Wednesday, 26 March 2014

안녕하세요

안녕하세요. I am back. It was such a short trip back home this time. Well, I had a "good" rest though LOL cos I had stomach flu during my last few days in Seoul. Actually, I did not think that I was sick despite having diarrhea, mild fever and no appetite. I only felt I was half alive ㅎㅎㅎ All I want was to sleep, sleep and sleep. Therefore, my updates on my trip in Seoul can be boring to you ㅎㅎㅎ
Anyway, I am much better now but I need time to update my blog. 

Monday, 17 March 2014

Waiting to board OZ752 now!! Its home sweet home in 7 hours from now ^^

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Drooling ㅠㅠ ㅠㅠ ㅠㅠ

 Saw this article from FB.  Here's the link to the article web.kma.go.kr. 
Sob....This year, I can only drool at the thought of the beautiful cherry blossoms ㅠㅠ 

Sunday, 9 March 2014

My own version of 멸치국수

Lately, I craved for 국수 badly and I tried cooking 멸치국수 today. This is my own version of 멸치국수 becos I stir fried the anchovies before adding them into the broth. I used a paper towel to drain away the excess oil from the anchovies. The broth is thicker and richer in flavour with just a piece of kelp and anchovies. Was 멸치국수 meant to be light in flavour?? LOL Anyway, seasoning includes a pinch of salt, a bit of soya sauce and a bit of 멸치 액젓 anchovy sauce. 

Sunday, 2 March 2014

Needs more improvement!


Seaweed soup should be one of the easiest soup to make. 
I followed the recipe from Aeris Kitchen but I did not use 샘표 향신 간장 becos it contains beef.
I use this instead.  
Bought it from Lotte Mart@Bugis.
It contains anchovy, prawns and kelp.
However, I find the taste is rather light.
 I will probably make my own broth if I am going to make this soup again.
 
내가만든김국
I also tried cooking 제육 볶음 with reference from Aeris kitchen. 
I used fresh orange juice etc and marinated the meat last night. 
내가만든제육 볶음.
Somehow, the meat was not as tender as I wanted it to be.
What went wrong......... ㅠㅠ
I will try cooking this dish again!!!
Couldn't resist cooking a sunny side up ㅋㅋㅋ 
Becos this is the moment I have been waiting for!!!
To mix everything together!!

Friday, 21 February 2014

불금이다 ^^

불금이다!
Jo, WW and I met up for dinner after work just now.
Yeah! We love 치맥 ^^

They are having fried chicken buffet this month. $25++ per person from Mon to Thurs. Additional $5 for Friday and weekends(I think). This is the first time I heard of fried chicken buffet ㅋㅋㅋ The buffet includes fries, salad and 7 different flavours of fried chicken (Spicy Up, Mild Up, Curry Up, Yangnyum, Soy Chicken Wings, Popcorn Chicken, Andong Chicken Stew).
They have ala carte menu as well.
So sad that 파닭 (Leek Chicken) is not included in the buffet ㅠㅠ
"Fresh Blood Soup" sounds bloody .... *Yikes


건배!
We love Hite ^^

Our favorites were Yangnyum, Soy Chicken Wings and Spicy Up. Spicy Up was not spicy at all. Andong Chicken Stew was a failure...For buffet, they served individual pieces of chicken for each flavour. We were joking about how many pieces of chicken we have to eat in order to make our money worthwhile! Probably 7 to 8 pieces of chicken in order to break even ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Did we manage to break even then??? ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ Nope. We didn't but the thought of being able to try out different flavours of fried chicken in one meal made us feel better!! 

Sunday, 16 February 2014

내가만든 잔치국수 하고 두부전

Tried cooking 잔치국수 하고 두부전 (Anchovy soup noodle and Tofu Jeon) for lunch or rather brunch just now. Both dishes are not difficult to make. I browsed through some online recipes for 잔치국수 and noticed that people have their own method to cook the soup base. The recipes are more or less the same with anchovies as the main ingredient of course.  Aeris Kitchen has a very simple method of cooking 잔치국수 ^^  

Preparing the cucumber as one of the topping for 잔치국수. I sliced ​​the cucumber and added some salt to it. You will see water from the cucumber few mins later. Towel dried the cucumber and add some minced garlic to it. 
Mixed the cucumber and minced garlic. Lightly stir fried it.
Next, I prepared the egg topping. I dun like to eat cooked egg yolk, so I did not separate the egg yolk and egg white. I used two eggs but I think one egg should be enough. 
Most people used minced beef. I replaced pork with beef since I dun eat beef. Marinating the pork slices was done by using sesame oil, mirin Mirim, salt, extra virgin olive oil and pepper.
I prepared the broth by adding radish, spring onions, kelp and anchovies. 
I took out the Kelp, radish and anchovies when the broth was ready for the seasoning.  Oopppsss ... looks like I added too much soy sauce! The colour looks darker than what it should be ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ  Fortunately, it does not taste salty. Besides soy sauce, I also added a little salt and pepper. 
Toppings for my Janchi Guksu.
There is room for improvement to my cucumber ....
I cooked the noodles using the same method for Kimchi Bibim Guksu .
Hey, it was fun and therapeutic to decor the noodle 
ㅋㅋㅋ
Hmmm ... here's my 잔치국수 in dark color broth ㅎㅎㅎ
Add the hot broth to the noodle once ready to serve. 
Next is 두부전.
I used the recipe from  AerisKitchen for 두부전. 
Actually, my mother used to cook this and she added prawns to the tofu.
I used extra virgin olive oil to fry the 두부전.
Errmmm ... my 두부전 are not nicely shaped, unlike the ones made by Aeri ㅎㅎㅎ
Overall, I am satisfied with my own cooking today and there are definitely room for improvements ^ ^

Sunday, 9 February 2014

Sunday Brunch

I tried cooking 김치 비빔국수 just now. 
Got the recipe from Aeriskitchen and I made slight variations to it.
I boiled some water and cooked some Sempio thin noodles. I cooked the noodles like the way I cooked spaghetti by adding a bit of extra virgin olive oil and salt to the boiling water, followed by adding the noodles. Maybe adding oil and salt may not be necessary for cooking Korean noodles(i am not sure).
Preparing kimchi.
I stir fried the chopped garlic cos I dun like raw garlic ㅋㅋㅋ
Making the sauce according to Aeri's recipe but I added more spring onions since I have a lot of spring onions.
내가만든 김치 비빔국수 My Kimchi Bibim Guksu before mixing.
내가만든 김치 비빔국수 My Kimchi Bibim Guksu after mixed ^^

What is 닭살 커플? - Catch The Wave

                         

LOL this is funny. I dun mind couple displaying affection for each other in public as long as they dun overdo it. However, I will feel awkward if I am alone with a 닭살 커플. I would be very happy for the couple if they can still be 닭살 커플 till old age, and not just during the dating period ^^

Sunday, 2 February 2014

Satisfying my craving for 닭 볶음탕 ㅋㅋㅋ

새해 복 많이 받으세요^^ 
Today is rest day for me. So tired after all the visiting ㅋㅋㅋ
I have been craving for 닭 볶음탕 for a long time, so I told mum to let me do the cooking for dinner. 
I followed the recipes from Aeriskitchen, with slight variation becos I don't have any sesame seeds.

I put the chicken, carrots, potato, onions and followed by the sauce into a pot.
Next,  I add some water and let it boil. 
Almost ready ^^
Its easier than I thought ㅋㅋㅋ
Errmmm but whether it taste ok a not is another thing ㅎㅎㅎ
While cooking the chicken stew, I also prepare the eggs for 계란찜. I followed the recipe from Aeriskitchen as well, becos she has a different way of cooking the steamed egg. Instead of mixing the eggs with water, Aeri boiled the water with kelp first followed by adding the eggs. I added some chopped carrots, spring onions and a dash of pepper to the beaten eggs. 
Boiling water with kelp and 1/2 tablespoon of 멸치 액젓 (Fish Sauce). 
I removed the kelp and add the egg mixture.
I also add a bit of sesame oil and some chopped red chillies when the egg is almost cooked.
내가 만든 계란 찜  ^^
Somehow I can never make my 계란 찜 "puffy" ㅠㅠ
내가 만든 닭 볶음탕 ^^
I can't really remember how it should taste like but I am satisfied ㅎㅎㅎ
Mum cooked the veggies ^^
잘 먹고!!

Monday, 13 January 2014

Can we have this program in SG as well???

Saw a piece of good news from Korea.net just now.

"The government has stepped forward to help workers have a relaxing, refreshing get-away all while incurring a smaller financial burden. 
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) will soon kick-start a program to have companies and organizations support half the expense that their workers spend on domestic leave.

Through this program, workers will be given a special “travel card” onto which their companies can put money. The government encourages companies to cover up to 50 percent of an employee’s total domestic travel expenses. Vacationers can use this special card to make reservations, at leisure facilities, theme parks or on transportation during their time off. 
The culture ministry has designated the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) as the program’s organizer. The KTO will launch a test-operation targeting some 3,500 workers at small- and medium-sized firms for about six months from January 20 until July 15.
During the test-run period, workers themselves will be expected to pay 50 percent of their travel expenditures. Meanwhile, the rest will come from both companies and the government, which will split the bill and pay 25 percent of the total cost each. 

On January 20, the KTO will launch its “Vacation Support Service for Workers” homepage (www.thehappy.ezwel.com) as part of the project. The website will offer a “one-stop service” that enables vacation planners to get an overview of all tourist attractions and nearby accommodations across the nation. 
Users also have access to a wide range of travel information, such as admission fees to certain tourist spots or transportation fees, while they can book and pay at once at the site, too.

"This support project will boost demand for domestic travel and make it easier for vacationers to spend money while on the road, which will then increase sales in other related industries, as well as the tourism industry,” said the MCST in a statement."


Omggg...Can we have this program in SG as well???  This program sounds really good for both the workers and the economy. I am looking forward to the "one-stop service" on KTO website. Personally, I think the Korean government is doing a great job in making Korea a tourist friendly place to visit. I loveeeeeee 대한민국!!