Korean Barbecued Beef and Assorted Sides
Tonight I decided to cook Korean barbecue for the first time. Although I love venturing out to Koreatown for some barbecue and the occasional spa visit (where you check your modesty at the door and for 15 dollars can spend all day (or night--it's open 24 hours) soaking in medicinal baths, resting in the "jade room," or watching Korean news in the sauna), I decided Sunday is always a good night to stay in and try some new recipes.

I used The "William Sonoma Cookbook-The Essential Recipe Collection for Today's Home Cook", as well as www.chow.com for guidance.



Korean Barbecued Beef
Serves 2-3 People

Ingredients:

1 lb Beef Tenderloin
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp tamari or a light soy sauce (Use low sodium if you wish)
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce (I could not find dark soy sauce at the market so I just added about 1 tsp of molasses to the tamari soy sauce and quickly warmed it up on the stove top to mix it together)
1 Tbsp Asian sesame oil
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
5 green onions, minced (use white parts only for the marinade and the rest for garnish)
1tsp fresh ginger, minced
2 Tbsp sesame seeds (toasted at medium heat for 5 minutes on stove top and crushed either by hand or with a coffee grinder or food processor)
Freshly ground pepper
1 tsp Sriracha chile sauce (found in any grocery store)
1 Tbsp canola oil (To brush grill)

Preparation:

Put beef in the freezer for about 10-20 minutes to make cutting into thin slices easier.

Preparing Marinade:

-Combine 3 cloves of minced garlic with 1 Tbsp garlic and mash into a paste with a spoon or the side of the blade of your knife
-Place paste into a bowl
-Add
3 Tbsp light soy sauce and 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp vinegar
All but about 1 Tbsp of the minced green onion
Ginger
1 Tbsp of the seame seeds
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp water

-Cut beef against the grain into slices about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick.

-Place beef slices in a shallow bowl (I used a glass pie dish) and mix thoroughly making sure marinade is covering all slices of beef. Cover and put in the refrigerator for 1-4 hours

Preparing Dipping sauce

-Mince 3 cloves of garlic 1 Tbsp of garlic and mash into a paste again
-Put into a bowl and add
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp seasame oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1-2 Tbsp minced green onions
1 Tbsp toasted and crushed sesame seeds
1 Tbsp water



Korean Mung Bean Sprout Salad

Ingredients

-1/2 pound of mung brean sprouts of soybean sprouts
-1 teaspoon of kosher salt
-1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Preparation:

-Place all the ingrdients into a container with a lid and seal. Shake to coat all the bean sproats with the oil and salt
-Refrigerate until sprouts release moisture (30-35 mins)



Korean Scallion Salad (Pajori)


-2 Tbsp Korean Crushed Red Pepper (Can be found in korean markets. I used another asian crushed red pepper blend that I found in Whole Foods because I did not have time to drive to the nearest Korean Market).
-1 tsp kosher salt
-1 tsp sugar
-1/4 cup rice vinegar
-1 tsp toasted sesame oil
-4 cups of scallions, cut into 2 inch pieces

Preparation:

-Mix all the ingredients (except the scallions) in a bowl
-About 10-20 minutes before serving add dressing to scallions and mix


White Jasmin Rice

Ingredients:

-1 cup of Jasmin rice
-1 1/2 cups of water
-Pinch of salt

Preparation:

-Rinse rice
-Place all ingredients in a pot (with a tight lid) on the stovetop and heat to a boil. Turn down to simmer and cover for 20 minutes. Make sure not to remove top during this time
-Stir after 20 minutes and take off heat


Barbecuring Beef

-Coat grill with conola oil and place beef slices on grill (about 2 minutes on each side)


Final Presentation

-Serve beef with bean sprouts, scallions, and dipping sauce. Extra sriracha or another chili sauce is optional. I also served it with kimchi (store bought)

Welcome Back Sun.


I was driving home at around 4:30 today and noticed how beautiful the lighting was. I wanted to take some photos and realized I only had about 20 minutes before I would lose the light and the sun would set. You'll learn in photography 101 that this lighting, when the sun is setting and rising, is called the "golden hour". One of my film friends said they call it the "magic hour". In any case, the light was beautiful, especially since all the storms (temporarily) blew (or acid rained) all the smog away.

Anyways, I was listening some reggaeton song, I think that one that goes "you know you want me, I know I want you", or something, and was sort of pumped up and driving particularly fast. I didn't want to miss the setting sun and I still needed to run home and grab my camera. Needless to say, I was pulled over...Speeding ticket going 49 in a 35 mph zone...traffic school here I come.

If there was any silver lining to getting a ticket it was that the cop was extremely nice. I didn't even have to cry this time. He kindly explained that there have been a lot of complaints by the neighbors about speeding...etc. etc. And when I for some reason did not my updated registration, he just told me to find it at home and put it back in my car. I've been pulled over a few times and my experience has not always been this pleasant (if you can call getting a ticket pleasant). He even thanked me for being so polite. He thanked me! My faith that there are some good cops out there has been restored.


Anyways, I of course missed the setting sun. Here are the photos I did get. Not very golden but they work.

Cooking Shows Magyar Style

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO9PK5Xqcpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy3GJj8pv8A&NR=1

(Hungarian cross between Mr. Bean and an SNL skit)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zuWsiRew5E&feature=related

This is an excellent cookbook if you are interested in "The Cuisine of Hungary" (George Lang). I found it hiding on a bookshelf at my parents house between "C is for Corpse" by Sue Grafton and "Flowers: A Guide For Your Garden", Volumes I an II.

I love the illustrations.

Rainy Day Music

As I said earlier, it's been raining nonstop here in la. Stuck inside, I've been listening to a lot of music. Here is some music that I've been listening.

Up in the Air Soundtrack
Change by Angus and Julia Stone
And the Boys by Angus and Julia Stone
Any and all Bon Iver
Sweet & Lovely by Sonny Stitt and Duke Jordan
Night and Day by Art Tatum
Like a Mountain by Timber Timbre
Timber Timbre album by Timber Timbre
Stevie by John Coultrane and Duke Ellington (From the Bottle Rocket Soundtrack)
Happiness Is by Vince Guaraldi Trio
Find My Way Back Home by Priscilla Ahn
Hoppípolla by Sigur Rós
Song of Caden by Jon Brion
Violin Sonata No. 5 In F Major, Op. 24 'Spring': Adagio Molto Espressivo by Beethoven
Darlin Ukelele or any other songs by Jolie Holland
The Fairest of Seasons by Nico
The One That Got Away by Tom Waits
Dont Watch Me Dancing by Little Joy
All My Days by Alexi Murdoch (From the Away We Go Soundtrack)
Mr. Fox In the Fields by Alexandre Desplat (From the Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack)
Andalucia and Malaguena by Newell Oler
Trois Gymnopédies: Gymnopédie No. 1 (Lent et Douloureux) by Erik Satie
Gnossiennes: No. 1 - Lent by Erik Satie
Liebestraum No. 3 in A-Flat Major, Op.62: "O Lieb So Lang' Du Lieben Kannst" by Franz Liszt
Rêverie by Claude Debussy (From the John Williams and Julian Bream Album "Together Again")
Cavatina (From The Deer Hunter) by Stanley Myers

I recently tried out a new restaurant in Echo Park called Allston's Yacht Club, where the bartender was shaking up some pretty interesting cocktails. Fig infused bourbon Old Fashioned, Jalepeno Margarita, Bacon and Egg Martini (!!), something with raw egg whites shaken into a froth and added to milk, cream and some creamy liqueur (just looked like a big stomachache in a glass)...the list goes on. I decided to stay semi-safe and chose a sparkling wine cocktail with Torley Grande Cuvee from Hungary. To make the sparkling wine a sparkling wine cocktail they added an aperitif called Lillet Blanc (French, of course...). I fell in love with the cocktail and decided to post it so I can get you all hooked on it! (It also goes really well with the homemade fig spread and assorted cheese plate).

Enjoy!

Sparkling Wine Cocktail



















Ingredients:

-1 bottle of sparkling white wine. I used J Vineyards "Cuvée 20" Sparkling Wine but you can also use a Cava or something similar.
-Chilled Lillet Blanc. You can find this at specialty food stores or high end liquor stores. They may even sell it at your version of Vons or Ralphs.
-Twist of orange

Preparation:

-Add one jigger of chilled Lillet Blanc to your champagne glass
-Add the twist of orange (make sure to twist the peel in order to release the oils). You can also squeeze a little bit of the orange juice into the cocktail as well.
-Fill the rest of the glass with your sparkling white wine


DRINK UP!

Homemade Fig Spread With Assorted Cheeses















Ingredients

-6 Figs
-1 tbsp Sugar
-1 tbps Red Desert Wine, Port or Sweet Sherry
-1 Orange
-Assortment of cheeses (Blue, Roquefort, Camembert, Brie...)
-French Baguette

Preparation:

Fig Spread:
-Cut 4 figs in half and place on a skillet at medium low heat
-Heat and stir figs until soft
-Add desert wine
-Add sugar (feel free to add as much or as little sugar as you wish)
-Add the juice of 1/4-1/2 of a small orange and the zest of 1/2 of the orange
-Finally, add 2 more figs (halved) and place them into the spread to provide texture . Heat for
about another minute or so until they just begin to soften.

Serve with a fresh assortment of cheeses. I chose a Roquefort and Camembert cheese. I baked a slice of Camembert cheese with some of the spread on top of it for a few minutes to add variety to my plate.

Serve with warm slices of French baguette.

Today I woke up to a torrential downpour of rain. We are on the fourth day of thunderstorms in Los Angeles, something we are just not used to. I am a volunteer at a hospital, specifically in the labor and delivery room, and yesterday I was there from 8am-4pm and not one single woman was in labor. Los Angelino babies aren't even born when it rains! I'm sure it was just a fluke, but it is a funny coincidence.

Today I was supposed to have my second day of Organic Chemistry II, but instead I decided not to risk my life driving an hour north through thunderstorms, possible tornadoes, mudslides, flooded freeways etc. I swear, every time it rains I see at least five accidents on my drive to school. No exaggeration! We really aren't used to driving in anything else but dry and sunny weather.

Anyways, once I made my decision to skip my lecture, I decided to make myself breakfast. Since I had much more time than usual this morning, I decided to make baked coddled eggs with sautéed vegetables.

Hungarian Style Baked Coddled Eggs
















































Choosing your veggies and herbs:

I chose to do a Hungarian style saute of vegetables (onion, tomatoes, bell peppers and paprika), but you can really get creative and use whatever combination of vegetables and herbs you wish. You can do Italian style with tomato, garlic and basil, and even throw in some pancetta. You can do Denver style with ham and cheese. The list goes on...


Ingredients:

Olive Oil
1 egg per person
1/4 of a yellow onion
1/4 of a red or green bell pepper or 1 sweet red pepper
1/2-1 whole tomato, depending on your taste
1 tsp of Hungarian paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degreed

1. Sautéing the Vegetables
-Sauté onion and bell pepper until golden brown then add the tomato.
-Add paprika, salt and pepper
-Once all the vegetables are cooked set aside

Boil water

2. Baking the eggs and vegetables
-Add sautéed vegetables to the bottom of a porcelean ramekin or some other small oven bowl.
-Crack a raw egg on top of the vegetables
-Season with salf and pepper
-Add about 1 inch of boiling water to a circular a cake pan
-Place the ramekin in the cake pan. The boiling water should reach about half way up the
ramekin
-Place the cake pan with the ramekin in the oven and cover
-Bake for about 5 minutes, or until the egg whites look cooked. The egg will continue
cooking once you take it out of the oven, so make sure not to overcook the egg. You want
the yolk to be soft uncooked.

3. Garnish
-Add any garnishes that you would like or have on hand. I added a bit of fresh grated
aged Hungarian trappista cheese and some more paprika, but parmesan would work as
well.

I just downloaded the Fantastic Mr. Fox soundtrack and just wanted to share one of the videos.

Fantastic Mr. Fox a.k.a Petey's Song-Jarvis Cocker




My Fantastic Mr. Foxes a.k.a Willie and Pooky

I am going to preface this by saying that I rarely measure my ingredients when I cook. My recipes should just be a loose guide for you to follow. Feel free to break the rules!

Cauliflower is low in fat, high in fiber, folate and vitamin C.

1. Folate, the naturally occuring form of Folic Acid, is associated with many important
biochemical proceses necessary for keeping our bodies healthy.
Folate is used in DNA synthesis, repair and methylation (organic chemistry
chemistry speaking, methylation is simply the addition or substitution of a methly group
(-CH3) on a substrate). All these processes are important during cell growth, and are
thus very importantly during embryotic development and for maintaining fertility
Folate is also imporant in preventing anemia by maintaining healthy red blood cells which
carry oxygen throughout our body. Folate, is thus correlated to maintaining a healthy
heart and preventing cardiovascular diseases and stoke.



Roasted Cauliflower and Fennel Soup

Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 Cauliflower
1 whole garlic
1 potato
2 leeks
1 yellow onion
1 fennel bulb

Garnish: Olive oil and Fresh Sage

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place cauliflower florets and peeled cloves of one whole garlic on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, kosher or sea salt, and pepper. Roast for about 30-40 minutes

Boil the potato until soft and cool. The potato is used to thicken the soup.

While cauliflower is roasting place chopped leeks, fennel bulb and onion in a saucepan.
Note: When preparing leeks only use the white base of the leek (usually about 4 inches).
Cut the leek down the middle length wise and rinse with water. This is very important
because dirt tends to hid in the crevases of the leeks and you don't want it to find itself in
your soup.
Brown leeks, onion and fennel at about medium high heat. Once browned, turn heat to low and caramelize. Continue to stir for about 30-40 minutes until they are a creamy buttery texture.

At this point the cauliflower and and garlic should be ready. Take out of the oven and cool.

In your blender or food processor, place half your potato (cut into 1 inch cubes), half your your roasted cauliflower and garlic, and half your caramelized leeks, fennel and onions. Add about 3/4 cup water or stock and blend until it is a thick texture. Put soup in a large pot on the stove.

Do the following with the other half of the ingredients.

Heat soup and continue to add water or stock until it is the texture you prefer. Simmer for at least 10 minutes in order to blend all the ingredients together.


Garnish:

Heat olive oil or canola oil in a saucepan. Place fresh sage leaves in heated oil four about 3-5 minutes. The sage should turn a deep green color. If they become brown they have burned and try again at a lower heat.

To Serve:

Drissle olive oil over soup and the crispy sage leaves on top.

I am Hungarian on my mothers side. My mother, uncle and grandparents fled Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. Both my mothers parents were Phd organic chemists. You may thing this may give me a head start or intuitive understanding of the subject. Not so much...I am just not that lucky.

They did, however, leave me with the tradition of Hungarian cuisine.

I never had the opportunity to meet my grandfather, although I heard stories of what a wonderful cook, as well as chemist, he was. I was fortunate enough to live and become very close with my grandmother until I was the age of 16, when she passed away. My grandmother, who we called Anyu, which means "mom" in Hungarian (we followed what my mom called her when we were very young), was a great number things, but not very interested in cooking... The only thing I remember her cooking when my parents would go out was scrambled eggs for dinner (which we, of course, loved). My mom, on the other hand, was passed on the cooking genes. Every night, no earlier than 8pm, we would hear "Vacsora!" ("Dinner!"). My sister and I would run the dinner table to a bowl of soup. Always soup to start. Starting with soup is very traditional in Hungary. We would then have some sort of meat and potato dish, along with a green or cucumber salad.

In honor of my (organic chemist!) grandparents, I am going to cook a very traditional Hungarian meal this evening and something I grew up eating at least once a week.


Becsiszelet (Hungarian Wiener Schnitzel or Veal Cutlets)















































Note: If you are opposed to eating veal you can substitute it with pork chops pounded down to about 1/4 of an inch.

Ingredients:

-Pounded veal cutlets (you can find them already pounded at your local meat market or specialty food stores)
-Flour
-2 eggs
-Bread crumbs (store bought)
-Salt and Pepper
-Lemon for garnish
-Canola or Vegetable oil

Preparation:

Pour about 1 inch of canola or vegetable oil into your frying pan.
Heat oil on medium high until you can smell the heated oil and you hear it crackling. Turn down to medium or medium low depending on how hot

Creating the assembly line
-Pour about 1 cup of flour into one plate, 2 beaten eggs into another plate and 1-1 1/2 cups of
bread crumbs into another plate.
-I like to season the eggs with a bit of salt and pepper to give the veal added taste. You can
even add a pinch of paprika if you would like.

Preparing Veal
-Place one veal cutlet in the flour and cover whole cutlet with the flour.
-Transfer the cutlet to the egg and flip over until the cutlet is covered in egg.
-Transfer flour and egg covered cutlet into the bread crumbs and cover and pat bread crumbs
onto the veal, making sure the whole cutlet is covered in bread crumbs and the bread crumbs
stick.
-Repeat for all the veal cutlets you have
-Place the veal cutlets into the frying oil (now on medium). The cutlets should sizzle and
begin to brown very quickly.
-After about 2 minutes on one side flip and fry the other side for another 2 minutes until
golden brown

Garnish:
-Serve veal with a quarter of lemon
-Some of my family members also eat it with caper, dijon mustard or ketchup.

I am currently on organic chemistry hiatus (winter break). I have absolutely nothing to do, which is a very strange feeling. I spend my days running unnecessary errands, self reflecting, playing with my cat, watching the food network, and cooking...I even dappled with crafts. One night after I made Bouillabaisse for the first time, and had had a couple of glasses of wine, I decided to attempt to make homemade candles at about 11pm. Overly confident as I was, I decided not to follow any directions. I thought I had it down. I even put lavender seeds in the lavender candle and raspberry seeds in the raspberry candle! Genius, I thought... One good night of sleep later, I woke up to find ten hollow candles. I tried to ignore the gaping hole in the center of each candle and lit them anyways. "Katie, I am coughing all the sudden. What is that?" I looked down and all the lavendar seeds were burning at the top of the lavender candles...

"Maybe I should just stick to cooking?", I thought. And so I have.

Cooking My Way Through Organic Chemistry

Organic. Chemistry. Yes, when read separately, like the ingredients to some grueling, yet ultimately (or unattainably) delicious recipe, these two words seem harmless enough; even attractive. However, take out that tiny little period separating the two words, and we have something that is enough to make many of us lose our appetites.

In short, organic chemistry (not separated by a period) has taken over my life. I am a 24 year old student, currently studying (and cooking) my way towards medical school. It is sort of a yin yang situation for me right now. In college it was my minor, photography, that was the perfect counterbalance to my science major. Since graduating and enrolling in a post graduate premedical program, cooking has temporarily become the yin to my yang (organic chemistry). My life lately is basically a balance between learning the chemical composition of say, glucose or alcohol, and learning how those tiny little compounds can be found in everything I eat.

So, I must get through this two step process called Organic Chemistry (often called "ochem" or "orgo" by my fellow premed comrades), with the help of cooking. I am sure many of you have your own version of "organic chemistry". That thing that makes your life, well, no life. That day-to-day thing that may not seem relevant at times, but is necessary in for the "big picture".

I hope this blog can help you get through your own "organic chemistry" or simply just provide you some fun and interesting recipes. Don't be surprised if I include some nerdy science stuff, like why dark green vegetables are better for you than light green ones. Finally, I may also include some music in this blog, as music is another thing that is a constant part of my life, whether it be studying to any and all Beethoven or cooking to the Bottle Rocket soundtrack (which I somehow only recently discovered and love).