Cooking with Mercedes is my feature highlighting favorite foods and dishes throughout are world. I  wanted to provide you with some of my favorite Korean recipes-Mercedes Barge

INGREDIENTS FOR BUDAE JJIGAE (Army Stew)

MAIN

• 4 cups (1 litre) chicken stock* (see note)
• 200g (7 ounces) SPAM, thinly sliced
• 4 cocktail Frankfurt sausage (150g, 5.3 ounces), thinly & diagonally sliced
• 250g (9 ounces) tofu, sliced (about 1.5cm, 1/2 inch thickness)
• 200g (7 ounces) enoki mushrooms, base stem removed & stems separated
• 200g (7 ounces) king oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced length ways
• 100g (3.5 ounces) shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup ripened bite sized Kimchi
• 110g (3.9 ounces) instant ramen noodles
• 50g (1.8 ounces) Korean rice cakes for soup, soaked in cold water for 15 mins if it was frozen
• 30g (1 ounces) green onion, thinly & diagonally sliced
• 1 or 2 slices of cheese

  SAUCE (MIX THESE IN A SMALL BOWL)

SAUCE (MIX THESE IN A SMALL BOWL)
2 Tbsp Korean chili flakes (Gochugaru)
2 Tbsp rice wine (mirin)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 Tbsp Korean chili paste (Gochujang)
A few sprinkles of ground black pepper
*1 Tbsp = 15ml, 1 Cup = 250ml2 Tbsp Korean chili flakes (Gochugaru)

• 2 Tbsp rice wine (mirin)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp Korean chili paste (Gochujang)
• A few sprinkles of ground black pepper

*1 Tbsp = 15ml, 1 Cup = 250ml

HOW TO MAKE BUDAE JJIGAE

1.Assemble the main ingredients (except for instant ramen noodles, rice cakes, green onion and cheese) in a shallow pot. Add the sauce in the middle. Pour the stock in the corner of the pot. Close the lid and boil it on medium high heat until the stock starts to boil (about 8 mins).

RABOKKI – RAMEN + TTEOKBOKKI

MAIN

• 1 instant ramen noodle pack
• Fresh Korean rice cakes 16 pieces (180g/6.3 ounces), separated, if you use pre-packaged or frozen rice cakes, separate them first then soak in warm water for 10 minutes before you use them.
• 2 sheets (110g / 3.9 ounces) of Korean fish cakes, rinsed under hot running water for 1 min, chopped into small rectangular pieces
• cabbage leaves (80g/2.8 ounces), chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 small onion (60g/2.1 ounces), thinly sliced
• 4 deep fried seaweed spring rolls (100g/3.5 ounces) – I bought them from a Korean grocery store (freezer section) but you can make them if you have the time.
• 2 instant Korean dumplings (45g/1.6 ounces)
• 2 hard boiled eggs, cut into halves

BROTH

• 3 cups water
• 5g/0.2 ounces dried kelp
• 15g/0.5 ounces dried anchovy, head and black innards removed

SAUCE (MIX THEM WELL IN A BOWL.)

• 4 Tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp raw sugar
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)

GARNISH

• 1 stalk of green onion (20g/0.7 ounces), thinly chopped
• some roasted sesame seeds

*1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 cup = 250 ml

** If you want to learn more about Korean cooking ingredients, check my 30 essential Korean cooking ingredients list!

HOW TO MAKE RABOKKI

1.Put the water (3 cups) in a medium pot and add the dried kelp and anchovies. Boil it for 10 mins uncovered on medium heat. Take out (& discard) the kelp and continue boiling for a further 10 mins. Take out the anchovy. Sieve through the boiled broth over damp cheese/linen cloth to remove small particles from the kelp and anchovies. (If you don’t mind these particles, you can skip sieving.) This should result in about 400ml of broth. (Check here if you need step by step photo instructions for this process.)

2. Pour the broth into a wider pot, add the sauce and stir it well. Boil it over medium high heat. (I used a shallow pot and portable gas burner to enjoy Rabokki like a hot pot dish at the table.)

INGREDIENTS FOR JAJANGMYEON (6 SERVINGS)

MAIN

• Fresh Chinese style noodles for 6 people (Or you can use fresh udon or ramen noodles)
• 1 large onion (150g / 5.3 ounces)
• 1 medium zucchini (110g / 3.9 ounces)
• 2 large potatoes (470g / 1 pound)
• 7 large button mushrooms (240g / 0.5 pounds)
• 1/4 small cabbage (160g / 5.6 ounces)
• 600g / 1.3 pounds diced pork

PORK MARINADE SAUCE

• 1 Tbsp rice wine  (mirin)
• 5 sprinkles ground salt
• 5 sprinkles ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder

KOREAN BLACK BEAN SAUCE

• 6 Tbsp Korean black bean paste (Chunjang, 춘장)
• 90g / 3.2 ounces lard (or 6 Tbsp cooking oil – e.g. rice bran oil)
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp rice wine (or mirin)
• 1 cup chicken stock (as natural as possible)
• 1 cup water
• Starch water (potato starch 5 Tbsp + water 4 Tbsp)

TOPPINGS

• 1 large cucumber (150g / 5.3 ounces)
• Peas or sweet corn (from a tin, alternative)
• Hard boiled egg (alternative)

*1 Tbsp = 15ml, 1 Cup = 250ml

**If you want to learn more about Korean ingredients, check my 30 Essential Korean Cooking Ingredients list!

PREPARATION

1. Rinse the pork in cold water and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Add the pork marinade sauce onto the pork. Mix them well and leave it for 15 mins.

KOREAN STYLE POPCORN CHICKEN

MAIN

• 500g/18 ounces chicken thigh fillets (or breast fillets), rinsed under cold water, cut into bite sized pieces
• 150g/5.3 ounces fresh Korean rice cake, cut in half (if you’re not using fresh rice cakes, separate and soak them in warm water for 10 mins before cutting. Pat dry with some kitchen paper.)
• 1 Tbsp rice wine
• 2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 cup potato starch or corn starch
• Some cooking oil for deep frying (I used rice bran oil)

SAUCE (MIX THESE IN A BOWL)

• 5 Tbsp tomato sauce/ketchup
• 1 & 1/2 Tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic

OPTIONAL – TO GARNISH

• Crushed nuts or seeds (e.g. walnut, peanut, pistachio, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds, etc.)
• Finely chopped green onion – if you want the nice colour contrast

*1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 Cup = 250 ml

**If you want to learn more about Korean ingredients, check my 30 essential Korean cooking ingredients list!

HOW TO MAKE KOREAN STYLE POPCORN CHICKEN

1.Place chicken pieces into a large mixing bowl. Add the rice wine, ginger powder, salt, and ground black pepper and mix them well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate the chicken for 30 mins in the fridge.