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Off to Europe town

Hey everyone! I’m off to Europe for the next few weeks, so I’ll try to post cool culinary finds from Paris, Germany and Prague. Check back!

Traditional Korean New Year Dish

Korean New Year is technically on the same date as the Chinese New Year, but lots of Korean Americans now celebrate on January 1st. The following dish is the traditional New Years dish that’s served in the morning before all the New Year’s celebrations. The soup represents a new year full of abundance and good health and the ’sticky’ rice cakes are eaten in hopes that fortune ’sticks.’

The dish: Duk (rice cake) Mandu (dumpling or gyoza) Kook (soup/broth):

Ingredients for dumpling filling:

1 lb ground pork

1/2 cup grated onion

1 1/2 tsp grated ginger

1 cup steamed shredded cabbage (squeeze out all water and julienne)

1 cup chopped bean sprouts (about 1cm long pieces)

2 green scallions (green part only)

1/2 tsp of salt

3 tsp soy sauce

1 egg

2 packages of dumpling/gyoza wrappers

In a large mixing bowl:

Mix ground pork, grated onion, grated ginger, chopped scallions, chopped bean sprouts, chopped cabbage, salt, soy sauce and 1 egg (helps hold the meat together)

Make a small pattie and cook for a taste test. Adjust with more salt/soy sauce.

Set up an assembly line: dumpling wrappers, filling, egg white wash

Hold the dumpling wrapper in the palm of one hand and add about a tsp of filling in the center. Using your other hand, brush egg white with finger along the top half of the dumpling wrapper. Seal the dumpling shut, pushing all the air out with no holes. Lay dumplings on parchment paper.

For the broth:

In a large stock pot add 14 cups of water and 12 large dried anchovies

Bring to a boil and season with about a 2 tsps of salt and 2 tbsps of soy sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings. The broth should be a clear brown color like beef broth.

After about 5-8 minutes, remove the anchovies. Add the rice cakes about 15 per person is good. Pre-soak the rice cakes in cold water for about 20 minutes. Cover with the lid. Once the rice cakes float up to the top add about 5 dumplings per person. The dumplings are cooked when they float to the top.

Serve in a large soup bowl with:

Roasted seaweed chopped in strips

1/2 tsp of roasted sesame seeds

1 tsp of chopped scallions

Fried egg (beat one egg and fry in a pan like a crepe (thin), slice into thin strips and add a few to each bowl

and then serve with soy sauce for dipping and…

Enjoy!

Leftover dumplings: You can layer in tupperware with parchment paper so they don’t stick to each other and freeze.  You can serve them again in this dish, or pan fry, or steam in a bamboo steamer and serve with soy sauce.

Coming soon

Hey everyone,

My fabulous boyfriend set up this cooking blog as one of my Christmas gifts. Check in tomorrow for my first recipe–Traditional Korean New Years dish! Be sure to check back for new dishes and feel free to share your recipes as well.