Jjinmandoo (찐만두)

In cold weather, I love eating mandoo (만두), Korean dumplings. This recipe is for jjinmandoo (찐만두), steamed dumplings with kimchi, tofu, and mung bean sprouts inside. Lunar New Year is approaching on January 31st, on which Koreans traditionally eat tteogkuk (떡국), to which dumplings are commonly added. I've added a recipe for tteogkuk below.

Kimchi (김치)

Make your own kimchi (김치)! Kimchi, fermented napa cabbage, is Korea's national dish. Traditionally, it was stored in a jar and allowed to ferment underground. You can find kimchi in stores, but it usually has shrimp paste or fish sauce in it. This recipe is relatively simple and easy to do yourself. You can eat kimchi as a side dish, and it's also used in a variety of dishes like kimchi stew (김치찌개; kimchi jjigae) or kimchi fried rice (김치볶음밥; kimchi bokkeumbap). You can find Korean chile powder, essential for this dish, at a Korean grocery store. Check to make sure it is from Korea.  

Doenjang Jjigae (된장 찌개)

While growing up, the dish I loved to eat the most at home was doenjang jjigae (된장 찌개), a stew-like dish made with doenjang (된장), fermented soybean paste, tofu, and various vegetables cooked in an earthenware pot. There are various types of jjigae (찌개), a hearty soup similar to stew, but this one is my favorite. If you don't have an earthenware pot, you can use a medium, heavy-bottom pot.

Hobakjuk (호박죽)

It's officially fall, the perfect time for hobakjuk (호박죽), kabocha squash porridge. Hobak (호박) means squash and juk (죽) is the character for porridge. The farmer's market near me had a ton of kabocha squash in season. I like to add balls of sweet rice flour or you can add in sweet rice flour to thicken the porridge, but you can leave the flour out and it will still taste good. I love to eat this dish for breakfast in the fall. 

Songpyeon (송편)

September 20th is Chuseok (추석), an yearly harvest festival in Korea held around the Autumn Equinox, at which songpyeon (송편), a  half-moon shaped rice cake, is traditionally eaten. It is steamed with pine needles, which lend their selves to the songpyeon's fragrance and taste. The character song (송) stands for a pine tree. It comes in different colors and is usually filled with sugar, honey, and sesame seeds or sometimes chestnut or mung beans. 

There aren't many pine trees in NYC where I can just pick pine needles off of. I went to US Evergreen in the flower district, and they let me take a pine bough for free. Use non-glutinous rice flour (쌀가루 or 쌀떡가루), which is usually in the frozen section, and not glutinous sweet rice flour to make the songpyeon. It's said that if you make pretty songpyeon, you'll have a pretty daughter. I say just try your best to make it look like a half moon.

Buchujeon (부추전)

My favorite Korean side dish is buchujeon (부추전), a savory pancake featuring buchu (부추) or Chinese chives. Buchu tastes more like garlic than chives and has flat, thin leaves. It is also used to make buchu kimchi. 

Dotorimuk muchim (도토리묵무침)

Before the summer weather is over, I wanted to share my favorite dish to eat in summer, dotorimuk muchim (도토리묵무침), seasoned acorn jelly. The acorn jelly is traditionally made from acorns gathered from oak trees in mountain forests. The actual process for hulling the acorns is pretty difficult. 

Now, you can buy acorn starch at Asian supermarkets, which you can make into acorn jelly. Be careful with the amount of water you put in and the cooking time. If there's too much water in the acorn jelly after it solidifies, it's slightly mushy and bitter tasting.