Hodduk (Chewy, Sweet, Salty, and Crunchy Korean stuffed pancake) and Conquering Kitchen Fears

Remember when I said I'd been getting into some really exciting things that I never thought I'd make in my own kitchen? Well, I did! I'm so excited!! I finally conquered my fears and got myself some yeast! For some reason, just the sound of the word "yeast" can make some of the most seasoned and adventurous cooks tremble. I guess because our mothers (or fathers) were great cooks and we never saw them use yeast, so if they never taught us, then who are we to go jumping into such scary realms?

Well, the fear of the difficulty was a significant part of why I never ventured into bread-making or other yeasted treats, but I was also afraid that I'd develop a problem... I REALLY love bread. I've got my problem under control and now, luckily.  I don't really eat bread at home unless it's a tasty multigrain like Arnold's Health Nut or their 7 grain or something to make a healthy sandwich for lunch (heck no my sandwich ain't got no deli meat! How dare you!! lol). I've learned to take it easy on the dinner rolls when I eat out (as long as it isn't O' Charley's...those things have crack in them! Plus, the fact that I never order anything but their California Chicken Salad allows me to justify eating more bread since I will eat a healthful meal afterwards). Overall, I'm really not the bread fanatic I once was. Although, admittedly, bread has probably just been replaced by rice, bread and I are cool. We can walk side-by-side and hold hands and stuff without me fantasizing about biting off it's fingers (remember that scene with the lion biting the zebra's butt in Madagascar? :::born free song:::).

All in all, I felt like I had enough will power as well as enough thirst to up the ante on my culinary creativity that I went ahead and bought some yeast. The funny thing is, I bought it to make something that I had never even had nor seen before. In fact, it wasn't even bread, it was a dessert. I love maangchi, a Korean cook on YouTube and at Maanchi.com, so when she made hodduk, I was just itching to have some of that deliciousness cooking up in my kitchen!  So on a weekend sleepover in VA (no, I am not too old for that :P), I convinced two of my good friends (who just happen to be Korean) to try and make hodduk, or Korean sweet pancake filled with chopped peanuts, cinnamon, and brown sugar. They first called me crazy for wanting to make that from scratch, but after seeing the recipe, they caved and we were whipping up some hodduk the next afternoon. Unfortunately, our yeast was bad, so the dough didn't rise and instead of nice, fluffy, plush pancakes, we got crispy ones :/. On top of that, since the dough wasn't fluffy and elastic, the filling kept coming through the holes and the sugar was burnt and bitter in spots.  We tried re-doing the dough twice and nothing.

As soon as I came back to Miami and got settled in, what was I making the next weekend? Hodduk!!! Guess what....it worked! They were so yummy and fluffy that I made them three times in about two weeks after that!! Hodduk are very fluffy and soft and slightly chewy and the sugar inside becomes a a lightly sweet syrup. Imagine a mildly-flavored donut with the chewiness of a really good bagel that's filled with a warm, syrup-y but not overly-sweet filling that's balanced with the saltiness and crunch of chopped peanuts and a light spice from cinnamon!  Soooo yummy!

Here is the recipe I used http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetlog/3054879144/. Ignore the amount of salt she uses and just use 1/2 tsp instead, adding it once the yeast liquid has already moistened the flour and been somewhat blended in. Yeast should never come into direct contact with salt because it counteracts the yeast. I think she puts way too much cinnamon, too, so just do it to taste. Here is a video to help you out on technique (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_MPEq53QFs), but follow the recipe on flickr because it's best (and traditionally) done with glutinous/sticky rice flour (found at any E or SE Asian market). I used a slim design digital scale that I got for Christmas to measure. I got it from these guys http://myworld.ebay.com/tfyusa2010/. It was a wonderful investment since I make lots of Asian recipes as well as Italian ones and now I can do reliable measurements.

Hodduk takes a little practice to get it perfect, but don't despair!  The key is to let it double in size completely and avoid overstretching the dough. To get the expedite the rising process, cover the bowl of dough in oiled plastic and put it in an oven that you have warmed up slightly but turned off.  Do this by turning your oven to 200 for a minute and turning if off and letting it cool so that it's not hot enough to cook and it's cool enough that you can touch the grills and they are not hot, just warm.  Let the dough rise in the warm over (it must be off).

The dough is incredibly sticky, as most chewy doughs are, so adjust your technique accordingly.  The best idea is to keep your hands generously oiled at all times when handling the dough after the first rising.  Keep a well-floured surface and flour the top of the dough before handing, then place the already floured side face-down in your palm and flour the other side before handling.

Having the right amount of filling is also key.  To get in the most filling, fold the back half together similar to how you see it in the video but instead of adding all the filling then sealing edges. Once you have a pocket, lean the pocket's sealed bottom downward and fill, fill, fill with stuffing, then lightly stretch the dough to fill. Do not overstuff as it will create holes or it will burst and the filling will burn and become bitter, making your hodduk crunchy, not fluffy and chewy. Do not understuff or else it will be bland. You will get better even as you work with your first batch. Try them! You will love them and so will any kids in your family. YUM!

Sorry, but I don't think I ever took pics, but I will do so if I make them again soon. The pic I have is from this website http://www.flickr.com/photos/elleincalifornia/4658491542/. It is not my pic.  The second one is not mine either, it's from a user on soompi.com http://www.soompi.com/forums/topic/139324-korean-desserts/page__st__40

So what are your kitchen fears?  Share them with me below.  I look forward to seeing your responses :).  Whatever your culinary fears, no matter how big or small or how silly, conquer them and enjoy the tasty fruits of your labor!!  Anyone can cook!  It is just a matter of learning and practicing, and most importantly, trying!

Hugs,
DF

What You Probably Didn't Know about Food

Have you ever met someone who trusts in everything and everyone, even when they haven't earned their trust? What about the person who trusts even when their trust has been blatantly disrespected and taken for granted time and time again? Ugh, you can't stand people like that, right? But wait, are you that person when it comes to what you put into your body every day? I want to talk about a few commonly-ignored realities about everyday foods and I'll let you decide for yourself if maybe you're a lot more like that person I talked about than you realized.

Ok, so I am a huge cereal lover! When I say huge, I mean it! I sometimes have cereal for breakfast, snacks, and dinner and I have been known to eat it anywhere from 2 to as many as 6 times a day. Well, if I'm eating cereals that are high in whole grains and lower in sugar and I eat them with fresh fruit such as bananas and strawberries, that's good, right? Well, I would say so.

What if I told you that I don't drink soda, I almost never eat chips, and I buy chips for my house even less often than that? Well, I am avoiding a lot of unncessary intake of sugar and HF corn syrup since I don't drink soda and cutting out a lot of fat and sodium by avoiding chips. If you said that, you'd be only partially correct.

The fact about pre-packaged food is that it often has a fairly high sodium content, regardless of whether they taste salty or not. Sodium is used to extend shelf life but, as we know, certain health conditions, such as hypertension require a close watch on sodium intake. What would you say if I told you that the cereal I have in my cabinet right now, Kellogg's Roasted Nut and Honey Crunchy Nut Cereal (mmm, yummy! It's new:) has just as much sodium as the Tostitos Scoops I also have? Well, it's true. They both have 120 mg of sodium and those Scoops are dang salty, too much so for me, in fact. What would you say if I told you that my favorite cereal, Honey Nut Cheerios, has even more sodium than that at 160 mg per serving? Again, although a bit counterintuitive since you don't taste saltiness in your Cheerios, it's true.

I hear you already "DF, you're crazy! You chose all of the cereals with nuts. Of course they have more sodium." Nope, what about the fact that corn pops have 110 mg of sodium, Honey Bunches of Oats have 150 mg and HoneyComb has 215, yes 215 mg of sodium? This is just the way it is. If you don't read the labels on your food, you will never know. The labels are there for a reason.

So what am I trying to say here, that you should never ever eat cereal again? That I should also give up cereal (fat chance!) since I gave up chips and they have the same amount of sodium? Not at all. The point here is, don't allow yourself to be passive about what you put into your body. Read the labels and be informed. That doesn't mean that once you find out all of the stuff in your food that you should freak out, become a farmer, and never eat anything from a store again. Be smart and pick your battles. Balance your diet and don't eat anything in excess. I chose to give up chips, but I eat as much cereal as I please. I'm okay with that. You have to figure out what works best for you.

I started off with the cereal example because it is something that is a very commonly-ignored and somewhat counterintuitive example. However, there are many many more examples, and I'd like to point out a few of the main culprits.

One of the trendy diet changes for the health conscious is the incorporation of milk substitutes such as almond and soy milk. I went through my stages with both of these for health reasons and, I must admit, almond milk is actually pretty tasty. However, both of these are fairly high in sodium. Below are some stats for you to take a look at.

Silk Almond Milk - 150 mg of sodium

Unsweetended Blue Diamond Almond Milk - 180 mg of sodium

Silk Chocolate Soy Milk - 140 mg of sodium

Silk Vanilla Soy Milk - 95 mg of sodium

"Okay, DF, but I really don't care because I don't follow food trends, so I don't eat that crap anyway." I hear you... Well, now let's talk about some things that I bet you do eat. You know that Campbell's cream of blah blah blah that your mom or grandma puts in everything? How about the store-bought chicken broth she adds to everything else? Guess what? If it doesn't specifically say "no msg," there is above a 90% chance that it contains msg. I can tell you for a fact that when Campbell's says "lower in sodium" or "reduced sodium" it's often because everything else has msg. The same is true of shelf-ready chicken broth (can or carton). Swanson, however, is one commonly-sold brand that does not contain msg.

Continuing on the msg road, most spice blends contain msg if they do not say "no msg." So what that means is that your Asian spice blends, your Latin spice blends, and even your American stuff, such as accent often contain msg unless otherwise specified. In fact, I found a bottle of Accent in my mom's cabinet once and the sole ingredient was MSG :/. However, spice blends such as Goya's Adobo as well as most, if not all Lobo brand Asian seasoning do NOT contain MSG.

What about Chinese restaurants? Those who know about msg know that Chinese restaurants are famous for using it. So what do you do? You ask for them to prepare yours without msg, right? Wrong! Although they may mean well and say "ok, we can do that," cooks and restaurateurs at not only Chinese, but also other East Asian and SE Asian restaurants (THAI! You Thai-food-loving Richmonder, you!) cannot always have full control over this. Many commonly-used sauces such as soy sauce and oyster sauce often contain msg. If your local restaurant is using a brand that contains msg, which is a high possibility, guess what, your food still has msg. So, just be cognizant of this when you are making dietary decisions. Again, always read your labels (when they are there...occasionally some imports, especially some SE Asian ones, do not have them).

So who cares if my seasoning has MSG, right? Well, MSG is a man-made form of sodium that can affect different bodies in different ways. It is known to cause sudden and substantial spikes in blood pressure, mild headaches, and migraines. I can speak for myself that it gives me headaches and even migraines and who knows what is going on to cause that. The bottom line here is, be aware of what contains msg and avoid it when you can. If you occasionally use some spice blends or sauces that contain it, don't freak out, just use them in moderation.

Here's another one. Do you use soy sauce? Be careful because the last time I went to buy a bottle of soy sauce, I realized that some brands do NOT even contain soy : /. Not to mention, for those with gluten allergies, soy sauces almost always contain gluten.  Read the labels when you buy your soy sauce and make sure that soy is actually in the ingredients list. Otherwise...gross!!!

Lastly, this is especially for all of the vegetarians and vegans. If you love yogurt like I do, here's something you should know. Most American brands of yogurt, unfortunately, contain gelatin (as well as yucky-tasting artificial sweeteners). Gelatin comes from animals...I won't get into how or where, but if you can't eat meat, you can't eat gelatin. Just let it suffice to say that. A nice alternative is Indian yogurt, or dahi, which you can find at your local Indian supermarket. It is delicious, creamier, less sour, and contains neither gelatin nor artificial sweeteners, so it's a win win.

The point of all of this is that you cannot rely solely on the FDA. Do not expect the FDA to be some superhero defender of your well-being. Those people have their own interests, some wholesome and sincere, others more self-interested. At the end of the day, you are the one who puts the food in your mouth, not the FDA, so it is your responsibility to know what you are ingesting and how it affects your own body.

I know this may have been a bit much to take in, but I hope you found at least some of it useful. Let me know your thoughts :).

Hugs,

DF

I'm Back!!! And with a Delicious Recipe!!!

Hi guys!

I'm alive! So, I promised a certain someone in Richmond, RVAFoodie, that I would come back, even if I couldn't do so as often as I would like; so I will keep my word. I've been incredibly busy with work and grad school, but I have, of course, been cooking my way through it all to keep my sanity. If I've been cooking all this time, then why not share, right? Well, long story short, I've been wanting to revamp my blog and blah blah blah, but let's face it, if you want great, tried and true recipes, the pretty page is only a plus, it's good food that you really want, so here it is.

I haven't really told you guys, but I am a bit of a hippie at heart. I have sprinkling of tree hugger at my core and I really do believe that sometimes the best things are those that you grow or make yourself. I'm also a firm believer that if you want something done right, you should just do it yourself. That being said, I've been learning how to do some wonderful things at home that I never thought I'd do on my own. I will get into that soon, but trust me, it's very exciting and, yes, it is fairly easy as well :).

So today I want to invite you into my kitchen for a taste of something a little different. I may not have said it, but anyone who knows me knows that I go through spells in my kitchen...the Jamaican spell, the Nicaraguan spell, the Dominican spell, the Korean spell, the Cambodian spell, and so on. Every few weeks, my culinary mood changes and all of my recipes change with it. Lucky for you, my dear hippie and vegetarian friends, I am currently in my.....::wait for it::: VEGETARIAN SPELL!!!

"Oh boy...." said the carnivore (yes, I heard you). Fear not! This dish will be loved by grass eaters and meat lovers alike, I promise! So what on earth is it, you ask? Indian style vegetarian garlic pepper balls. "Ewww, Indian food? I don't like Indian food :/," said that whining little punk we all have in our lives who says they don't like anything yet they've also never tried anything either. Well, I don't like Indian food at restaurants, but when you make it at home, it is wonderful and this is no exception! Garlicky, warm, flavorful, spicy and with a touch of brightness from the herbs. This is a sure crowd pleaser, whether as an appetizer at your next party or for dinner tomorrow night.

This recipe is my version of the one from Chef Thumma at vahrehvah.com. Please check him out on his website and as "vahchef" on YouTube. He is full of energy and has wonderful recipes.

Anywho, this recipe is spicy with a tinge of sourness and is incredibly flavorful! I thought I made flavorful vegetarian dishes all the time, but this one just brings flavorful to a totally different level!  Please, don't be intimidated by all of the unfamiliar spices.  They are all incredibly cheap (average $2.99)per 3.5 to 7 oz bag of spices and those are Miami prices) at your local Indian market and they are all versatile and great to play with in other cooking styles as well.

Here are the ingredients:

balls:

***squeeze excess liquid out of all veggies once grated***

2 green plantains (boiled inside the peel until cooked/tender), finely grated (no, silly, don't grate the peel ;))

1 zucchini, peeled and finely grated

1 medium carrot, peeled and finely grated

1/4 cup buttercup squash, finely grated

1 tsp or so of salt

1TB olive oil

1-1/2 tsp kala jeera (black coriander seed)

3/4 onion, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 heaping teaspoon of chili garlic paste (3 cloves of garlic and a 1" piece of ginger smashed in a mortar and pestle or in food processor to form smooth paste)

1 tsp turmeric

1/2-1 tsp chili powder (mine said "extra hot," so adjust accordingly if yours does not) (the kind from the Indian grocery store only*** Different chilies make different chili powder)

1-1/2 tsp coriander

1 tsp amchur powder (green mango powder)

1/3 cup breadcrumbs (be sure they are plain, unseasoned)

1 egg

sauce

1/4 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic

2.5 inch piece of Indian green chili, sliced into thin rings

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp amchur

small palmful (6-10 peppercorns) of black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar and pestle

1 green onion, chopped into thin rings

1-1/2 TB chopped cilantro

1 TB soy sauce (make sure that soy is in the ingredients list on the bottle...don't assume it is what it says...)

Procedure:

Squeeze all excess liquid out of the grated vegetables (not the plantain, silly), THEN season with 1 tsp of salt. Blend with your clean hands and set aside.

Add 1TB olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Once warm, add the kala jeera and stir. Add in the 3/4 of the chopped onion and 1 tsp salt. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add in ginger garlic paste and cook for one minute, stirring. Add in turmeric and cook until the mixture gets a little golden brown-ish. Don't go crazy about the color, just move on once it's transparent.

Add in all of your veggies, including the plantains and blend. Cook, continuing to stir and add in chili powder, coriander, and amchur powder. Remove from heat once blended and add in breadcrumbs and 1 egg and blend with your hands into a uniform dough, if you will.

Oil a pan well and set your oven to 350. Roll each ball in the oil and cook until golden brown on the bottom. I guess this takes 10 minutes or so, but my oven is crazy, so that is just a guess based on the usual adjustments I make. Once brown on one side, flip the balls to brown on the other side.

Meanwhile, put 1TB of butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the last 1/4 of onion, 3 garlic cloves, and the hot pepper, stirring while cooking. Add in the powdered seasoning at this point as well and continue stirring.

Once the garlic and onion have become transparent, add in green onion and cilantro. Continue stirring and add 1 TB soy sauce. Once incorporated, add in your balls and toss them in the sauce. Enjoy!!

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think ;).

Authentic Italian Meatballs in Sauce - Polpette al sugo

Hi fellow foodies!

Sorry it's been so long. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been having fun using my fake Italian learn authentic Italian recipes. My most recent endeavor was polpette al sugo or Italian meatballs in tomato sauce. You all will be seriously amazed at how easy this recipe is and how great the simple, yet flavorful ingredients taste together.

Typically, I'm the last person you'll catch craving meatballs and definitely the last one to make them, whether it's the American style, the Italian style, or that weird hybrid found on the average meatball sub. Wait, um...I just remembered that there is one exception. Sino-Khmer Krom (Chinese-Cambodian-Vietnamese) style meatballs are really good. Here's the recipe (http://www.khmerkromrecipes.com/). But yea, like I was saying, meatballs in the typical sense were so not my thing until I discovered this recipe.

NOTE: These are appetizer meatballs, not spaghetti and meatballs. Spaghetti sauce also has 1/2 -1whole glass white wine and 1 chopped onion and you use more tomato (500 grams--about 2-1/4 cups). For spaghetti sauce, follow this whole recipe with these changes. Mix Hunt's brand crushed tomato (their brand is more of a crush than a chop, as opposed to the overly-chunkiness of other brands, which renders less sauce) and their sauce.

What you'll need:

for the sauce:

1 small can tomato sauce (the short can)

2 - 14.5 once cans of crushed tomatoes (diced will work if that's all you have, but bear in mind that there is still some skin in there, unfortunately) (I highly recommend Hunt's brand for best results in taste and texture)

12 leaves minimum of FRESH basil (yes, the fresh is a must. Otherwise, you totally crock the flavor. It's all about the freshness of your ingredients for simple recipes like this one)

3 cloves garlic, smashed

extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

For the meatballs

Just over 2lbs of ground meat (mixing the meats is tasty. I did mostly beef with maybe 1/4 of the amount in pork since that's what I had, but veal would be nice, too)

7/8 cup breadcrumbs (you can just do fresh ones with your own toasted bread if you like)

7/8 cup grated parmesan cheese (the bottle is fine)

3 eggs

1 clove pressed or finely minced garlic

a bunch of parsley, minced

a dash of nutmeg

Oil to fry in (if you opt to fry, not bake)

Here is the video in Italian that I watched and here's a website I used for comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbwmc-RIWxM

http://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Polpette-al-sugo.html

Preparation

Mix the three eggs into the meat mixture

Add in fresh minced parsley and mix in

Add grated parmesan and incorporate into mixture

Add a pinch of nutmeg, 1 garlic clove, salt and pepper to taste and mix into mixture

Add breadcrumbs (fresh or store-bought) and incorporate well until mixture is smooth

Sprinkle a baking sheet, cutting board, or tray with breadcrumbs to avoid sticking. Form meatballs with a handful of meat mixture and place on tray. In this process, some people opt to rolls the balls in bread crumbs before frying (if they opt to fry). I fried the first go-round, but I will likely never fry them again. It's time consuming and wastes lots of oil, while adding tons of unnecessary fat. You can bake these in the oven on 400 degrees for 20 minutes (maybe 30, but I think 20 was perfect, if I am remembering correctly). This works especially well with a pan that allows fat to drip to the bottom pan.

Another option used by the text recipe in the link above is to just to add three tablespoons olive oil to a sautee pan over medium high heat and and once it's sizzling, add in the three cloves of garlic (smashed or sliced is fine) and give it maybe 10-20 seconds to cook, depending on how thin the garlic is. Then add in the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce and when it's just about to boil, add in the meatballs. Move the pan (we're using a deep pan here, not a pot) around to get the meatballs covered and evenly cooking. Let them cook in the sauce for twenty minutes. Once there's five minute left, add in the basil (just throwing in the whole stem with leaves attached is perfectly fine here). DO NOT add basil before this point or you will cook the flavor out and have a bland sauce. Move the pan around a bit to get the basil flavor distributed. Cook for the last five minutes and enjoy!

If you've opted to fry, simply fry the meatballs and toward the last batch, get your 3TB of oil and three garlic cloves (sliced or smashed) and let the garlic cook as mentioned above. Add in your tomato sauce and tomatoes. Cover the pot and allow it to reach a rapid boil. Add basil leaves whole (attached to stem is fine). Stir in the basil and let it reach a rapid boil. Add in the meatballs once the basil flavor is incorporated. They don't all need to be covered in sauce. Let boil on high for 10 minutes. It's not necessary to cook it any longer than that. The sauce need not be thick. Enjoy!