7 Easy to Cook Korean Recipes

Japchae - Sweet potato noodles with shredded vegetables

Korean food is very popular, highly nutritious and absolutely easy to make. It does not take a lot of your time provided you have the key ingredients that make up the Korean kitchen. Make sure you stock your refrigerator with the following:

  • Kimchi
  • Gochu Chang (Red Pepper Paste)
  • Doen Chang or Doenjang (Soy Bean paste)
  • Ssam Jang (mix of gochujang and deonjang)
  • Gang Jang (Soy Sauce)
  • Sesame Oil
  • Tofu Cubes
  • Vegetables like potato, mushroom, zuchhini, green onions, radish, cucumber, carrots, bean sprouts, garlic cloves, green pepper, spinach and others.
  • Anchovies, shrimps, and clams
  • Eggs, pork, tuna
  • Bowl of steamed Korean white rice

Bibimbaap – Bibim means mix and Bap means rice. So Bibimbaap literally means mixed rice, or rice mixed with vegetables. It is a popular Korean Cuisine and is very easy to make. Take a bowl of steamed Korean white rice and add sauté vegetables like julienne cucumber, carrot, radish, mushrooms, bellflower root, zuchhini slices, along with spinach, soybean sprouts, bracken fern stems as per availability. Next you can add red pepper paste (gochu chang) and sesame oil. If you want to have a vegetarian Bibimbap then that’s all you need. Mix all the ingredients and serve it. For non-vegetarians you can add beef and then top it with a fried egg.

Doenjang Jjigae – Jjigae is the Korean equivalent for stew. And Doenjang Jjigae literally means Soy Bean Paste Stew. To cook this stew you need tofu, some vegetables like onion, zucchini, mushrooms, scallions, potato, garlic, green pepper, clams or shrimps, anchovies and soybean paste (deon jang). Take a ceramic pot and add water to it. Mix it with doenjang paste. Slice the vegetables, green chili pepper, remove the heads and intestines from the dry anchovies and put them in the pot. When the stew starts boiling add tofu cubes along with one chopped green onion to the stew. Keep stirring occasionally stir with a spoon. Serve it hot with a bowl of rice and kimchi.

Sundubu Jjigae – for this dish you need soft uncurdled tofu, clams, mushroom, spring onions, gochu chang, soy sauce, sliced green pepper, sesame oil and water. Soak the clams in cold water for about 30 minutes and then wash it. Diagonally thin slice the spring onion. Pour water into a pot and add dried anchovies after removing intestine part. Add gochu chang, sliced onions, chopped mushrooms and garlic cloves. Boil it over high heat. Add the clams and stir it. Add 2 cubes of Sundubu (soft fofu) squeeze and break the tofu with a spoon several times in the pot. Boil it for about 1 minute. Add salt, soy sauce, and green chili pepper. Crack eggs and drizzle some sesame oil before serving.

Kimchi Jjigae – you need kimchi, pork or tuna, onion, minced garlic, gochujang, doenjang, soy sauce, tofu cubes and sliced green onions. Add chopped kimchi, kimchi juice, sliced onion, gochujang, pork (or tuna), ginger, and soy sauce in a shallow pot. Pour water over top until all the ingredients are submerged and keep stirring everything together to combine. Bring to a boil and taste for spiciness. Add the tofu, turn down the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the pork and kimchi are tender. When you’re ready to serve, add the green onions and sesame oil right before serving. Serve it hot straight out of the pot along with a bowl of rice.

Kimchi Bokumbap (Kimchi Fried Rice) – you need steamed rice, kimchi, minced pork, onion, spring onion, minced garlic, soy sauce, egg, salt, pepper and oil for cooking. Chop kimchi into small pieces. Chop and mince green onions, onions, and garlic. Season the minced pork with soy sauce, minced garlic and powdered pepper. Sauté the pork cooking oil in frying pan. When the pork is cooked, add chopped onions, kimchi and cook for 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and green onion. Cook a little more and turn off the heat. Add cooked rice, salt and pepper (as per taste) and mix all ingredients well. Add 1-2 tbsp of sesame oil and re-heat again. Put rice on a dish and place a fried egg sunny side up on top.

Japchae – literally means mixture of vegetables. It is commonly made from dangmyeon (sweet potato noodles) and thinly shredded vegetables. Vegetables commonly used for japchae are carrots, onions, spinach, scallion stalk and mushrooms. Additionally you need minced garlic, gangjang (soy sauce), sugar, sesame oil and cooking oil. Cook the dangmyeon in a large pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain the water and rinse the noodles under cold running water. Cut the noodles using a pair of scissors; add 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside. In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold running water. Squeeze it gently to get the water out, then cut it into pieces. Heat up the oil in a pan and add the garlic, onion, mushroom, and carrot and cook for about two minutes. Add the scallion and stir-fry for another minute. Turn the heat to low and add the noodles and spinach to the pan followed by sesame oil, soy sauce, and salt to taste. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve it with rice and kimchi.

Gye ran jjim – is the easiest of all. You need around 2-3 eggs, sliced carrots, onions and spring onions, anchovy stock, chili flakes and salt to taste. Crack the eggs into a bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir well. Chop and slice the veggies. Add the egg mixture and chopped veggies to the anchovy stock and stir it all together. Cover the bowl and boil for around 5 mins on low heat. Add chopped spring onion and some chili flakes on the top. Steam that 10minutes more on low heat. Serve it hot with a bowl of steamed rice and kimchi.

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