Come for Breakfast: Kimchi Fried Rice with Broccolini, Egg, Bacon

Kimchi Fried Rice with Broccolini, Egg, Bacon

Kimchi Stir-Fried Rice
Kimchi Bokkeumbap 김치볶음밥

with Broccolini, Egg, and Bacon
Fried Ginger, Toasted Seaweed

My friends over at the Creative Cooking Crew are asking, “What’s for Breakfast? Show us what would you make for breakfast if you had weekend guests…”

My house guests are hardly surprised when served a dish influenced by Korean recipes or ingredients. It continues to be an honor to have many of those dishes featured in the Korea Herald Business and K POP Buddy.

Breakfast at Chez Lori Lynn is almost always savory rather than sweet (unless my nephews are visiting). How breakfast is served is important too – fresh flowers from my garden, stylish service-ware, pretty linens (thanks to Peg for the charming tea towels), and bold Italian roast coffee.

Even those who aren’t ardent fans of cabbage kimchi, seem to like kimchi fried rice – because sautéing the kimchi mellows that fermented edginess while retaining all the flavor. I was enjoying the kimchi bokkeumbap at a neighborhood Korean restaurant with its vibrant orange hue and runny yellow egg yolk – but I found myself craving green. So when I remade the dish at home for guests, the addition of steamed broccolini lightly seasoned with sesame oil, sea salt, and gochugaru created the perfect balance of color, texture, flavor, and nutrition. The broccolini hybrid originated in Japan as a cross between broccoli and gai-lan (Chinese broccoli) so with its Asian roots, it pairs very well with kimchi fried rice.

Kimchi Stir-Fried Rice Recipe

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Korean Grilled Salmon, Gochujang-Soju Marinade

Korean Grilled Salmon, Gochujang-Soju Marinade

Korean Grilled Salmon, Gochujang-Soju Marinade
Mixed Lettuce Salad with Cucumber & Radish Batons
Served with Ice Cold Soju

Gochujang, a red chili paste with sweet heat and a funky fermented umami richness is used as a base for many marinades. Combined with soju, sesame oil, and soy sauce – this gochujang marinade lends a complex flavor profile to the smoky salmon’s unctuous texture.

Ice cold soju makes a perfect accompaniment to grilled salmon. This Korean alcoholic beverage distilled from rice has slightly floral and barely sweet flavors. Pleasantly light and refreshing with a round mouth-feel, and an alcoholic content of 20%, it is usually enjoyed neat, sipped from a shot glass. In this dish, the salmon is obviously the star, a fresh crisp salad and smooth snappy soju play the supporting roles.

Korean Grilled Salmon, Gochujang-Soju Marinade Recipe

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Korean Cold Noodles with Crab & Asparagus (Bibim Naengmyeon)

Korean Cold Noodles with Crab & Asparagus (Bibim Naengmyeon)

Korean Mixed Cold Noodles with Crab & Asparagus (Bibim Naengmyeon)

As the weather warms, we’re looking forward to cooler dishes. Bibim naengmyeon is a Korean spicy cold buckwheat noodle dish typically served with cucumber, radish, and hard boiled egg. Sometimes sliced beef and Korean pear are added. To celebrate springtime, I’m making my bibim (mixed) naeng (cold) myeon (noodle) with asparagus and Dungeness crab.

Korean Mixed Cold Noodles Recipe

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A Korean Sweet Treat ~ Hwa Jeon with Honey and Flower Petals

The Prettiest Little Tea Cakes ~ Hwa Jeon

The Prettiest Rice Tea Cakes ~ Hwa Jeon 화전

They’re simultaneously simple and sublime. Not exactly a cake nor a cookie, a doughnut nor a pancake. But a little disk of fried rice flour with a hint of sea salt, that’s all. Sprinkled with edible flower petals and drizzled with orange blossom honey. Served with rose petal tea.

With Spring right around the corner, this delightful Korean sweet treat called hwa jeon is certain to charm your guests.

This dessert is naturally gluten-free. It is made from glutinous rice flour also known as sweet or sticky rice flour. “Glutinous” refers to the type of rice, not gluten.

Hwa Jeon Recipe

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bulgogi panino ~ kimchi, cheddar, ssamjang mayo

bulgogi panino ~ kimchi, cheddar, ssamjang mayo

bulgogi panino ~ kimchi, cheddar, scallion, ssamjang mayo

Now this is a sandwich. A Korean-Italian sandwich, Bulgogi Panino. Bulgogi (literally “fire-meat”) is grilled marinated beef which is piled on a roll with kimchi, cheddar, scallions, and ssamjang mayo – then pressed and grilled on a panini maker.

The thinly sliced beef is marinated in a soy sauce-brown sugar-sesame-garlic marinade then cooked over fire. Napa cabbage kimchi and sharp cheddar cheese is one of my favorite food combinations. It simply rocks – kimchi’s zingy fermented flavors are balanced by the rich cheese. And ssamjang mayo, nothing like the ubiquitous chipotle mayonnaise, is a bit spicy but has an incredible depth of flavor. Ssamjang is a thick, spicy paste made from combining gochujang (red chili paste) with doenjang (fermented soybean paste) with sesame oil, onion, and garlic.

There is obviously no shortage of flavor going on here…

the bulgogi panino recipe

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