I’m a HUGE fan of seafood so I’ve been on the lookout for one that was yummy and easy to make (and also inexpensive). Naturally when I saw Maangchi’s latest recipe I had to try it for myself and share. So I’ll be inviting a friend over to try it with me this week. In the meantime I thought I’d share Maangchi’s video recipe and photos until I have some of my own to share.
Take 1 frozen pollock fillet (about 200 grams’ worth) out of the package, rinse it in cold water, and set aside for 20 minutes.
Slice it into pieces at a 45 degree angle. You should get 8-9 pieces that are ⅛ inch thick x 2 inches x 3 inches.
Sprinkle a few pinches of salt and a bit of ground black pepper over the slices.
Place ⅓ cup of flour in a bowl. Add the fish slices and mix by hand to coat them with flour.
Beat 2 eggs in a small bowl with a few pinches of salt.
Heat up a non-stick pan over medium high heat.
Add 1-2 tbs canola oil to the pan. Dip each pollock slice in the beaten egg and place it onto the heated pan.
Lower the heat and cook for 1 minute. turn it over with a spatula and cook 1 more minute. Add more oil if needed, and put more egg mixture on top of each slice if you want to make it yellower.
Serve hot, warm, or cool.
To make a fast dipping sauce, mix 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1/2 tbs vinegar in a bowl
So if you don’t already know- I LOVE MAANGCHI! I really appreciate how simple she makes her recipes and her videos are great. When I make one of my own I hope they turn out as wonderful as hers.
Anyways enough about Maangchi. Today I was in serious mood for some rice cake balls, but I didn’t have any rice flour. The constant hunger pangs, however, have kept me from thinking of anything else. And so I thought – lets write this recipe down! In Korea rice cakes are everywhere, and come in all different ways! You can make them or buy them. And they are often made on special occasion year round. I’ve made this recipe many times and each time I’ve changed up the ingredients I used to coke the balls (from cocoa powder to powdered sugar). Take this recipe and make it your own!
Step 1: Make red bean paste (this recipe is solely intended for the rice balls, for amore general recipe go here.
In a pot, place 1 cup of washed red beans and 4 cups of water and heat it over high heat for 10 minutes.
Lower the heat to low medium and simmer for 50 minutes.
Check if the beans are cooked fully. Remove extra water from the beans and crush them with a wooden spoon.
Add 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. of cinnamon powder into the red bean paste and set it aside.
Step 2: Prepare 3 bowls where 3 different kinds of powder will be placed for the rice cake balls
Black sesame seeds:
Rinse and drain ½ cup of black sesame seeds in running water using a strainer.
Heat a pan over medium heat and pour in the sesame seeds.
Cook the sesame seeds by stirring with a wooden spoon.
The sesame seeds will pop, then lower the heat and keep stirring until they are crispy. (5- 10 minutes)
When the sesame seeds cool down, grind them with a coffee grinder.
Transfer the sesame seeds powder to a bowl and add 2 tbsp. sugar and a pinch of salt and mix it.
Put ½ cup of toasted soybean powder (kong gaa ru in Korean) in a bowl and add 2 tbsp. of sugar and a pinch of salt and mix it.
Put ½ cup of mugwort powder (ssook gaa ru in Korean) in a bowl and add 2 tbsp. of sugar and a pinch of salt and mix it
Step 3: Make rice cake dough.
In a bowl, place 2 cups of sweet rice powder, 2 tbsp. of sugar, 1 tsp. of salt.
Pour 2/3 cup of hot water little by little while you are mixing it with a spoon
Mix the dough by hand. *Tip: if you feel the dough is too wet, add some plain flour
Put the rice cake dough into a plastic bag and set it aside
Step 4: In a big pot, place a lot of water and boil it
Let’s make rice cake!
Take the rice cake dough out from the plastic bag and place it on the cutting board. Tip: To protect the dough from being stuck to the board, sprinkle some plain flour before placing the rich cake dough.
Divide the dough into 2 and roll each one to make cylinder shape and cut it into 18-20 pieces.
Roll each piece of rice dough with your hands and make a hole in the middle of the ball with your thumb. Then turn the ball into a cup.
Put the bean paste into the middle.
Close it tightly and place it on a plate. Tip: While you are making rice balls, the rest of dough may get dried, so cover them with wet cloth or paper towel.
Carefully put all the rice cake balls into boiling water. When the rice cake balls are cooked, they float. It will take about 3 -5 minutes until they float.
Prepare lots of cold water in a big bowl.
Put the cooked rice balls into cold water and drain them.
Roll the cooked rice balls in the 3 different colors of powder and transfer them to a plate.
Korean Delights 