 15 minutes after Alex arrived from work.  I followed Ate Betchay's Adobo and it tasted really good.  You see, I'm not good at cooking at all.  I really just learned my way in the kitchen here and became more comfortable when Alex and I started living far from mother in law.  I almost always just steam, blanch and stir fry my vegetables here, Igorot style... until Alex commented I wasn't doing my best at all to adjust to Korean life or living...

I originally wanted it to be "saucy" but I got busy stacking the dishes I was washing.kkkk..

Turned off the stove too late.  Nevertheless, it's still a hit with dad-2-b so I'm happy.

He didn't even have it with rice.  Strange...really...

While cooking the adobo, I also marinated the rest of the chicken (for the Daak Tori Tang) with

rice/cooking wine

salt

and ground black pepper.

But marinating the meat is optional.  You can skip this step and cook the chicken right away.

There are so many versions of "Daak Tori Tang" on the internet and you can just try with the simplest one HERE.

Cathlyn's ingredients, which I originally follow, includes:

chicken
potatoes
carrots
onion
spring onions

The spicy sauce includes:

gochujang
minced/crushed garlic
soy sauce
sesame oil
sugar (others use honey)

When Alex arrived though and saw the ingredients prepared already (as in washed and chopped/cut), he insisted he'd cook the stew instead.  I like it when he says "You're very tired already..." although he just came home from work... I hope he'd remain this way even after the baby comes out,kkkkk....

So I surrendered the kitchen to him and checked my facebook account while he busied himself cooking...

For the sauce, he added "maesil syrup" or Japanese apricot juice instead of sugar (we made our maesil syrup in June 2009).  This didn't make the stew sweet but it was tasty just the same.  He also garnished the stew with sesame or perilla leaves before turning off the heat. But again, these ingredients are optional.  He just thought it would make a difference to the taste.  Since he wanted it to be a little bit spicier, he also added a teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

Here's a picture of what he made.  Sorry, I was too lazy to transfer the stew to a more presentable container or plate...

Does it look yummy?  No? Anyway, it does taste yummy..

It's really quite easy so you can try this at home.

The round things you see are baby potatoes.

Instead of buying big round potatoes and cutting them into big chunks,

I just bought baby ones and cleaned them very well.
No need to peel.

Here's how (he did it).

1. Fry the chicken (cut in 3 by 3 inches or portions you like) in small amount of (olive) oil.  No need to cook it all the way through because we're going to let the chicken simmer with the sauce and vegetables later.  (As I mentioned earlier, I tried to marinate the chicken this time, following Aeri's kitchen)

2. While frying the chicken (don't forget to turn over once in a while), chop the vegetables in chunks or just the way I did it for presentation (daw oh, haha!!!)

3.  Prepare the sauce by mixing all the abovementioned ingredients in a bowl. (For your one whole chicken, 1 tbsp gochujang, 5 teaspoons of minced garlic, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp sugar is enough.) You can add some more gochujang if you want it to be spicier.  I also love lots and lots of garlic for chicken dish.  You can also add some salt later to taste if you find the stew bland...

4. After mixing the sauce, pour it on the frying chicken. Coat each piece with the sauce. (P.S. to make your dish healthier, remove the meat oil first before pouring the sauce.  I usually do this with my meat dishes.  But Alex forgot to do it yesterday...grrrrrr)

5. Right after coating the chicken with sauce, add water, just enough to cover the meat, cover and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.

6. When it comes to a boil, add the veggies and cook for 10-15 minutes more or until all ingredients are cooked.  Garnish with spring onions (and perilla leaves[optional]) and turn off the heat...



There you have it.

So simple.
Try it this coming weekend for a hotta hotta meal time with your family.
Good luck! 


P.S.   again, there are lots of versions out there and this is the simplest one I know and follow..

The Preggy's Birthday Surprises

July 12th was my 31st birthday and this time, husband did his best to give me a surprise treat by bringing me to Itaewon.  He researched a lot for a Filipino restaurant and came across one named "The Bungalow" which is like Gerry's Grill to me, offering good food and drinks.  But of course, on our way there,  I already imagined sinigang na bangus, pakbet and karekare so the restaurant and bar's menu didn't really impress me.  Besides, we could have grills and barbeques anywhere. And so, we headed straight to the old address of the Philippine Embassy only to find the stores and restaurant there also closed.  A Filipina I met along the way told me that the restaurant had transfered already near the current location of the embassy office.

I was so hungry by then that we settled for the first restaurant we saw, Thai one...

The manager, seeing my condition, finding it hard to choose food  (it's about the time when you really want to eat but don't know what to eat anymore because you might just throw up later) and always massaging my belly, approached us and asked if was I okay... Alex told him I'm pregnant and that I was actually requesting to be transfered farther from the kitchen.  The resto was almost full and we were directed to a table for 2 near the kitchen.  You see, there were walls in between of course but for a preggy with a dog nose, and in the middle of her third month, ah, walls and screens are invisible... He was kind enough to have the table just vacated (which I was actually eyeing the moment we entered the resto, but it was for 4) cleared and personally escorted us to it when done.  It's near the window and has more comfortable seats.  I asked the manager to recommend a very refreshing and relaxing soup and told him I didn't want anything spicy.  He showed me something like "Pho" and I just nodded my head. I asked husband to order seafood and pork dishes and so he obliged.  I wasn't impressed so much with the recommended dishes but I still did my best to show husband I enjoyed them a lot to also satisfy him because I know he really wanted to treat me very well.  We ended the early dinner with a rambutan in coco milk dessert.

What attracted me first to this restaurant was the fact that it's just located above the "What The Book?" Bookstore.  I've been actually requesting him we go there so I could find some second hand books.  I find books here in Korea really expensive. 

Upon discovering I was pregnant,  I researched for books recommended to expecting mothers and I read a lot of good reviews about "What to Expect When You're Expecting."  Although the latest edition I saw then was 4th, I still bought this one, a revised and expanded second edition, since I didn't see any English pregnancy books in the 2 big bookstores I visited near our old place.  I still can imagine my husband's "funny" reaction when he saw my "delighted" reaction upon seeing this book, hehe...

When you're expecting, you get a lot of advices, either medically/scientifically proven or theories or myths or old wives' tales, that you just have to listen to and take all in.  Besides, it doesn't hurt to listen to them and to be safe than sorry.  As the mother to be, it's my responsibility to really educate myself, especially that I just can't dial my mother's phone number back home for every concern I have in mind.  Believe me, I could almost see steam coming out of Alex' ears when he saw my phone bill for the months of June and July and the international calling cards I kept inserting between my book's pages, kkkk....

So, this truly is the first thing you should buy after the pregnancy test comes back positive.  It presents clear and comprehensive month by month format:

What you can expect at this (particular) month's checkup

What you may be feeling

What you may look like

What you may be concerned about

What it's important to know

It answers the concerns of both mother and father to be.  It also helps you understand medical terms and cuts through misleading information passed on to you or we just kept on hearing about pregnancy all throughout our life, kkk...

I'm now quite forgetfull, more called as scatter brain or pregnant brain, and I find it hard remembering what I just read too so I keep this with me all the time.  I also read it before I go to sleep and even after waking up whenever I have concerns about my sleep or about what I observed and felt during the night that passed.

Anyway, I could go on forever about this book, but don't worry, you can also visit their website and register. for free. I actually compared it with the other sites I used to visit.  WTEWYE, I think, is more accurate and detailed and so far, I haven't read any reactions from other moms yet about misleading information left by "other"so-called experts... (like the other popular site...)

So to my friends out there who are planning already, equip yourself with this book having reassuring answers to our concerns from the planning stage to postpartum...

~~~~~~~~

Yahoo! One MAJOR backlog topic down... See you all next time.  Have a nice weekend...

@Korea Times: She Didn't Run Away...

When I first read this article's title on Korea Times,

"Man ordered to 'accept' runaway Vietnamese wife""

I immediately imagined a Vietnamese wife that went out of the house without the husband's knowledge and went hiding from him, or that flew back to her country on her own "free" will with nothing on hand except an overnight travel bag maybe.  But as it turned out, the story told otherwise... 

Here is the article,  

By Bae Ji-sook

A husband and wife union should always look after each other even in times of trouble and misunderstanding, a court ruled Friday, rejecting a divorce petition filed by a Korean husband to sever the ties with his younger Vietnamese wife.

According to the Jeonju District Court, a 45-year-old complainant married the 25-year-old from Vietnam in June last year. However, trouble often marred the union.

In March, the wife was scolded by her father-in-law for resting her chin in her hands and staring at him while he ate. He said she misbehaved and told her to “get out of the house.” Resting your chin in your hands is considered rude in Korea.

She followed the order by leaving the house with all the jewelry and gifts she had received from her husband and his family at the wedding. Instead of looking for the runaway wife, the man filed for divorce.

The plaintiff alleged that his wife “didn’t make enough effort to get along with the family and was just interested in making money and hanging around with fellow Vietnamese nationals.”

Judge Park Ji-yeon said, “It is natural that couples from different cultural backgrounds and countries have different ways of thinking, living and behaving. Both sides should try to understand this and become accustomed to each other.

“The accused did not know much about her husband nor Korea when she got married. It is highly unlikely that her perception has developed much at the time when she ran away.”

The judge asked the husband to take more time to understand his wife. “Since the wife is much younger, the husband should have tried to be more accepting of her status; let her learn about Korean culture and be patient.”

bjs@koreatimes.co.kr   SOURCE

Like what one of my friends said before, Korean elders can be very demanding.  Some of them expect so much of their foreign in laws to act soooo Korean.  I think the father in law in this story was too much.  Instead of "teaching" her properly as he is now her father, too, he still treated her differently.  Funny how I used to think that Korean father-in-laws are much more forgiving... haha... 

As for the woman, maybe she's also done her best to get along with the family.  The question is: "how about the family, did they do their best to get along with her too?"  Maybe she's also already fed up with the situation she's in and was just thankful for the opportunity given to her to leave the house... kkk

Anyway,  I only have one question to both of them: "Where is the love?"  for him to always find faults and file for divorce and for her to not endure (more)?  A year had passed...  It's quite impossible that they didn't even develop deeper feelings for each other...

And for the judge's ruling, well, I have other things in mind....

So KT, she didn't run away okay?    She was told to "get out."   Hmmm... reminds me of someone....

Daddy's Kimchi...

Since the middle of May, I think, I stopped eating Kimchi and every other hot or spicy side dishes that made me uncomfortable.  So for more than 2 months, Alex contented himself eating just mild or non-spicy dishes at home.  There were times when we had to eat separately because I just didn't like the smell of kimchi and almost everything Korean he cooked.  I always complained our refrigerator smelled and he teased my nose simply turned into a dog's nose...grrr...

Somehow tired of buying kimchi from the big supermarket and the restaurants we frequent, he called me up last monday telling me he couldn't pick me up from the academy because he had to head straight home to make kimchi.  Upon arriving home, I could see how tired he was preparing the stuffing and washing the soaked cabbage but he only allowed me to help in the last process:  spreading the stuffing between the cabbage leaves.

Alex' Kimchi was the first ever homemade kimchi I'd tasted in the Philippines. It tasted fresh and didn't smell so much of fish sauce (patis) like the ones we usually tasted in the restaurants we frequented or the kimchi we would buy from the Korean grocery store.  I also loved the bits of ginger in it.  Almost everyone in our compound asked him to teach them how to make kimchi and so we obliged.  When I came to Korea though, we didn't have the chance to really make kimchi on our own.  After buying the ingredients, my mom in law would always insist she'd do it.  All the while that she's preparing the stuffing, the son and mother would bicker over the quantity of fish sauce to put and also about MIL not adding in ginger.  He loves ginger.  I love it too. She hates it.  It would strongly taste and smell of fish sauce.  Eveytime I tried to eat some, I'd develop rashes on the sides of my mouth.

Agreeing on what ingredients to put, and just about how "much" of each, made the first ever kimchi-making in our apartment a very pleasant experience.  We were able to talk about our life together back in the Philippines...kkk.. Taste testing later was even better.  The taste is actually what I've been craving for in kimchi.  In my mind, I always thought it's the original kimchi taste, kkkk... So I love Alex' homemade kimchi very much... And to my surprise though, I didn't feel uncomfortable after eating so much kimchi that night.

The following night, I also found myself eating just plain kimchi.  He was so surprised at how I munched at each piece like they were tacos dipped in cheese.. haay... Considering it's my 18th week and eating hot and spicy foods is discouraged.. kkk

Later that night, he also remembered the instant La Paz batchoy I bought from the nearest asian food store..  He asked me to cook it for him which he heartily ate with his kimchi... Alex loves Philippine noodles.  He also likes pancit canton a lot. 

Daddy's kimchi is simply the best one for me and baby.. Yeah, no heartburn yet for the past week ...

Buried the Hatchet But....

There was a point in my life when some of my high school batchmates and younger school mates did their best to make my life so miserable, day in and day out (1997-2001)... Thanks to wonderful friends who believed in me and made me strong through it all.

My youngest sister once told me that I was always an easy target by those "b*tches" because I never fought back... Hearing that from a 6th grader 8 years my junior then made me realize that I actually made those b*tches lives easy and fun...

But instead of staying to let them pay back, off I went to college and buried myself in studies--catching up with the younger minds around me.  I never really felt old while I was attending SLU.  Only a few, until we graduated, knew I was 4-5 years older than them..kkkk...

A decade had passed... 

It's 2010... I don't understand now why I get "friend" requests from these nasty or let's just say used to be nasty girls in the popular "social networking websites"...  You see, when I checked their profiles or sites, it seems that they are now living well with their own families. And perhaps regretted their former deeds???  Wish ko lang...

But for me, what for?  And how and why do they search for me online anyway?  Still curious about me?

I buried the hatchet girls, but sorry... You were, afterall, the same people who taught me not to easily trust those who would like to be around me... I showed understanding and kindness then which you reciprocated with your closed and evilmindedness.  I was, I think, so good to you back then to just ask my pizza and wine buddy, Maylene, to just eat out and drink to chase our miseries away, laugh at and forget you and your deeds... 

Peace...

Haaah!  It felt good to get that out of my chest... After all these years...

Queen Seon Deok's Reign Ends on GMA7 This Week...

I'd read a lot about this drama from my students' diaries before.  They would talk about Mishil, Alcheon Rang and the other actors that captivated their hearts.  They would always tell me to watch it so I'd know what they're actually talking about.  Since I thought it's another overhyped drama, I didn't show much interest until I read a friend's (in Philippines) ym status: "Yeok Cham Geol Dan" which means "give off your flesh to break their bone.." It's actually a line from the drama.  The drama must be very interesting, I thought, if A watches it himself... So I looked for it on mysoju.com and yeah... finished it in no time, I suppose, haha....

The Philippine network started airing this historical drama in January and will end this friday.  The ending is tragic but it's still worth the time for those who love these kinds of show...

I've been to temples built during the time of Queen Seon Deok of Shilla Dynasty.  Take for example this Bomunsa at Seokmo Island we visited on the first day of August...  My (antiquated) camera didn't capture it well but there's something in this centuries old structure that made me shiver upon watching it from a distance.. It felt more enthralling than watching the palaces I visited in 2008.

Who would have thought that this temple built about 1400 years ago would draw such big crowds...

The ferry from Ganghwa Island to Sokmo Island...

Seagulls followed us because of the treats from the passengers.

He claimed the "oishi" crackers weren't delicious.

He actually enjoyed watching the seagulls catch the crackers or steal them from his hand...

People at the gateway made me all the more excited to enter the temple grounds.

The 150m distance seemed longer though because of the heat and sloping pathway.

Outside the temple gates, people can sample these traditional Korean wines (ginseng wine)

and (veggie) side dish/pulutan.

Alex got so interested in the Chinese/traditional herbs being sold on our

way up to the temple gate.

At a mere inquiry, the ajummas would give us samples of "Seokmodo roasted peanuts."

Perhaps we visited the temple at the wrong time... The line of cars at the dock was too long that it took us about 3 hours to get to the ferry back to Ganghwa... Still, it was a good trip.  And it made me feel even better knowing about the woman who was behind all the wonders we've seen... Queen Seon Deok...

FIRED!!!

Baby seems sad that Big Momma is anxious... Ah, couldn't go back to sleep anymore.  The more I try, the harder it gets... I'm so lonely thinking about my "babies" at the academy...

(So tired from his "other" academy, Daniel, our youngest student, about only 4, would always ask for a few minutes nap.  Bored with his comprehensive book, I once asked him to draw his favorite cake in stead.  He drew a Man standing beside his cake.  He told me He's his special guest, Jesus....)

You see, just less than a week after the new academy owners asked us to work for them for as long as we could, they informed us only yesterday that today is actually our last day of work already...

Whoa!!!

Although in Korean, I quite understood almost 50% of what the Wonjangnim said.  While trying so hard to be like a Korean by maintaining a blank face during the meeting, I almost smiled or laughed when my companion, Rachel, the Korean English teacher, rolled her eyes at the owner...  I couldn't blame her... First, we were both hired for the new owners.  And 4 months later, along with the academy, we were also turned over to new owners again.  We even had a meeting on Friday afternoon last week about the changes we are going to make in the academy. 

Yes, just like that.  And it's a Tuesday today. Some of our students just attend their MWF classes.  Meaning, we couldn't even have pictures taken with them.  What's even worse is the thought of parents not sending their children in today anymore.

Apparently, the parents lost trust in the academy because of the changes of owners. The new owners are also changing its name into a franchising "all-subjects" academy.. something like m-brain...(make brain... whatever that means...even the students laughed at it)

Rachel already expressed her disappointment last week but I encouraged her to stay because of the students.  They would definitely feel sad and would seek security from both of us.  We both agreed to stay for about 1-2 months more for the sake of the students.  We want them to adjust very well.  Most of the students expressed enthusiasm yesterday when we told them that we won't be leaving the academy (yet).  But at 5:30 in the afternoon, just when we were about to go out, the owner's wife told us to wait for her husband until 6 for a meeting.. And we willingly and patiently waited just to be told that we we're being fired, kkkk...

This job has become so important to both of us.  Rachel once thought she couldn't teach English because she's an accounting major.  She taught math before and said she also re-learned English because of this experience.  As for me, aside from the added income and escape from the air and noise pollution in the apartment complexes because of the still on going construction, I became more exposed to "specialty" non-franchised English academies and how to run them.  I became familiar with other publishing houses' books.  I definitely like Oxford books now.  But I appreciated GnB's phonics books all the more.

Alex' reaction? He got disappointed though with the sudden turn of events at the academy after our 4-day vacation.  But most definitely, that rest prepared me well for this.  I don't know but I'm taking all in positively inspite of the sadness.  He said I'll already have time to continue my Korean language lessons, my TESOL, and finally fix my things, hahaha... (May utang pa kong goodies kina Jill and ms. Yolly because I couldn't find the original envelopes I prepared for them...)

So I'll go to work at 9 this morning with my (antiquated) camera, a big bag for my stuff and some Philippine snacks to give away to the students.... 

Annyeong, Princeton....