August 2023 Letter
August 2023 Letter
2 summertime recipes: cold buckwheat noodles with dipping sauce and patbingsu, Korean shaved ice with sweet red beans! Plus sharing photos and comments from you.
How do you cope with these scorching hot days?
Despite the heat, I found a cool spot with a gentle breeze in Central Park, NYC. As I posed for the picture, my gimbap lunch box and icy water remained next to me in my backpack, ready to be savored shortly. : )
Enjoying the summertime feeling in the park, shared with all the people you can see there, plus eating delicious homemade gimbap, is one of the great simple pleasures of life!
New recipe: Memil-guksu (Cold soba with dipping sauce)
Here’s a simple and refreshing summer recipe, called memil-guksu. It’s a cold soba dish served with a delicious dipping sauce, perfect for hot weather because it’s easy to prepare, simple to clean up, and is cool and refreshing to eat.
Here's a great tip for presenting noodles: use the same bamboo mat you use for rolling gimbap and lay it on a large platter. It looks nice and also any water in the noodles drips down through the bamboo and doesn’t make the noodles damp.
It’s easy to make: simply cook the noodles and serve them alongside a chilled dipping sauce. To enjoy, dip the noodles into the sauce and relish the delicious flavors!
Patbingsu (Shaved ice with sweet red beans and fruit)
During the summer, Korean bakeries serve a refreshing treat called patbingsu. It’s made from shaved ice combined with chunks of fruit, sweet red beans, a touch of fresh milk, and sweetened condensed milk plus rice cake on top. I’ve been eating this every summer for as long as I can remember. It was time to update my recipe and video for this classic Korean dessert as my original video was 12 years old!
In the video, I share the story of how I prepared patbingsu for 100 people at the Google office in New York City. Patbingsu never fails to bring joy to everyone on hot summer days!
Korean dishes for a birthday meal!
D3 prepared a special birthday meal for her husband, consisting of bibim-guksu and sweet crunchy Korean fried chicken. Her husband gave the meal "two big thumbs up!" Even though she only had thick Italian noodles (bucatini) on hand, the dish turned out great and looked wonderfully colorful.
So, just like D3, why don’t you show off your amazing Korean cooking skills and surprise your loved ones on their birthdays?!
Super fast plus delicious bibim-guksu!
Here’s a short, one-minute video showing how I make bibim-guksu. Of course the full recipe and more detailed video is on my website.
Korean feast prepared by Alex and her friends!
It's heartwarming to see so many of you guys hosting Korean food parties with friends and family. I'm amazed by the creative combinations you come up with in selecting various dishes from my recipes, and the way you present each dish beautifully!
When Alex from Austin, Texas sent me this photo, I knew I had to share it in my August newsletter. I hope it motivates some of you to host your own Korean food parties someday.
Alex said, “I wanted to show you a photo of all the Korean dishes my friends and I made for our dinner party from your cookbook and website: japchae, kimchi jjigae, steamed shishito peppers, scallion salad, Koren fried chicken, gamjatang, and gyeranjjim. We enjoyed our feast so much!”
Benjamin’s kimchi
Benjamin's homemade kimchi made my mouth water! The vibrant red, juicy kimchi covered the crispy and tender baechu (napa cabbage) beautifully.
Great job, Benjamin! Quality ingredients truly make all the difference in making delicious kimchi!
Did this japchae fall out of my book?
One of my readers shared an absolutely stunning photo of japchae, exclaiming, "I hope Maangchi is proud of me!" Well, let me say I am more than proud of you. It's like my cookbook's japchae came to life in her kitchen! : )
Messages 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!
I am absolutely thrilled when I hear that someone started a Korean food business using my recipes. Emi in the Philippines ventured into the world of Korean street food, running a night market stall.
Her recipes are my recipes to my Korean street foods like, gimmari, gimbap, corn dog... these are some of my products being sold in night market in Baguio City. Philippines. Thanks for your recipes ❤
I'm curious to know how all of you discovered my website and videos. What was your first recipe from me? One of my readers mentioned that her first try was my garlic pickles! Reading her message got me excited, thinking about February next year when she'll get to enjoy the pickles she's fermenting. They’re going to be great!
This is the first of your recipe I'm trying 😁 Right now the garlic is in the jar and the brine is cooling off and I'm very excited about it because I love fermented foods. February of next year we'll give one a try and I can't wait! Thanks for the recipe!
In my video about my cold soba with dipping sauce, I shared a little tip on how I store Korean radish (or daikon) in the fridge by wrapping it in a towel. Someone had a question that brought a smile to my face! I thought some of you might have the same question, so I'm sharing my response here for all of you:
Maangchi - why does the daikon get a little blanket?
My answer:
I wrap my daikon (or radish) with a cloth before placing it in a plastic bag and refrigerating it. The cloth prevents the daikon from getting too cold, which can cause a sponge-like texture change. The plastic bag helps retain moisture, keeping the daikon fresh and preventing it from drying out.
My reader rediscovered miyeokguk (seaweed soup) that she had tried years ago at a Korean church!
This is a really great recipe! I really appreciate you providing demonstrations of your dishes. Many years ago, I tried this soup at a Korean church without knowing the proper name of it. To think that after all this time, I'd be making it at home and it just feels natural. Thanks!
All these wonderful people below are big fans of Korean food! Sarah, in the middle wearing a lovely yellow dress, used to host my meetups when I visited Amsterdam. We even made a fun video together, cooking spicy chicken with potatoes (dakbokkeumtang).
Since then, we've become great friends. Now she's living in the USA, and she recently had a fantastic Korean dinner party. She sent me these great photos from the gathering. It looks like a great party! I love all of you, guys! 😊
I hope you enjoyed this month’s letter and I’ll see you next month on September 1st! Keep being happy with your delicious Korean cooking!
망치님! 한국의 구독자입니다.. 영어 공부하려고 비디오도 엄청 보고 이렇게 이메일로 블로그까지 구독하게 됐어요. 항상 영상과 글 잘 읽고 있습니다. 한국에 사는 저보다 더더욱 한식을 자주 드시는 것 같아요 ㅋㅋㅋ 더위 조심하시고 언제나 행복하세용 ㅎㅎ
Hi Maangchi,
I was looking for a recipe for pickled eggplant that was shared by a Korean neighbor. When I finally found one on the internet there you were with a video. It has be a marvelous find for me as I like to cook and eat Asian foods.
A short story about this neighbor. When she would cook traditional Korean foods, that her children refused to eat, there would rather have pizza, she would knock on my door and tell me to send my son over as she was cooking octopus and he loved her cooking. So off he would go to enjoy a meal.
That was many years ago, but I did love her other dishes and I too enjoyed them. Unfortunately we moved away to Arkansas then I moved to Texas. I do still miss her cooking. And all our children are grown with children and grandchildren of their own.
I now have both your cook books and have made many of the recipes. :)
Enjoy the day!
Demaris Swint
Alamo, Texas