I want to wish all of you and your families a happy new year, good luck and good health in 2023. My letter readers are very special to me, I love that once a month we can come together and share what we’re cooking and eating with our friends and families. I know it’s a big deal to be invited into your busy life through my letter, it means a lot to me, too!
Let’s be happy in 2023 with our delicious home cooking!
New recipe: Korean style shabu-shabu hot pot
Some of you have been waiting a long time for this recipe, Korean style shabu-shabu! Eating shabu-shabu is so fun, from laying out everything beautifully on the table (meat, vegetables, mushrooms, seafoods and the hotpot on the burner) to cooking, eating, and enjoying it together. This is why it’s super-popular in Korea. Check out the recipe here!
New recipe: Triangle gimbap!
Samgak-gimbap, or triangle-shaped gimbap, is a delicious snack or simple lunch that is fast to make and easy to carry with you. I gave you 2 versions: bulgogi and kimchi versions. The unique thing about this gimbap is that the seaweed paper is wrapped in plastic. You take it off just before eating so the seaweed keeps super-fresh and crispy!
Korean breakfast in Florence, Italy!
I enjoyed Italian restaurant foods a lot while I was traveling in Italy. I’m still thinking about the fantastic brick oven margherita pizza with the scorched fluffy dough, expanded like balloons! But I also made delicious Korean meals in my room sometimes, from simple breakfasts to fancy Korean BBQ with top quality beef that I bought from their local market. In this 1 minute video, I’m showing you how I prepared a very simple but delicious Korean breakfast one morning.
Quinoa-nurungji made by Choi
Choi Spring let me know she loved the nurungi she made with my recipe. It looks very crunchy with a very nutty smell! Put some nurungi and water into a pan and just boil it until it turns into a nice soft soup. Then you can eat it with Korean banchan (side dishes) like kimchi! 1 healthful meal is done!
Emily’s Korean table
Emily Marsh-Gaulin’s Korean feast! She’s grilling pork belly (samgyeopsal-gui in Korean) on the table and prepared a few side dishes and soju! Cubed radish kimchi, pan-fried tofu topped with seasoning sauce, cooked and seasoned soybean sprouts and spinach. All look great! You can make your own Korean table just as Emily did! She said, “I used to buy them all pre-made at H Mart, but after we moved I had to learn to make them at home.” Congratulations!
Melbmatt’s spicy braised potato!
So easy so delicious side dish called maeun-gamjajorim (spicy braised potato) that Melbmatt made! The main ingredients for this dish are just potato, onion, and dried anchovies. Dried anchovies give a super savory flavor to the dish so they are unskippable. I used to make this side dish very often when my children were young. It cost almost nothing! : ) But the result is amazing plus the smell while cooking is irresistible! Check out the recipe here!
Making spicy soft tofu stew for a depressed day?
There are many reasons to make Korean spicy soft tofu stew. Not only when we’re in a positive mood like excited or happy, but also in a negative mood like sad, anxious, or bored. The stew gives us an energy boost, some warmth, and soothes us. We can use this when we’re feeling good, and also when we’re feeling not so good.
CatCat felt stressed and depressed so she made sundubu-jjigae for breakfast. She said, “It's so good, it really warms my body!” Check out the recipe here!
Messages & comments from my readers & viewers
My readers and viewers always make me smile, inspire me, amaze me, and make me think. Here are some of their messages that I chose to share with you this month!
Sharing a good tip! One of my readers asked me how she can preserve some leftover radish in the fridge. I gave her this answer and I think I should share this important information with all of you!
I wrap it in a kitchen cloth or paper towel first and then put it into a plastic bag, and then move it into the fridge. It will last more than 1 month in the fridge.
Bobby feels zing because his first time making kimchi turned out great! Do you feel zing after having some kimchi, too? : ) Here is his message to me:
Hello Maangchi… My name is Bobby, I made your kimchi recipe from YouTube for the first time it came out perfect, I love it and I don’t know but it gives me a zing!.. A lot of energy!.. 💪 it must be packed with a lot of vitamins and minerals, I feel great after eating it and can work all day without eating anything else, I gave so to my friends and they loved it as well!..
A simple instruction in my video can be helpful! On my triangle gimbap (samgak gimbap) video, someone left a nice comment that made me very happy!
Thank you Maangchi for the play by play instructions! I bought the same wraps and got very confused by the instructions! My kids will love this as a snack!
One of my passionate readers’ comment gave me a big smile! She was watching a romantic Korean drama and saw them making haemul-pajeon (seafood green onion pancake). It looked so delicious that she couldn’t wait until the drama ended. She stopped watching the video and searched for the recipe online and found my video!
“I gotta make this just now!” : )
I am also like her. If I find something looks so good and the ingredients are available, I will make it as soon as possible. No tomorrow!
Seaweed soup (miyeokguk in Korean) is not only delicious but also considered as a kind of healing food among Koreans. It is traditionally eaten on birthdays or after giving birth, although you can eat anytime you like. Even though I often call this soup birthday soup I also make it all year around. One of my readers janicenash left a message on my miyeokguk video. I’m wondering how she knew miyeokguk is such a good choice for recovery!
Maangchi, I think I'm becoming Korean by way of cooking and much respect for the cuisine and traditions! I'm post surgery and kept feeling a nagging urge that my body needed seaweed soup and so I hobbled into the kitchen and made a bowl... I feel much better! Soothed my soul!
Do you have some well-fermented sour tasting kimchi at home? Then I recommend making kimchi stew just like Reinier did! Rice and kimchi stew is all you need for a nice, decent, nutritious, and healthy meal. What else is missing? Yes, deliciousness! The recipe is here!
I will see you next month on Feb 1st! Keep being happy with your delicious Korean cooking and take care!
Happy New Year Maangchi!
This year I cooked a Korean feast for my in-laws on New Years eve because they have never gotten to experience one.
I made four types of bulgogi (chicken, beef, pork, and spicy pork), jajangmyeon, doenjang jjigae, beef japchae, pork japchae, rolled eggs, braised potatos, tteokbokki, banchon, fresh lettuce leaves for ssam and many types of homemade kimchi.
Most of the vegetables were grown in my hydroponic garden. I even fermented my own gochujang using home grown gochugaru peppers.
A lot of the recipes were from my mom's collection (she is from Jeju) but I used a lot of yours as well, so thank you very much.
I hope you have a prosperous year.
Happy New Year Maangchi. More power to your food channel.