... because let's be real, we're staying home again
When the MCO was declared back in March, we thought the pandemic will be done and dusted by mid-year. Unfortunately, it seems like it's a longer battle than we imagined back then! With the CMCO announced for KL, Selangor, and Putrajaya (as well as lockdowns in several red zones across the country, including Sabah), it seems like we're back to our #stayhome days after a few months of short-lived freedom.
Guess it's time to whip out our chef's hats again and head back to the kitchen for more cooking experiments! In case you have plans to binge-watch some K-dramas this CMCO, elevate your experience by putting together some Korean snacks to accompany your Netflix nights! Watch through your K-Dramas with these yummy Korean snacks - all of which are oh-so-easy to make:
1. Ramyun
We can’t recall a single K-drama that hasn’t featured their characters eating ramyun at least once - and can you blame them? This go-to snack works well as breakfast, lunch, merienda, or dinner (although maybe not the healthiest). Mix in some cheese or a fresh egg, and boom - you’ll be transported into your fave K-drama in an instant.
Ingredients:
- 1 package of your choice of Instant ramyun
- 1 egg
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- Kimchi, for serving
Instructions:
- Cook the ramen as instructed in its packaging. For a more concentrated broth, feel free to lessen your water.
- After the noodles have been cooking for about 2 ½ minutes, crack in the egg into your soup and let it cook for an additional 30-45 seconds.
- Take it off the pot and garnish with scallions, and serve with kimchi!
2. Ramdon
If you’ve seen Parasite, you’ve probably drooled over the quick instant noodle meal Choong-Sook whipped up 8 minutes before their employer arrived home. That said, you can assure this can be done in less than ten minutes to appease any of your late night cravings for Korean food.
Recipe from David So
Ingredients:
- Chapagetti instant noodles
- Neoguri instant noodles
- Sirloin steak
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Kimchi to serve, optional
Instructions:
- Boil the chapagetti and neoguri noodles together in one bowl
- While this is boiling, prepare the sirloin steak by seasoning it with salt and pepper, searing each side for about 3 minutes for medium doneness. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Drain noodles, place into a separate bowl and combine the sauces of the chapagetti and neoguri. Add in a bit of boiling water to give it a saucy consistency if needed.
- Top with steak and serve with kimchi!
3. Soju Cocktails
Nothing beats sipping on a good old glass of soju while binge-watching Kdramas on the couch! The Koreans have invented some funky ways of enjoying your glass of soju, with the addition of ingredients like yakult, fruits, carbonated drinks, or even coffee to your concoction to bring your soju game up a notch! Try making one of these easy and fun soju cocktails:
4. Kimchi Pancake
Kimchi pancake is one of our favourite Korean snacks! You'll be surprised how easy and quick it is to put together (the ingredients required are really basic too!) - once you've learnt how to you won't spend RM20 to get it at the Korean restaurant anymore. *winks* Learn how to make kimchi pancakes and eat it as a snack or even one of the dishes for dinner.
Refer to recipe from Maangchi here
Ingredients:
- ½ pound well-fermented kimchi
- 2 tablespoons of kimchi brine
- 3 scallions, chopped
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup water
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
5. Korean Army Stew (Budae Jjigae)
Korean Army Stew (budae jjigae) is absolute comfort food, perfect especially for rainy days and cold nights. It's a popular outing-with-friends meal in Kdramas, second only to Korean BBQ! Just like kimchi pancakes, Korean Army Stew is also a lot easier to make than you would think - most of the preparation involves cutting and slicing the ingredients, and then just tossing them into the soup. What's great about this dish is that you can flexibly omit or substitute the ingredients as per your preference!
Refer to recipe from 아내의 식탁 Wife's Cuisine here
Ingredients:
- 1 can of spam
- Sausages
- 60g ground beef
- 1/2 cup of rice cakes
- 1/2 tofu
- 1/2 green onion
- 1/3 onion
- 1 cup of kimchi
- 1 sliced cheddar cheese
- 4 cups of beef bone broth
- 1 instant ramen noodle
- For beef marinade sauce: 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1tbsp cooking wine, 1tsp minced garlic, pepper
- For soup sauce: 1tbsp red pepper powder, 1tbsp red pepper paste, 1tbsp soy sauce for soup, 1tbsp minced garlic, salt, pepper
6. Japchae
Japchae is one of Korea's most popular dishes - it's essential sweet potato starch noodles stir-fried with vegetables and meat! Its chewy texture and strong flavour of sesame oil makes it highly-addictive - it also looks really appetizing with the vibrant colours from the different vegetables you can add to the dish.
Refer to recipe from Maangchi here
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces beef (filet mignon)
- 2 large dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp plus 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tbsp plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 large egg
- 4 ounces spinach, washed and drained
- 4 ounces of sweet potato starch noodles
- 2 to 3 green onions
- 1 medium onion (1 cup), sliced thinly
- 4 to 5 white mushrooms, sliced thinly
- 1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
- ½ red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- ground black pepper
7. Popcorn Chicken
Once you learn how to cook this type of chicken, you’ll be whipping it up every so often! If you’ve seen Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, it isn’t hard to notice that wild amount of chicken the characters consume. If you’re not keen on eating an entire chicken - here’s how you can make bite-size pieces of it for easier snacking!
Recipe from Tastemade
Ingredients (Chicken):
- 250-300 grams of boneless chicken fillet
- 2 tbsp corn cloud
- 1 larg egg
- 1 cup bread crumbs of crumbled corn flakes
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions:
- Chop the chicken to bite sized pieces, place into bowl
- Add in the egg and mix
- Sprinkle over the flour and mix; mix in breadcrumbs afterwards
- Heat oil and deep fry meat evenly til golden. Keep stirring for even frying
- Drain popcorn chicken on kitchen tissue.
Ingredients (BBQ Sauce)
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp sriracha sauce
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 ½ tbsp grated garlic
- 1 scallion, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water
- Spicy kimchi
Instructions:
- In a saucepan, combine the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, black pepper, red pepper flakes, sriracha, ginger, and scallions. Heat the sauce on high and bring to a boil for about 5-7 minutes.
- In a smaller bowl, combine 3 tbsp water and 3 tbsp cornstarch until smooth. Add this mixture into the boiling sauce and whisk until thick. Cook for about 6-8 minutes.
- Toss the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle green onions on the top. Serve with Kimchi
8. Kimchi Fried Rice
If you’re avid K-drama watchers like us, you would’ve probably seen a couple of your favorite K-drama stars whipping up a large bowl of their version of anything but the kitchen sink - savory edition. Just like how you make typical fried rice, Kimchi Fried Rice basically incorporates leftovers in your fridge, plus some kimchi to taste. You can check out the recipe below as a guide, but feel free to add other ingredients to your liking!
Recipe from Choosing Chia
Ingredients:
- 2 cups jasmine rice, cooked
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 cup chopped kimchi
- ½ cup kimchi juice
- 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce or gochujang
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1-2 tsp sriracha
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 eggs
Instructions:
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat then add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, then add the kimchi and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Next add in the rice, kimchi juice, sweet chili sauce, sesame oil, sriracha and soy sauce and basically mix everything together.
- Let the rice sit on the pan on medium to high heat for 1-2 minutes to brown and get crispy in the bottom.
- Fry up some eggs and serve on top of rice.
9. Korean Rolled Omelette
K-drama for breakfast? Pair it with a delicious, yet easy, Korean-style rolled omelette and your day will instantly be 2x better! You can also choose to make this a side to your main dish.
Recipe from Korean Bapsang
Ingredients:
- 3 large eggs
- 1 to 1 ½ tbsp finely chopped scallions
- 1 to 1 ½ tbsp finally chopped carrot
- Salt to taste
- Pinch of black pepper
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions:
- Crack and beat the eggs until well blended, no visible strings of white. Stir in salt and pepper.
- Stir in your chopped carrots and scallions
- Add in a teaspoon of vegetable oil to a non-stick pan and evenly distribute oil using a paper towel. Preheat over medium-low heat.
- Add in ½ of the egg mixture to the pan, allow it to cover the entire pan. Let it cook until the top begins to set, but is still wet!
- Using a spatula, lift one end of the egg and fold it over to the other side. Reduce the heat or raise the pan away from the heat for a little while if the bottom is browning.
- Fold once again, and then on the open space add in the remaining egg mixture.
- When egg addition is set, lift folded part and fold once again.
- Cool for 5 minutes off the pan, and slice the egg into thick even pieces.
10. Cheese Corn
This dish is probably the least popular among the rest on this list, but we think it deserves more praise! Locals are keen to order this easy, cheesy dish as drinking food in Korea - so you can assure that this will side well with your soju-bombs and beer! The best bit? It’s as easy and quick to eat as it is to make.
Recipe from Boston Globe
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 4 ears corn or 1 can of corn, drained
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 clove garlic, sliced thin
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tsp sugar (if needed)
- 2 oz shredded mozzarella
Instructions:
- Preheat the broiler to high. In a shallow cast iron skillet or gratin dish, spread the mayonnaise evenly over.
- Pour drained can of corn/cut corn off the cobs into a bowl
- In a large saute pan over medium heat, add the butter and garlic. When butter is foamy and sizzling, add in corn and toss. Cook for about a minute and add in salt, pepper and sugar if you like.
- Spread the corn in the skillet or gratin dish, and top evenly with cheese. Place in broiler for a few minutes until cheese starts to brown in a few spots then serve immediately.
11. Spicy Rice Cakes (Tteokbokki)
Spicy, sweet, and chewy, most Koreans remember tteokbokki as a familiar after-school snack, bought from humble street carts or market stalls. It is an affordable comfort snack loved by people of all ages - snacking on it with a few glasses of soju with friends is the ultimate perfect supper combo in Korea. Learn how to put together your own tteokbokki within half an hour!
Refer to recipe from Maangchi here
- 1 pound of rice cakes
- 7 large dried anchovies
- Dried kelp
- ⅓ cup hot pepper paste
- 1 tbsp hot pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3 green onions
- 2 hard boiled eggs (optional)
- ½ pound fish cakes (optional)
12. Soft Tofu Stew (Sundubu Jjigae)
Photo Credit: FuReal via pixabay.com
Yet another soupy goodness great for rainy days, sundubu-jjigae is loaded with seafood and soft tofu, and is great eaten with rice! If you're craving something spicy yet comforting, it's time to whip up your own soft tofu stew. You'll be surprised to find out that it's actually fairly easy to make, and once you get the hang of it, you can put it together whenever your craving kicks in! Find out how to recreate the iconic soft tofu stew featured in the popular Kdrama Itaewon Class:
