Dduk Gook for New Year's

It's a Korean tradition to eat Dduk Gook on New Year's Day. As I mentioned in a previous post, this is my son's all time favorite dish. What I forgot to mention is that my husband is a great chef and has infused a french method for making this dish and it comes out better than anything dduk gook I've ever tasted, including my mom's! Sorry mom! I will get the recipe online soon! So until then, enjoy the picture!

Korean Chicken Soup

Just like Americans, Koreans have their own version of Chicken Soup called "Samgyetang." The ingredients include cornish hen, garlic, sweet rice, jujubes, ginseng roots, green onions and water. I would recommend http://www.maangchi.com/recipes/samgyetang as she has a video on how to cook it.

According to an article written by Jane Han in today's Korea Times, Korea plans to export "Samgyetang" in a processed and packed form starting early next year. Meanwhile, you can try to cook it yourself or find a Korean restaurant that makes it.

Sometimes I don't have time to purchase all the special Asian ingredients, so I make a simple version just using the cornish hen, garlic with salt and pepper. My kids love it this way too.

My son's favorite Korean food

My son's favorite food is Dduk Guk (Rice ovalette soup). He can eat this everyday. One thing you need to know about him...he's a finicky eater. Normally, I have to force him to eat 10 bites of food and it takes him forever to eat but when it's Dduk Guk, he can finish an entire adult portion in less than 15 minutes!

Quick and easy recipe (for 2 kid-sized portions):

2 cups of rice ovalettes (sold in Korean grocery stores) soaking in water.
Cook a 1/4 lb. of ground beef* with 1 tsp of sesame oil with 2 tsp of minced garlic and a tablespoon of soy sauce. After a few minutes add a can of Swanson's Chicken broth and about a half cup of water (or more depending on the taste).

When the soup boils, add an egg and mix it in. (If you don't want to cook the egg inside the soup, you can always cook the egg on a separate pan and thinly slice them as a garnish). After, take the rice ovalettes out of the water and add to the soup. You will only need to cook it for about 3-5 minutes depending on how chewy you like it.

Garnish with green onions and thinly cut slices of roasted seaweed.

That's it. It usually takes me about 10-15 minutes to make this.

Dduk Guk is traditionally eaten on New Years Day.

*I use ground beef since it's easier for kids.

My secret recipe for Korean soups

I'm not much of a cook but if you have kids, you have to cook. A friend of mine once made us Mi Yuk Gook (seaweed soup) and it tasted really good so I asked her for the recipe. She surprised me by telling me that it's just Swanson's Chicken broth, water and mi yuk! That's it! Wow, the next time I cooked, I tried it and added a few things. In the beginning, I cooked 1 teaspoon of minced garlic with sesame oil and soy sauce. Then dumped the 1 can of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water. I soaked the mi yuk in water for a few minutes then added it to the soup and that's it! You can add more or less water depending on how salty you like it. Obviously, it's not as healthy as if you make it from scratch but if you don't have much time, this is a quick and easy way! You can do this with other types of soup as well.

Mi Yuk Gook is traditionally eaten on birthdays and after giving birth. Our family eats it often since our kids love it so much. Our mom likes to make big batches for our kids and we freeze it in little containers for instant meals.

written by E.M.