Soups, Stews, and Side Dishes

Cooking Time: 1483 minutes
Recipe Difficulty: Easy
Servings Amount: 8

Recipe Lead: …for when you want to impress a Korean person on their birthday…

Ingredients

Dashi

• 2 sheets dashima* (dried kelp)
• 1 handful dried shiitake mushrooms
• 8 cups filtered water

Soup

• 2 cups dried seaweed** (not the same as dashima)
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tbsp dry malt powder**
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 8 cups dashi
• 2 tbsp non-dairy milk
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Dashi.

1.  Place all ingredients together in an airtight container and leave overnight in the fridge.
2.  The following day, remove dashima and dried mushrooms and bring liquid to a boil.  Once it cools enough to handle safely, pour liquid through a cheesecloth to remove any residual solids.

Soup.

1.  Sauté mushrooms in sesame oil over medium high heat in a large soup pot (I used my Dutch oven) until they get nice and brown.  Add garlic.
2. Pour in dashi and add seaweed, salt, and black pepper.  Bring to a boil and then let it simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add in non-dairy for extra creaminess and garnish with more sesame oil.  Serve with a bowl of rice and side of kimchi (a MUST).
4. Wish your loved one a happy health birthday!

*You can get dashima here.
**You can get seaweed for seaweed soup here.

Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Recipe Difficulty: Hard
Servings Amount: 4

…for that time you want to fake your way through a chef interview…

Ingredients

Tallop.

• 1 box silken tofu
• 2 tbsp grapeseed/olive oil
• 1/4 cup shallot (chopped)
• 3-4 shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
• 1/2 tbsp Korean pepper powder*
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 orange (juiced)
• 1 tsp corn syrup (can sub in maple syrup or agave)

Fennel Miso Broth.

• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup fennel bulb (sliced)
• 1 sheet dashima**
• 2 tbsp miso paste

Garnish

• Slivered nori
• Fresno chili pepper (julienned)
• Orange zest
• Sesame oil

1. Using a 1-inch ring mold or a shot glass, carefully cut out silken tofu roughly the shape and size of a jumbo scallop.
2. Add oil to skillet over high heat.  Once oil is hot enough, gently add tofu to non-stick skillet–you should get a healthy “HISS,” otherwise, it’s not hot enough.
3. Cook for 2 minutes (or until pan-side is nice and brown) and gently flip with either your hands or a small spatula.  Cook for an additional 2 minutes until both sides are a lovely brown color.  Remove from skillet.
4. In same pan, add a little more oil and then onions and mushrooms.  Saute veggies until they are soft and add Korean pepper powder.  Stir until veggies are well coated.  Add orange juice and then water.  Reduce until sauce thickens.  Add corn syrup at the very end for extra sweetness and shine.
5. In a separate pot, add 2 cups water and dashima and fennel bulb.  Bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer.  Add miso paste and stir until well incorporated.
6. For plating, in a shallow bowl, gently place “tallop” in center.  Pour miso broth through sieve into bowl.  Spoon a bit of the onions and mushrooms together with citrus chili reduction onto top of tallop.
7. Add garnish items to the very top with chopsticks or tweezers.

*You can purchase Korean pepper powder here.

**You can purchase dashima here.

Cooking Time: 60 minutes
Recipe Difficulty: Very Easy
Servings Amount: 8

Recipe Lead: …for when you get stuck making the sweet potato side for Thanksgiving and you want to knock their socks off….

Ingredients

• 6 large sweet potatoes (assorted)
• 1 fennel bulb
• 8-10 rainbow carrots
• 2 red onions
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2-3 tbsp course sea salt (to taste)
• 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
• 2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1.  Thoroughly wash all your veggies.
2. Chop potatoes into large rough chunks.
3. Chop fennel bulb into 1/8ths.
4. Chop red onion into 1/8ths.
5. Peel carrots (do not chop).  Place all veggies into large bowl.
6. Add olive oil, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and coriander to bowl.  Grate fresh nutmeg into bowl.  Mix with large wooden spoon or with hands, to make sure all veggies are evenly coated.
7. Place veggies onto baking sheet lined with foil (which has been brushed with a little olive oil or sprayed with cooking spray) in a single layer.
8. Place veggies into oven preheated to 400-425° F (depends on how much water content your potatoes have–if they start to leak a lot of fluids, jack up the temp).
9. At around 30 minutes, flip the veggies so that both sides get an even cook.
10. While veggies are roasting, toast pine nuts in a small pan over low heat (~5 minutes)–keep your eyes on them so they don’t burn!
11. Remove from oven when the veggies are caramelized (around 45-50 minutes).
12. Place veggies in large serving bowl, tray, platter (whatever you like!).  Add sesame oil, vinegar, and pine nuts and stir gently with wooden spoon to make sure evenly coated with dressing.
13. Serve and EAT!!!

Thanks so much to my friend Teri, @nocrumbsleft, for inspiring me to make this amazingly simple, healthy, and delicious dish!

Cooking Time: 180 minutes
Recipe Difficulty: Easy
Servings Amount: 12

Recipe Lead: …for chili that will make you say WHUT?

Ingredients

• 2 cups broccoli (chopped into small pieces)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 large onion (diced)
• 1 1/2 cup shitake mushrooms (chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 carrots (diced)
• 1/2 large zucchini (diced)
• 1/2 cup over-ripe kimchi
• 1/2 large red bell pepper (diced)
• 1 can sweet corn
• 1 can black beans + juice
• 1 can cannelloni beans
• 1 large sweet potato (chopped roughly)
• 1 box of extra firm tofu (cubed)
• 2 tbsp Korean chili powder*
• 2 tbsp gochujang**
• 1 tbsp white miso paste
• 2 tbsp Ommas BBQ marinade^
• 1 box crushed tomatoes^^
• 2-3 cups vegetable stock

1.  Add sesame oil to large pot (I used a Calphalon dutch oven) over medium high eat.  Add broccoli in one layer and add a little salt.  Leave them along for at least 5 minutes, until the side touching the pan gets nice and charred.  Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Add olive oil and add mushrooms.  Cook down until they are 1/2 the size.  Add onions and salt and cook down until they get slightly caramelized.  Add garlic until softened.
3. Begin incorporating all the other veggies: carrots, zucchini, bell peppers until they soften, seasoning with salt along the way.  Add a little water if the veggies begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, and make sure to scrape up all the brown bits with a wooden spoon.
4. Add kimchi and cook like you did all the other veggies (until it softens).  Add back in the charred broccoli.  Add Korean chili powder, gochujang, miso paste, and Korean BBQ marinade.  Stir and coat all veggies evenly with sauce base.
5. Add tomatoes and veggie stock.  Scrape up the bottom of the pan with wooden spoon.
6. Add beans, corn, sweet potatoes, and tofu.  Season generously and bring to boil, before lowing to simmer.
7. Simmer for 1-2 hours, until chili turns to the desired consistency.
8. Try a spoonful and say “WHUT I JUST MADE THE BEST CHILI EVAR.”

*You can get Korean chili powder here.

**You can get my favorite vegan and gluten free gochujang here.

^You can get the recipe for Omma’s Korean BBQ marinade here.

^^You can get my preferred box of tomatoes here.