Korean Daikon Pickles

 Korean Daikon Pickles

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cup Water
• 1 1/2 Cup Rice Vinegar
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Turmeric
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 Daikon radish

Instructions:

1. In a medium sauce pan add the water, rice vinegar, sugar, salt and turmeric. 
2. Stir occasionally, over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and sugar has dissolved. Turn off heat.
3. Peel and cut the Daikon into desired shapes. My husband said he prefers half moons about 1/2cm thick.
4. In a large glass container add the daikon and pour the pickle mixture over the top. Add in the bay leaves.
5. Over and let pickle for at least 2 hours before serving. 
6. Store in fridge, covered for up to 2 months.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Husband liked these pickles, said the taste is close, but not quite right. Next batch I might try with white vinegar instead of rice vinegar.

Alternate Pickle Liquid recipe to try: Same instructions

1/3 Cup Sugar

1/3 cup plus 1 tb white vinegar

1 Tablespoon Kosher salt

1 teaspoon Turmeric

3/4 Cup water

Korean Fried Chicken Sauce

 Korean Fried Chicken Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons Gochujang Paste
• 1 Inch Ginger Root, grated
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 4 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Soy Sauce
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small pot, over low heat stir constantly until sauce comes together. 
2. Simmer on low for 5 minutes.
3. To use, heat the sauce until it is more runny, toss over fried chicken. Garnish fried chicken with sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
4. Enjoy!

Korean Style Fried Chicken

 Korean Style Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 Whole chicken, butchered into two breasts, thigh, leg, wing. Butcher each breast half in half again.
• 2 Cups Buttermilk
• 2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
• 1 1/2 Cup Potato Starch
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Celery Seeds
• 1 Teaspoon Thyme
• 1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes (More for extra spicy)
• Vegetable Oil for Frying, either deep fry or shallow fry. But you must fry in oil for best results.

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl stir together the buttermilk and garlic powder. Submerge the chicken pieces in the brine for at least 2 hours, or as long as overnight.
2. When ready to fry, remove chicken pieces from marinade, and let excess drain off.
3. In a medium bowl sift together the potato starch, teaspoon garlic powder, celery seeds, thyme, paprika, baking powder and chilli flakes.
4. Heat oil to roughly 350°F. 
5. When oil is heated, dredge each piece of chicken in the flour blend. Until evenly coated, shaking off excess.
6. Gently lower chicken into oil, and fry for 5-8 minutes in a deep fryer, or 4 minutes on one side before turning for another 3-4 minutes.
7. Use a meat thermometer to ensure chicken is cooked through. Transfer cooked chicken to a wire rack over a sheet tray so excess oil can drain off. Keep cooked chicken warm in a barely warm oven while frying the rest of the chicken.
8. Serve hot and enjoy!

Notes:

Seriously, potato starch is the key to crispy fried coatings. and its GF! 

Parmesan and Herb Fries

 Parmesan and Herb Fries

Ingredients:

1 Pound potatoes 

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder 

1 Tablespoon Rosemary leaves, dried or fresh

1/4 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F
2. Wash or peel potatoes and cut into fry or tater shapes as desired. 
3. In a large bowl add the cut potatoes, olive oil, garlic powder, Rosemary, parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper.
4. Stir or toss potatoes in the bowl to evenly coat with the seasonings. 
5. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. 
6. Pour potatoes onto prepared tray and arrange into a single layer. 
7. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, turn and stir fries and bake for another 20-30 mins until fries are golden brown and cooked through.
8. Leave in oven longer for crisper fries. 

Serve and enjoy. 

Spicy Korean Wing Sauce

 Spicy Korean Wing Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Butter

1/3 Cup Gochujang Paste

4 Cloves Garlic

1/2 Inch Ginger Root 

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

3 Tablespoons Mirin or 2 tb honey

3 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar 

Instructions:

1. Mince or finely grate the garlic and ginger root. 
2. Add all ingredients to a small pot.
3. Heat over medium low heat, stirring constantly until butter melts and mixture comes to a boil. 
4. Boil for five minutes, stirring frequently. 
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before using. 
6. Sauce will thicken as it cools. 
7. Great with fried chicken. 

Notes:

Yet another recipe created to appease my husband when he misses korean food. He found a recipe for Korean fried chicken and sauce that sounded like what he was missing. The recipe he found was scanty on details and had a few ingredients I do not have so I had to fly pretty fast and loose with some substitutions. But when it was done he was thrilled and said it tastes right. Which is good since I was cooking blind and had no real idea what I was aiming for. Did some buttermilk and garlic marinated wings, dredged in seasoned flour then fried crispy and tossed in this sauce garnished with some toasted sesame seeds and I had one very very happy husband. Which is always nice. 

I'm not cooking as many new recipes as I once did, I have two kids now so life is busy but when I find a winner of a recipe I still want to save it and share it. 

Red Lentil Curry

Red Lentil Curry

Ingredients:

• 2 Cup Red Lentils
• 1 Onion, diced
• Olive oil
• 2+ Tablespoons Curry Paste*
• 1 Tablespoon Curry Spice Blend
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Turmeric
• 1 Teaspoon Ground cumin
• 1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Clove Minced Garlic
• 1 Inch Fresh Ginger, minced
• 400ml Can Crushed Tomato*

I used Taste of Thai Red Curry Paste, and Hunts Herloom crushed Tomatoes, and my own Curry spice blend which I have linked above.

Instructions:

1. Rinse the red lentils under running water for several minutes until water is running mostly clear.
2. Place the lentils in a pot and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Season well with salt and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 8-12 minutes until lentils are tender.
3. Be careful to not overcook the lentils or they will be totally mushy.
4. While the lentils are boiling, start the curry sauce.
5. In a large skillet, heat some olive oil over medium heat and stir fry cook the onions until golden brown, 10-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 
6. Add the curry paste, curry spice, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, ginger and garlic to the pan and stir with the onions until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
7. Reduce heat to low/simmer.
8. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and stir well to blend everything together.
9. If needed, drain the lentils, then add lentils to the skillet and stir everything together.
10. If desired, chopped spinach, corn or other veggies can also be added to the curry.
11. Serve with rice, or naan, or pita chips, or however you like to eat curry.

Next time I think I will add some crunchy roasted chickpeas to the curry for extra texture.

Enjoy!

Notes:

This was so good my husband, who is never really into my experiments with vegetarian cooking, actually wanted to try it! He ate a whole serving for dinner last night! and said he might eat it again tonight! That is a solid marker of success in my book.

Curry Spice Blend

Home Made Curry Powder

The layers are so pretty before they get shaken to blend

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons Ground Coriander*
• 4 Teaspoons Turmeric Powder
• 3 Teaspoons Cumin Powder
• 1-2 Teaspoons Ground Black Pepper*
• 1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Chili Flakes
• 1 Teaspoon Cardamom Powder*
• 3 Teaspoons Cinnamon Powder(or 2-3 inches cinnamon stick, toasted and powdered*)
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves*
• 1/2 Ground Ginger Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds, Ground*
• 2 Teaspoons Mustard Seeds, Ground*
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 2-3 Teaspoons Paprika

* If you have whole spices instead of ground, don't worry! In a dry skillet over medium heat, lightly toast the measured amount of whole spices until the fragrances pop or bloom (you can really smell them strongly)  then transfer toasted spices to a mortar and grind with a pestle or you can grind the spices in a spice grinder, blender, clean coffee bean grinder etc. Then mix the freshly ground spices into the rest of the ingredients.

Instructions:

1. As required, lightly toast and grind any whole spices you are using. Measure out the rest of the ingredients into a small bowl. Stir all the ground spices together. Store in an air tight container for pretty much ever. . .  or until the spices no longer smell strongly.
2. Makes a little less than a cup of spice blend. Which seems like a lot until you realize that you often use 2-6 tablespoons of it at once in a recipe.
3. Use in curries, soups, on veggies, in dips etc.

Enjoy!

Notes:

You can adjust the spices in this recipe to better suit your tastes. Things like turmeric, cayenne, crushed chilies and cumin will add more heat. Ginger, fennel, cloves, ginger will add a little bit of sweetness to compensate the spice, an the others bring complexity to the final combined flavors. If you know you really like the flavor of one of the spices, try adding more of that spice as a way to start experimenting. Just keep track of the changes you make, or else you could end up with the perfect curry spice in a jar, but no way to recreate it again. Which would be sad.

Always keep notes! This is my training as a biologist coming back. . . always keep clear and dated notes to know what you were doing in case something awesome happens unexpectedly.

Happy spice blending!

Other Places:

How about Trying to make a curry?

Coconut Curried Chicken

Home Made Poultry Seasoning (No Salt)

Poultry Seasoning

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons dried rosemary
• 3 Tablespoons oregano
• 2 Tablespoons sage
• 1 Tablespoon Summer Savory or Savory
• 1 Tablespoon ginger
• 2 Tablespoons marjoram
• 1 Tablespoon thyme
• 1 Teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Crush the rosemary leaves and then in a medium container with a good seal combine the rest of the spices and herbs, close the lid shake and done!

Examples of ways to use it:

• Rub all over a whole chicken, or bone on chicken breasts before roasting, dust with flour and dab some soft butter all over. Add a little chicken stock to the roasting pan and baste a few times while cooking for moist, yummy roasted chicken. Bonus chicken stock/pan juices can turn into awesome gravy!
• Blend some into a 4:1 Panko bread crumb and flour mix to use as a fried chicken coating. Cut chicken into strips or pound flat. In a medium bowl whisk an egg with salt, pepper and garlic, and coat the chicken in the egg, then the bread crumb and flour mix and fry in a medium heat pan, with a thin coating of veg oil for about 5 minutes a side.
• Use it as a base! Spice it up with crushed chilli flakes, go half and half with the pizza spice or taco seasoning mentioned above to push for either Italian or Mexican flavor in some chicken recipes. 
• Use it in chicken noodle soup.
• Use it in some Chinese Chicken Ramen Noodles, with extra ginger and green onion slices.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Sometimes I am lazy. I know, truly shocking to admit that but it is true. On these lazy days I like to have a small hoard of pre-made things on hand so my life is easier. Things like all my proteins and meat separated into portions just right for either my small weekly dinner parties, or for me and the man-friend soon to be husband. But that is only half the game, I still need to actually cook something to eat since lovely man friend cooks with his debit card or a cereal bowl. So I also have on hand; Pizza Spice, Taco Seasoning, and now Poultry Seasoning! Extra bonus, no salt so I don't even have to pretend to feel bad when I cook the chicken with butter. Basically this is just a nice herb and spice blend to add some flavor and act as a base for most simple chicken recipes.

Pizza Spice

Pizza Spice

Ingredients:

• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Teaspoons Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon ground Coriander
• 3 Teaspoons dried Rosemary
• 1 Teaspoon Thyme
• 2 Teaspoons Basil leaves
• 1 Teaspoon Oregano leaves
• 1 Teaspoon Parsley leaves
• 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Onion powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Paprika (optional, this makes it a bit more spicy)

Instructions:

1. Measure all the ingredients into a small bowl, mix to combine.
2. Store in an air tight container and shake over top of a pizza or bread sticks for an extra kick.
3. Or in butter with garlic, or on toast with butter, or in bread crumbs to crumb coat chicken, fish or pork, the ways to use this one are truly endless. Plus while I can't speak for everyone this spice blend has been a hit with everyone I've tried it on.

Enjoy!

Notes:

I had a summer job for two years at a pizza restaurant in my hometown. They never should have left me alone with the recipe books and all the ingredients, because I pretty much took all their secrets and ran with them! I literally spent did a quiet afternoon, hunting down the boxes some of the pre-made things came in to check their ingredients list, just to try and reverse engineer some of my favorites. But I have only used my stolen knowledge for good and in my own home, and it's been a few years and the recipes I had taken have evolved over the years so I don't feel so bad sharing them now.

This Pizza spice can be used to just add a little extra kick to a pretty plain pizza or I have some other ways that I use it, but those are recipes for another day. It is also good on home made garlic bread, garlic fingers, bread sticks, etc.  One of my favorite ways to use it is when I was lazy and didn't make my own pizza sauce and the store bough stuff tastes too bland, just sprinkle some of this over the sauce, add the rest of the toppings and BAM things are really kicked up a notch, especially if there was a nice paprika in the spice blend.

Home Made Taco Seasoning

Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

• 6 Parts Chili Powder*
• 1 Part Garlic Powder
• 1 Part Onion Powder
• 1 Part Red Chili Pepper Flakes*
• 1 Part dry Oregano
• 1 Part Paprika*
• 3 Parts Ground Cumin*
• 1 Part Kosher Salt, or normal Salt
• 1 Part ground black pepper

*These are the spices that will make it taste spicy, so you can adjust those amounts to suit your tastes.

Instructions:

1. Measure out all the ingredients into a small bowl, whisk together gently. 
2. Use about 2 1/2 Tablespoons of the seasoning mixture per pound of meat. More if you want a little more kick, less if you don't. 
3. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.

Enjoy!

Notes:

I haven't used a package of taco seasoning in probably well over three years now. I never really liked the flavor that they gave anyways really. So since my lovely wonderful fiance loves tacos to an unreasonable extent I obviously had to find a way to make taco seasoning of my own, that I also liked the taste of. But with several attempts to get the taste just right, I finally feel like I have a recipe that has excellent flavor, and best part is that it makes use of spices that I already had in the cupboard. Love it when things work out that easily.

Oh I nearly forgot I am going to write this recipe down as a ratio. Meaning that all you need to do is pick one measuring device, like for instance a tablespoon, and measure out the ingredient the number of times the recipe indicates.

Example Ratio Recipe:

3 parts soy sauce
2 part water
1 part sesame seeds
1 part garlic powder

Meaning that for this made up recipe (that is the start of a dumpling sauce) if using a table spoon measure you would measure out 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and garlic.

Why am I making things so difficult? Because this way you can decide how much of the recipe you want to make. Need a little bit to just make enough for 1 pound of ground beef (or chicken) then I might something as small as a 1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon measure. Want to make a whole lot at once so you can store it in an airtight container for easy use later? Well then 1 tablespoon as the base measure will yield about a cup of prepared seasoning. Or a using a 1/4 cup measure would yield nearly 4 cups of prepared seasoning, which is an awful lot but the choice is yours. I only use the 1/4 cup measure when I am gearing up for Christmas and plan to give away some home made gifts that year.