Octopus Kimchi Juk / Kimchi Porridge

I have always been a kimchi lover. It has been a decade since I make my own kimchi from home. Now I have perfect it to my taste and some friends say it is better than those they had tried in Korea . Lol of course it makes me happy to hear that, meaning we have the same taste not better than those in Korea. Korea ones are more authentic. Anyway back to today highlight. My daughter and I, we always share recipes. She gave me a link to this Kimchi Porridge and she had tried it and she reviewed that it is indeed tasty. So tempting, I had to try it out being a kimchi lover myself. And after viewing the whole video on the cooking method and the ingredients used. I had all the ingredients, so no problem in trying out. And seriously no regrets, it is so good that I have put it down on my menu list and it will be part of our porridge recipe. So umani with the octopus added to the kimchi porridge. 

I used my Dalsot to cook the kimchi porridge..cook and serve it in it... keeps the porridge warm till the last spoonful.

I used well fermented kimchi and squeeze out the kimchi gravy or it will be too tangy

I used octopus legs and keep the rest for

making octopus side dish

Ingredients for the porridge are kimchi, octopus, cooked short grain rice, garlic, green onions, fish sauce and sesame oil

Cooked short grain rice is used for this porridge

Click 👇

 Recipe link for the Octopus Kimchi Porridge

Handcrafted Chicken Pie With Crust Pastry

The hubby was craving for Chicken Pie for some weeks. To stop him from behaving like a pregnant woman, I decided to bake some for him. I used crust pastry instead of puff pastry.  Thank God they turned out great. Made quite a big load, some for freezing in raw form ,so that whenever he is hungry, no matter what time, can just pop them into the oven and bake away. Very convenient to have them around as we are those lazy to go out for food type of person. Ever since Covid started, we seldom go out unnecessary unless for grocery stock up trips. Stay home, eat from home has been our life style since the Pandemic started. Zooming and Facetime has keep us connected with our children staying overseas as we still feel probia flying out to visit them. At our age ,it is better not to get Covid as it can be traumatic for us. Just our thoughts, you don't have to agree with us :) Sorry I have digress from the topic of making Chicken Pie.  I will share the fillings and crust pastry at the bottom of page.

a beautifully baked chicken pie

and it is handcrafted

love the moist fillings and it is tasty too

I find handcrafted pie easier to make

freeze them in freezer for at least an hour so that it helps keep the shape during baking

I prepared the fillings a day before so that chilling them overnight helps when making the pie, the chilled fillings will help keep them in place during shaping

Handcrafted Chicken Pie 

Chicken Pie Fillings

400gms chicken breast- diced, carrots- diced, fresh oyster mushrooms- cut into smaller pieces, red onions- diced, 1 can of mushroom soup, oyster sauce, white pepper and salt to taste.

Stir fry all the cut ingredients till soft, add in the mushroom soup and continue to cook till thickens. Dish up and once cooled down, chill in fridge till ready to use.

Crust Pastry

400 gm AP flour

1 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

150 gm unsalted butter

150 ml ice water + or -

Rub butter into flour mixture till it resembles bread crumbs, slowly add in ice water. Gentle form into a dough. Rest for 30 mins. Divide dough into equal portions of 56gms balls for bottom and 35 gms for top. Wrap with chilled chicken mushroom fillings .

For shaping

I pressed and shape the bottom layer of 59 gm's crust pastry dough into a bowl shape. Fill with a heaped tbsp of fillings. Then lightly cover the top with the 39gms dough which has been gentle pressed flat to fit the top. Using a fork to crimp the edges together . 

Freeze the handcrafted chicken pies for at least an hour in the freezer before baking in the oven. Reason being it will hold it shape during baking. Straight from the freezer to the preheated oven.

Bake @200 for 30 mins or more. Brush on egg yolk for a shiny surface and golden brown.

Enjoy!

Father's Day Sandwich Roll Meal

Wishing Happy Father's Day to all Fathers and Grandfathers across the world today. Have a blessed day with your loved ones. 

I prepared a hearty meal for my hubby . Homemade Sandwich Rolls with homemade Beef Burgers and Caramelised Onions as his Father's Day Lunch. Specially prepared for him. The burgers are flavourful and moist and the caramelized onions are tasty with Whiskey. Caramelised Onions is a must have whenever we have beef burgers. They go well with beef burgers / in sandwiches too. I like to add whiskey to caramelised onions at the final stage of cooking. So good. 

 

a hearty meal for the hubby 

flavourful  Beef Burgers made ahead and freezed for today's cooking

using a cast iron pan helps seal moisture

from the burgers, keeping the meat moist and flavourful

these sandwich rolls were made yesterday, the best I have made thus far

I learned a new trick, use parchment paper to hold the shape of the sandwich rolls and proof them on a glass ovenware tray . It helps to maintain the shape as it rises.

For the  sandwich rolls

Click here for the recipe

Homemade Donuts

I remember the first time I made donuts, many years back, it was tedious , using a donut cutter to cut out the donuts. And the dough bits left behind after each cutting, have to knead them together and cut out the shape of donut. So much work involved. 

Today , I learned a new way of making donuts by just shaping into a round balls and letting the donut dough rest for 45 mins, once it has risen, use the pinky finger, poke through the center to make a hole. Let it proof another 15 mins and it is ready to go into the hot oil for deep frying. So easy peasy! Perfect texture. Soft fluffy and airy at the same time. When the oil heats up to the right temperature, the donut puff out beautifully.  A keeper for sure.

dredge through caster sugar when it is still warm..once cool the sugar will not stick on the donut

love the soft fluffy and airy texture of the donut

the donut was perfectly proofed and ready to go into the hot oil .Fire must be medium or the donut will burn easily.

first proofing of donut dough is 60min,

second proofing is 45 mins after shaping into equal balls proofing, 

one recipe can make 8 donuts

Recipe for Homemade Donuts - recipe by Apron YouTube channel

Ingredients:

185 gms of bread flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg yolk

90ml  + warm milk

1/2 tsp instant yeast

20 gms unsalted butter

caster sugar for coating

Click here for the full video  on how to make this easy donuts.

Doenjang Jjigae / Fermented Soybean Paste Stew With Porkbelly

I have to admit that I am a kdrama addict after  watching Winter Sonata in 1990.  Lately I have been catching up on " Our Blues " and yesterday I watched the finale episode. The storyline is good. About true friendship between friends  and problem each families faced in Korean Jeju Island. And a glimpse of ladies divers, Haenyeos,  harvesting a variety of mollusks, seaweeds, and other sealife from the Ocean. Tough and dangerous job under the sea but it is their livelihood and I really salute them for their strength and perseverance.

And the final episode whereby the mother cooked her last meal for her son before she passed away. The son's request for his favourite Doenjang Jjigae.  And it inspired me to cook this dish since I have a tub of Doenjang paste in the fridge. I have silken tofu and Porkbelly and that makes this dish complete. The potato starch in the potato as it boils gives the doenjang Jjigae the creamy consistency it needed. The best doenjang Jjigae I have cooked thus far. Flavourful even the hubby gives a thumbs up for it.

 

I added leeks instead of green onions

it is more flavourful and fragrant

the Porkbelly slices gives the stew the natural sweetness, add last 

doenjang paste, radish and potato to be boiled first and anchovies till the potatoes are soften before adding the tofu, pork slices. Leeks last

Recipe ingredients are

2 heap tbsp of Doenjang paste

700 ml of anchovies broth

150 gms of Porkbelly -  sliced thinly

1 small red onion - sliced thinly

1/4 radish - sliced

1 potato - diced

1 leek - sliced

4 cloves of garlic

Method:

In a dolsot, boil 700 ml broth with doenjang paste till paste has dissolved. Add in diced potato , red onion and radish. Once the potato has soften, add in tofu and porkbelly. Once Porkbelly slices has cooked through , add in leeks.  Add a pinch of salt to taste. Serve with rice. Serve together with Kimchi and toasted seaweeds as side dishes.

Enjoy!

Homemade Aussie Beef Burger

I managed to get some Aussie Minced Beef from Jaya Grocer. Decided to make some Beef Patties for the Brioche Burger Buns I made . I used the same seasoning for the skinless sausages I made sometime back. Ingredients for the meat patties are basically spices and dried mixed herbs, an egg and breadcrumbs, a tsp of smoked paprika, a tsp of BBQ seasoning, a tsp of garlic powder, a tbsp of mixed herbs,a tsp of oregano , olive oil and light soy sauce. Just stir with chopstick till beef minced meat are well incorporated with the seasoning ingredients and slightly sticky in texture. 

For 500 gms of minced meat, I managed to get 8 pieces of meat patties. I freezed them before pan frying, reason being they hold their shape well during cooking,  Last 5 minutes , bake them in the oven at @250c to get the edges char red and aromatic, yet moist on the inside. These delectable meat patties are great for making  Brioche Burger Buns. For the bun recipe, click here.

 

these burgers are great not only as home meaals but for picnics and children parties 

the meat patties are delicious when brush on with some BBQ sauce made up of tomato sauce, sweet Thai chilli sauce , oyster sauce and chopped garlic, after taking out of the oven

last 5 minutes in the oven will give the meat patties edges charred and aromatic yet remaining moist on the inside

for a 500 gm meat, I could get  8 pieces of patties

freezed them up before cooking make them hold their shape well during cooking

Shape them in round balls before pressing them down into flatten discs 

with  thickness of 1/4 inch

Enjoy!

Homemade Brioche Burger Bun

This is the most beautiful and majestically risen burger bun I have made thus far. Easy to handle and fast too. Saw the recipe from You Tuber Apron's channel and I knew I had to try it out. No regrets, the buns remained soft and yet firm enough to be burger buns. Check out her channel on You tube. I will post up her link at the end of post. Meanwhile let me share some photos of the bun making process and the finish product.

bake for 13 to 15 mins only 

@200C top and bottom heat

let it proof for 60 mins after shaping

Ingredients for making these buns are:

300 gms bread flour

120+ ml lukewarm milk

5 gm instant yeast

1egg

20 gm sugar

1/2 tsp salt

30gm unsalted butter

Sesame seeds

Click here to see the whole video on the making of these buns.