Category

Traditional Korean Recipes

EntreesGluten FreePasta and NoodlesTraditional Korean Recipes

Healthy Ramen Noodles

I know, I know–“healthy” and “ramen” can’t coexist, right? Well, I was determined to find a way to enjoy ramen noodles without breaking nutritional bank, and decided that in these scenarios, less is more. Or, maybe, less is less? Either way, I wanted to create a super simple ramen recipe that has the least amount of ingredients as possible. And that is when my Homemade Soy Milk came to the rescue!! Yup, in case you missed it, I actually made my own soy milk (hence the name, “Homemade”!) and it was absolutely freaking GLORIOUS.

If you haven’t made this yet, RUN AND I MEAN RUN to your local Korean grocery store and pick up some dried soybeans ASAP so you can revel in the creamy deliciousness that is a no-additive, no-filler, only natural ingredients non-dairy milk that is truly the STUFF OF DREAMS. And then, you will be able to make this recipe. 🙂 Ok, even if you don’t make your own soy milk (I get it, like who really has the time (oh, but you really do…!)?), you can also make this with store bought soy milk (though I recommend getting Korean soy milk–it tastes 10x better).

Either way, this recipe has like five (5) ingredients:

  • Ramen noodles
  • Soy milk
  • Salt
  • Cucumber
  • Kimchi

Yup. That’s it. Unless you count water (which I don’t), then it’s six. Either way, this may be the most low maintenance recipe on this blog. You start cooking the ramen noodles like you would normally:

I even add in the dried packet of vegetables that’s included. Also, you can totally use gluten free ramen noodles for this, as well, to keep this entire recipe gluten free.

After cooking the noodles, remove them from the pot and place them in a large bowl. Add a little bit of the cooking liquid from your pot, which will help thicken your soy broth.

And then you pour in your beautiful soy milk. Just look at how it swirls with the noodle water and creates this gorgeous creamy sauce!!

For texture and flavor, I added some cucumber and kimchi. These are actually very typical garnishes to add to the traditional Korean noodle dish called “Kong Guksu” (which translates into soybean noodles). At first, I didn’t think I’d like eating noodles with cucumbers, but I was so so wrong. The cucumbers add a really refreshing note to this otherwise rich noodle dish and cut through some of the heaviness of the soy milk. The kimchi, of course, provides that pop of acid and heat that makes every mouthful interesting.

QUICK TIPS FOR YOUR HEALTHY RAMEN NOODLES

  • Use gluten free ramen noodles to keep this recipe entirely gluten free.
  • Utilize the dried vegetables that come with the ramen noodles, but save the soup packet for something else.
  • Make your own soy milk for the best results, but if you can’t, head over to the Korean grocery store and pick out Korean soy (they taste oh so delicious). Otherwise, use your favorite brand of soy milk and make sure to heat it up before pouring over your noodles.
  • Try and keep the salt to a minimum–this recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon, but if you could ditch the salt altogether, that’s great! Remember, you’ll get plenty of brine from the kimchi!
  • Do not go light on the cucumbers. This recipe only calls for 1/4 cup of julienned cucumbers, but you could easily add more–they taste so good with the broth.

Healthy and Creamy Ramen Noodles

A healthy and delicious ramen recipe utilizing homemade soy milk and fresh cucumber and kimchi that will take you less than 15 minutes to prepare.
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1 person

Equipment

  • small pot

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Bring 2 cups water to a boil and then add ramen noodles.
  • Add any dried vegetables that come with the package but NOT the soup mix.
  • Cook according to package instructions. In the meantime, heat your soy milk (on the stovetop or microwave) so that it is hot (not boiling).
  • Remove the noodles from the pot and add them to a large bowl.
  • Add about 1/2 cup of the noodle cooking liquid.
  • Next add soy milk and salt.
  • Garnish with julienned cucumber and kimchi.

Nutrition

Calories: 455kcalCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 16gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 2984mgPotassium: 489mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 537IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 331mgIron: 5mg
Keyword noodles, ramen, soy
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Bread and BreakfastGluten FreeTraditional Korean Recipes

Homemade Soy Milk

I started wondering what my own homemade soy milk would taste like. And then, how hard it would be to make it. And it turns out, it’s really not that hard at all and it’s ABSOLUTELY FREAKING AMAZINGLY MIND-BLOWINGLY DELICIOUS. For this recipe, I tweaked one that was provided by the legendary Maangchi to come up with my own slightly sweeter version.

You start out with dried soybeans. It turns out that this is the hardest part of this recipe. I couldn’t find it at the regular grocery store, so I ended up having to go to my local Korean grocery store. I looked for one that said non-GMO and organic (while I’m not a stickler for this stuff in general, I highly recommend this when you’re dealing with soy in the United States) and got straight to business.

Now, these soybeans need to be soaked for about 24 hours before you can do anything. I used filtered water for all the water in this recipe, to make sure that the soybean flavor wouldn’t be drowned out by any natural flavors in the tap water (which is what I use for generally anything else).

After you soak the beans for about 24 hours, they will not be soft. I thought they would be super tender, but they are actually quite hard. However, they will soak up nearly all of the liquid. If you find at any point during the 24 hours that they are no longer completely submerged, just add another 1/2 cup of filtered water.

Drain any excess water and throw the beans into a medium sized pot. Add 2 cups of filtered water and bring it to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let the beans cook with the pot uncovered for about 12 to 15 minutes. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. At this point, you should still have some liquid left over in the pot and your beans will be softer (though still not tender).

Now, you’ll notice little bits of gray stuff hanging out in the water or on your spoon (like you can see in the picture above). In order to ensure that none of it ended up in my soy milk (or as little of it as possible, at least), I used a strainer to scoop my soybeans and place them in the blender. I also used a strainer when I added some of the cooking liquid to my blender.

This is when you add things to really make this milk indulgent and tasty, while not full of stuff you don’t recognize. Taking a leaf out of Maangchi’s book, I added pine nuts (wonderful fatty flavor) and toasted sesame seeds, and then also added a pinch of salt and a couple dates for natural sweetness. Then I blended the whole thing up until creamy and frothy.

All in all, it could not have been an easier thing to make and the results were absolutely MARVELOUS. It is TRULY THE BEST SOY MILK YOU WILL EVER DRINK!!! It was thick, creamy, and bursting with flavor. And the best part is, you know EXACTLY WHAT WENT INTO IT!!

So, I know that soy has gotten a bad reputation these days. And that’s so sad, because there is so much research out there that busts all the myths about soy in our food. Bottom line, unless you’re allergic to soy, soy is not the evil food that people seem to make it out to be. However, what is questionable, in my mind, is what’s been done to soy in the United States, to make it as cheaply as possible to feed livestock (and sometimes humans) and serve as filler for processed foods (so they can charge us more for less).

Why do I say all these things? Because I recently took a look at what all goes into my store bought organic soy milk and was surprised to find that it had all sorts of things in it that I didn’t recognize. Like who knew that tapioca starch was added to milk?

QUICK TIPS FOR YOUR HOMEMADE SOY MILK

  • Try and use non-GMO and organic dried soybeans for your homemade soy milk. A visit to your Korean grocery store will have the best options, but you can also order these online.
  • Use filtered water to ensure that there aren’t any residual flavors in your water that will compete with the flavor of the soybeans.
  • Utilize a strainer or slotted spoon to avoid adding any of the grey “scum” that is created when boiling the soybeans.
  • Use a high powered blender to achieve the smoothest consistency for your homemade soy milk.

Homemade Soy Milk

A soy milk in which you can be confident–no additives, fillers, or weird ingredients! So easy and packed with flavor, you'll never buy soy milk again!
5 from 2 votes
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8 cups

Equipment

  • blender
  • strainer

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Soak the dried soybeans overnight in 2 cups of filtered water.
  • After soaking for 24 hours, most of the liquid will be gone. Drain any excess water.
  • Place the soybeans in a medium pot over medium high heat, together with 2 cups of filtered water.
  • Bring the water to a boil and then let it simmer for approximately 15 minutes, uncovered.
  • Cover the pot and cook for an additional 2 or 3 minutes. At this point, the soybeans will be softer, but not tender.
  • Using a slotted spoon or a strainer, add the soybeans only to a blender (without any liquid). Then, add about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid into the blender, as well, through a strainer.
  • Add the pine nuts, sesame seeds, salt, and dates (make sure to seed them), together with 2 1/2 cups filtered water.
  • Blend at medium speed for 1 minute and then raise to high speed until completely smooth and frothy (about 6 to 7 minutes, depending on your blender).

Nutrition

Calories: 108kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 5gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 73mgPotassium: 285mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 13IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 2mg
Keyword non dairy milk, nondairy, plant milk,, soy, soy milk,
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MainsPasta and NoodlesSoups, Stews, and Side DishesTraditional Korean Recipes

Kimchi Soondooboo Jeongol

Whenever you go to a Korean restaurant, there will be a section of the menu that’s devoted to hot pots or “jeongols.” They are cooked at the table and are designed to be shared by the table. I always loved getting budae jeongol (a large budae chigae) with my family or friends, so that I could have a bowl of stew with my rice and whatever “entree” I ordered. While most jeongols are “meat-centric,” I wanted to make something that was tofu forward, because I love silken tofu so much. I also had a jar of leftover kimchi that was just aching to be used, so I thought I’d revisit my epic kimchi-soondooboo mashup and make it jeongol style.

Think of this recipe as a mix between soondooboo and kimchi and budae chigae. You start out by infusing the oils (I used both olive oil and sesame oil) with some aromatics: onions, scallions, garlic, and gochugaru. Remember, watch the gochugaru so it doesn’t burn. If the gochugaru starts to turn brown, you will have a brown and bitter stew.

I add a healthy amount of kimchi. Now, for non-vegan kimchi, I always had to wait until the kimchi was super stinky. The thing is, vegan kimchi doesn’t really get that stinky (thanks to the elimination of fish sauce). So, in lieu of using smell as my guide for when kimchi is good for stewing, I just let the kimchi sit in my fridge for at least a week before adding it to my soup.

The other thing I like to add to my kimchi chigae (or stew) is gochujang. Some people don’t add any gochujang to their kimchi chigae, but I find that it adds a lovely deep smokiness and a hint of sweetness to my kimchi chigae. The thing with any stew, of course, is about developing layers of flavor. That’s why we start out with the aromatics, add the kimchi, and then hit it all with some gochujang–fermented soybean chili paste.

To ensure the broth is velvety and lovely, I like to use a good vegetable broth. If I don’t have any of my own on hand, I’ll just store bought. If you don’t have broth, you can, of course, use water. But, in my opinion, using a vegetable broth (one that you like) makes a humongous difference in flavor and consistency.

Finally, add the silken tofu. I always get asked “what are those white jiggly things?” when I make soondoboo chigae. “Soondooboo” means silken tofu (“dooboo” literally means tofu). Silken tofu tastes a lot like plain yogurt, only a little bit firmer and no real sourness. It’s a very bland flavor, but has the ability to take on the flavors around it. A lot of folks use silken tofu for their smoothies or as an egg replacer, but I’ve always just enjoyed the taste and texture of silken tofu, without using it as a stand-in for something else.

After adding the silken tofu, you get to have some fun! I took inventory of my freezer and fridge and picked a few things I wanted to add–ricecakes (the kind you use for tteokbokki), some dumplings, and some fresh noodles (the ones I didn’t use when I accidentally made tofu fettuccini). I grabbed a handful of fresh enoki mushrooms that I only just started falling in love with, before heading back to my pot. I also had a bag of frozen corn that I almost dumped into the stew, but decided I didn’t want to go overboard (literally–didn’t want to have my stew spilling over the edge!).

And then you just bring everything to a boil and let it do it’s thing for a few minutes, until the noodles are cooked, the ricecakes are soft, and the dumplings are not longer frozen.

Here are a few quick tips:

  • Keep an eye on your gochugaru, to make sure it doesn’t burn. Your stew should be a bright orange color–not brown. If it’s brown, that means you burned the gochugaru in the beginning, which will make it bitter.
  • Make sure to reserve some kimchi juice to add to the stew for extra kimchi flavor.
  • Use vegetable broth (homemade or store bought) in favor of water, for a richer and more dynamic flavor.
  • Use both gochujang and soy sauce to build multiple layers of flavor.
  • Do not overcook the stew–once the noodles and rice cakes are fully cooked, start eating. Otherwise, the kichi will become soggy and not fun. 🙁
  • Make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free soy sauce and gluten free gochujang.

Kimchi Soondooboo Jeongol

5 from 2 votes
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Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and sesame oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
  • Add onions, scallions, and garlic and sautee until they become translucent, about 3 minutes. Add gochugaru and cook for 30 seconds.
  • Add kimchi, zucchini, and gochujang, and stir until vegetables are evenly coated with sauce. Add soy sauce and vegetable broth, together with kimchi juice.
  • Spoon the silken tofu into the broth in chunks.
  • Add the ricecakes, dumplings, noodles, and enoki mushrooms. Bring the soup up to a boil and continue cooking at a gentle boil until the ricecakes are soft and the noodles are cooked.
  • Garnish with scallion greens before serving.

Video

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FoodMainsPasta and NoodlesTraditional Korean Recipes

Creamy Vegan Ramen Noodles

I love ramen noodles or “lah-myun” in Korean. My father would make Shin lah-myun (a very popular kind of lah-myun) every Sunday morning, like clockwork. I would wake up to the mouthwateringly spicy scent of it wafting up all the way from the kitchen right up to my bedroom.

There’s currently a ramen “hack” gaining popularity in TikTok where you add an egg, some mayo, and the soup packet into a bowl and cook this “base” with the ramen noodles to create creamy ramen. And while it looks interesting, it’s definitely not vegan. It did put me in the mood for creamy ramen noodles, though, which is why I decided to create my own version.

I used two things to create the creamy consistency–Korean soy milk and doenjang (fermented soybean paste). I love Korean soy milk or “dooyoo,” as it imparts a nuttier and sweeter flavor than its Western counterparts. Doenjang also provides both creaminess and intense flavor. Add a little big of soy sauce and we are off to the races when it comes to fancifying this otherwise humble lah-myun dish. I also packed in a heap of my favorite veggies–carrots, onions, zucchini, and cabbage, to give it extra heartiness. Cause, you know, my least favorite thing about lah-myun is how it never makes you feel full.

Creamy Vegan Ramen Noodles

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2 people

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Add both olive oil and sesame oil to a large, deep pan over medium high heat. Add the packet of soup base to the pan and begin stirring, to ensure the spices do not burn, for 1 minute.
  • Add the onions, mushrooms, garlic, and doenjang and stir until the vegetables are coated. Deglaze the pan with the soy sauce and then add water.
  • Add the soy milk and stir.
  • Next, add the ramen noodles, together with the carrots, cabbage, zucchini, corn, and dumplings.
  • Add the silken tofu and break up with a spoon.
  • Cook until the noodles are done, stirring as necessary, around 4 to 5 minutes. Garnish with gyerranmari slices, chili, and scallion.
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Traditional Korean Recipes

Budae Chigae

Budae Chigae used to be one of my all time favorite things to order at a local Korean bar. I genuinely believe that Korean bars make the most delicious Korean food. The BEST kimchi chigae, the BEST tteokbokki, and the BEST budae chigae.

For me, the challenge was trying to come up with a way to recreate the spicy, salty, umami packed broth, and I decided to just blend up a bunch of spices in my spice rack. Of course, if you’re not a snob, you can also just use the spice packet that comes with the ramen noodles we add at the end, lol. But, tbh, some ppl are not comfortable using a spice packet without really knowing what’s in them, so that’s why I came up with my own! And I’m pretty darn proud of it!

Budae Chigae is known to be meat heavy. I threw in some Field Roast sausage for that part. Anyway, it’s pretty spicy, so make sure to have a glass of water handy when you eat this. Also, you should probably eat it with rice (that’s how we ate it).

Budae Chigae

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4 people

Ingredients
  

Spice Blend

  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp gochugaru
  • 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp mushroom powder
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp kelp powder

Stew

Gyerranmari

Instructions
 

  • Make the Gyerranmari: Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a small pan over medium-high heat. Pour in 1/2 cup of liquid egg replacer. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sat. Add 1/3 to 1/2 slice of cheese, followed by 1/2 sheet of nori. When egg is halfway cooked, roll the egg up like a crepe. Add 1/4 cup of liquid egg replacer and repeat.
  • Mix together the spice blend.
  • Add olive oil and sesame oil to a very large and deep pan, over medium heat. Add the spice blend and begin stirring immediately for 1 minute, to allow them to bloom (but not burn!).
  • Arrange all of the vegetables, rice cakes, and dumplings. Add kimchi, kimchi juice, gochujang. Deglace with soy sauce and and add water.
  • Add tofu and ramen noodles. Stir the contents of the pan, so that the noodles are submerged.
  • Add sliced Gyerranmari to the top of the chigae and cook until the noodles are fully cooked.
  • Serve with rice.

Video

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Gluten FreeMainsTraditional Korean Recipes

EZ No Chop Kimchi Fried Rice

It’s been very cold and very busy in my household these days. This means I’m usually dead tired by the time dinner rolls around and I don’t want to spend a lot of time chopping and prepping vegetables. In these situations, my favorite thing in the world is making fried rice. It’s so easy, takes so much guesswork out of cooking, and your friendly frozen vegetables become a LIFELINE to a home-cooked meal that you can be proud of (while stuffing your face).

Instead of using a knife, I use kitchen shears to cut up my kimchi into bite-sized pieces. Kitchen shears are a main-stay in Korean kitchens. Korean ahjuhmahs use them for cutting up kimchi (as pictured), scallions (as we do in this recipe), and overlong noodles that are not easily slurpable. I once got a nasty comment on my Instagram about using kitchen shears to cut up my pajeon and it was clear the person was not very familiar with Korean dining etiquette (her loss).

The sauce is also a no brainer. Literally two ingredients: soy sauce and gochujang. You can keep this entire recipe gluten free by using gluten free soy sauce and gluten free gochujang. I make it in advance so that I can add it at the end, without any fuss.

Anyhow, I made this earlier today and had to stop myself from eating the whole panful of it before I shared any with my husband it was so so so so good. It’s truly so easy there’s no excuse not to try!!

EZ No Chop Kimchi Fried Rice

5 from 3 votes
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2 people

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Using kitchen shears, cut up your kimchi (if you want).
  • Make the sauce by mixing together gochujang and soy sauce.
  • Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil and 1/2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil to a non-stick pan over medium high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the kimchi. Cook for about 2 minutes, until kimchi starts to change color (gets lighter).
  • Add frozen vegetables. Cook for about 1 minute. Then, create a well in the center of your cooked veggies and add the liquid egg replacer.
  • Allow the egg to cook a little, and then begin to scramble them within the well.
  • Incorporate the scrambled egg into the rest of your vegetables and cook for about 2 minutes (until the egg is cooked). Create another well in the center of your vegetables and add 1/2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Add 2 cups of cooked rice.
  • Cook the rice in the well for about 1 minute. Then begin mixing together with the vegetables. Cook for about 1 additional minute. Then add sauce.
  • Add scallion greens, sesame seeds, and sesame oil. Mix together before eating.
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FoodGluten FreeTraditional Korean Recipes

Rainbow Jeon (Pancake)

I love cabbage, carrots, green onions, and, of course, the potato. I decided to make a pancake out of them (which you can make GF by using GF flour and GF soy sauce). I call this “Rainbow Jeon” because of how colorful they turned out. And I love the idea of cutting them up into little rectangles, because they remind me of those small mini-sandwiches you get when you go to those fancy afternoon teas.

You don’t need a dipping sauce for these either. The batter is infused with garlic powder, onion powder, and soy sauce, making each bite a massive umami bomb.

I don’t really have much more to say about this recipe (I’m such a terrible blogger), so I’ll leave you to it. Make this. You will love it. My husband ate the whole thing by himself.

Rainbow Jeon (Pancakes)

5 from 3 votes
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4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and sliced
  • 1 russet potato, julienned
  • 1 large carrot, julienned
  • 4 leaves red cabbage, julienned
  • 4 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup JUSTEgg (or plant milk)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 cup flour (can substitute in GF flour)
  • 2 tbsp potato starch
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oil, for frying
  • 1 tbsp black sesame seeds halved

Instructions
 

  • After chopping up all the vegetables, add them to a large bowl.
  • Add the liquid egg replacer (or plant milk), together with the flour, potato starch, salt, pepper, onion, powder, and garlic powder. Add soy sauce and mix everything together.
  • In a medium non-stick pan, add oil over medium high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, pour the entire contents of the bowl into the pan.
  • Cook for about 3 minutes, until the underside is golden brown. Flip using a large spatula. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cook for an additional 2 minutes and then flip once more.
  • Cook for 1 more minute and then remove from the pan. Cut into rectangular pieces.
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EntreesFoodMainsTraditional Korean Recipes

Egg Sushi

I pulled out my eyebrow pencil and began filling in my grandmother’s brows. It was graduation day—after 3 years of law school, I was finally graduating.  I was wearing a brand new Anne Taylor suit in all white and strappy white heels. But, Hahlmuhnee also wore her very best—a gold and Burgundy hambok, and though she didn’t ask, I knew she wanted my help with her makeup. My grandmother was born in a small village in North Korea. She never had any formal eduction. She married my grandfather, who was a poor farmer and then the Korean War happened. They became refugees. Eventually, through my mother, hahlmuhnee immigrated to the United States. Even though she never said it, she was so proud of me. At my college graduation, as I passed her in the audience to receive my diploma, she got up out of her seat and stopped me to shake my hand. After my law school ceremony, many came up to me to tell me, “Your grandmother is so beautiful!” Looking at my grandmother in her hanbok, I realized that it was as much her graduation day, as it was mine.

My husband is OBSESSED with JUSTEgg. And I’m not going to lie–having a chicken egg alternative has dramatically expanded my culinary world. There are soooooo many dishes from my childhood that became immediately accessible due to this mung-bean bit of genius. These Egg Sushi or tamago nigiri definitely bring me back to my mother’s kitchen or all those Japanese restaurants I used to go to with my family.

Quick Tips

  • Cool the rice a bit before you try to shape it. Otherwise, you will not only burn your hands, but you will have a hard time keeping the rice from sticking. You may even want to wet your hands a little to avoid the sticky rice situation.
  • You absolutely need to use a non-stick pan to make the gyerranmari (Korean word for omelet, but also known as tamago, in Japanese). If you try using any other pan–particularly if this is you’re first time trying this technique–you will get very frustrated.
  • You do NOT need to use a square pan; however, you do want to use a smaller pan, so achieve similar dimensions. Just slice off the ends (which won’t be as neat as when you use a square pan) and eat them, instead of using them for your nigiri.
  • You will also want to cool, slightly, the gyerranmari before slicing into it. Otherwise, the cheese will completely ooze right out and it will be too hot to handle.

Egg Sushi

5 from 2 votes
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Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Add mirin and rice wine vinegar to rice and mix to incorporate.
  • Shape the rice into ovals, about the length of an egg, but not as wide.
  • Cut approximately 10 strips of roasted nori, each roughly 1/3 inch thick.
  • Add carrots, scallions, jalapeno, salt, and pepper to JUSTEgg and stir. Add oil to a nonstick pan (see notes below) over medium heat and pour approximately 1/2 of the mixture. Add 1/3 of a slice of cheese.
  • Once the JUSTEgg is nearly cooked, begin curling it (watch the video). When it is fully rolled up, push the roll back to the other end of the pan (the end you started rolling).
  • Pour 1/2 of the remaining amount of JUSTEgg mixture and repeat (i.e., add cheese, roll, and push back).
  • Pour the remaining amount of JUSTEgg mixture and repeat.
  • Slice the omelet into 1/4 inch slices. Place them on top of the rice ovals you made earlier in the recipe. Wrap them with the strips of nori.

Notes

For a list of my favorite pots, pans, and other stovetop items, including the pan I used for this recipe, check out “Stuff I Love: On the Stovetop“!
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MainsTraditional Korean Recipes

Yubuchobap

I don’t believe in soulmates. Or, love at first sight. I don’t believe in swooning or spooning, excessive employment of the words “love” or “need” or “passion.”  I believe in hard work. I believe in discipline, even in love—especially, in love.  I believe in being on time, picking up the tab, sending flowers to someone whose mother is sick, being quiet and listening even when it’s your turn to talk.  I believe that chance encounters only offer us a chance to be kind, because kindness is the most importantly underrated thing.  I believe in forgiveness, in peeling back the skin and taking a real good look at the wounds resting beneath the surface, because it’s so goddamn critical to understand the pain of the earth. I believe in the way he held my hand last night when I had a nightmare until I fell back asleep, the way my poodle shakes her butt when I come home until I kiss her nose, I believe in the traffic lights that slip into my bedroom at 3 in the morning because they tell me, quite desperately, that the world is too large to be alone.

Believe it or a not, the above is a shortened version of my OkCupid profile–the same one that lured my now husband to message me and ask me out on a date. I made these yubuchobap while my husband was out running, because I figured with all the rice and the tofu, it’s sort of the perfect post-run meal. I suppose the fact that he scarfed them down in less than 3 minutes is proof that he enjoyed them!

Quick Tips

  • Make sure to adequately cool the rice before you try to start shaping them into balls. If you don’t, you’ll not only burn your hands, but the rice will be too sticky to shape.
  • Speaking of sticky, keep a bowl of water nearby so that you can wet your hands to avoid having the rice stick to them throughout this process.

Yubuchobap

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Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Add olive oil to a large saute pan. When the oil is hot, add the frozen vegetables, together with some salt and pepper.
  • When the vegetables are soft, add the JUSTEgg and begin scrambling until eggs are cooked (around 2 minutes).
  • In a separate large bowl, add cooked rice, together with mirin and rice vinegar, as well as the scrambled eggs, and both kinds of toasted sesame seeds.
  • Place the rice in the refrigerator until it has cooled enough to handle. Then, roll the rice into golf balls.
  • Stuff the rice balls into the tofu pockets. Sprinkle with additional sesame seeds before serving.
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