SWEET BAESUK! (배숙!)

While I ate my porridge yesterday it suddenly occurred to me to have something sweet. I was craving iced tea but my kitchen was bear all but pears (like my rhyming skills?). So I figured I’d make something from what I had and just prepare some Baesuk. The last time I had this dessert was at my friend Catherine’s house like 1 year ago. You see, her mom travels around the world for work and brings back some really yummy recipes. I wasn’t sure how to make it but I knew I had the most essential ingredients at hand. Easy as that in all of 40 minutes I had a really yummy dessert/drink to complement my porridge. I, personally, had to substitute some of the ingredients but here’s what you’ll need to do.

Ingredients:

• 2 Asian pears
• 20-30 peppercorns
• 2 tbsp. of sugar
• 4 cups water
• a small handful of pine nuts

 Directions:

1. Peel and core the pear. Make sure to leave no skin or can make the end result a bit bitter.
2. Cut them into quarters, rounding off the edges.
3. Stick in 2-3 peppercorns on the outer side running along the center. Be sure to place them far enough apart so that they don’t fall out.
4. Pour your 4 cups of water, 2 tbsp.’s of sugar and the pear sections into a sauce pan. Bring this to a boil.                                                                                                                                         *Note: You want to dissolve the sugar into the water before putting in the pears.
5. Reduce the heat to low and cook for another 5-8 minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and let the boiling water (which should now be a bit syrupy) cook the pear a bit more before transferring the liquid and pear sections into a bowl or jar. 
7. Place the container in the refrigerator to cool.
8. Serve in a small bowl with 2-3 pears. Garnish with a sprinkle of pine nuts.

You can have this yummy dessert with a lot of different foods. I prefer to accompany it with spicy foods as it works really well at cooling. Also, you can go all out and make this for special occasions. Or get creative and make different shapes. You could even use (or not use) the pine nuts and peppercorn in artistic ways. 잘, 머겠숩니다! (Bon Appetite!)

THE HUNT FOR ABALONE PORRIDGE! (전복죽!)

So as I was looking for the Kimchi recipe I saw another one by Maagchi that drew my attention. In part because Abalone is a funny word and also because I’ve never had porridge in my life. I feel that it’s important to know what a food tastes like before you try and make it for yourself, so, I must find a restaurant that serves it and have a taste.  In my experience, if you don’t know what a food is supposed to taste like, you’ve lost half the battle . Now off to finding a place that made Abalone Porridge…once that’s done I can make it for myself and post the results.

date: 10/15/11….really late at night

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Some time around 5PM:

Omo…I’m so stuffed I don’t know how I managed to make up the stairs! Okay I ate Abalone porridge 3 times today and I’m very confident I know how its supposed to taste…Oh no!! I’m too stuffed to taste the recipe once I finish. Heeheeee its time for some friends! I’ll be back with the final results tonight.

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Some time around 10PM:

Ooh yeah Maachgi did not let me down! This is one hell of a yummy dish. If I hadn’t been so full I probably would have had 3 bowls myself. Instead my friend Cindy and Jessica helped me taste test. They gave this 4 thumb’s up!

The beautiful Maagchi with yet another marvelous recipe!

You can replace abalone in this recipe with mussels, clams, shrimp, or even ground beef, but abalone porridge is the king of porridge!

When to make this precious porridge?

1. For yourself! You’re the most important person in the world!
2. For someone you love. They could be your parents, parents-in-law, spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, or of course your children.
3. For someone special in your life who’s recovering from an illness.

Makes 2-3 servings.

Ingredients:

2 small size abalones (1 cup worth), 1 cup of rice, 7 cups of water, 2 tbsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp. salt, 1tbs fish sauce, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 green onions, ¼ cup of chopped carrot, and 1 sheet of roasted laver.

Directions:

1. Wash 1 cup of rice and soak it in cold water for 2 hours. Drain it through a strainer.
2. Clean up the abalones using a brush in cold running water. Chop it up and put it on a plate.
3. Chop some carrot (about ¼ cup), 2 green onions, and put it on the plate.
4. Mince 2 cloves of garlic and put it on the plate.
5. Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp. sesame oil.
6. Add the minced garlic, abalone, and chopped carrot to the pot. Stir it for 30 seconds.
7. Add the soaked rice to the pot. Keep stirring for a few minutes until the grains of rice look half translucent.
8. Pour 7 cups of water into the pot and lower the heat to low heat. Close the lid and cook it for about 30 minutes.*tip: Every now and then open the lid and stir the porridge so the rice doesn’t burn on the bottom the pot
9. Open the lid of the pot and add 1 tbsp. fish sauce and 1 tsp. salt (the amount depends on your taste).
10. Roast a sheet of laver and put it in a plastic bag. Crush it by rubbing the plastic bag.
11. To serve, ladle the porridge into a bowl and sprinkle the crushed roasted laver and chopped green onion over top.