Cold noodles (naengmyeon)

INGREDIENTS:
1. A package of cold noodles, onion, garlic, green onions,
2. ginger, cucumber, egg, 1 bosc pear, hot pepper flakes,
3. hot pepper paste, sesame seeds, vinegar, sesame oil, corn syrup,
4. salt, soy sauce, sugar, mustard powder

Directions (2 servings):
1. Make stock by boiling 8 cups of water, 3-4 shiitake mushrooms, dried kelp, and 8-10dried anchovies (You will see how to make this stock in my soon du bu video) and cool it down.

2. Prepare toppings for naengmyeon
Mustard powder: Mix 2 tbs of mustard powder and 1 tbs water and put it on warm place to ferment it. (I place it on the top of boiling stock)
Cucumber: Slice a quarter of cucumber thinly and sprinkle a pinch of salt, 1 ts of sugar, 1 ts of vinegar, and a pinch of hot pepper flakes and mix it and set it aside
Bosc pear:Slice a half pear thinly and soak it in water and add 1 ts sugar to protect it from changing color
Egg:Hardboil an egg, cut it in half, and set it aside

3. Make hot and spicy sauce for bibim naengmyeon:
Grind these ingredients: A half of peeled bosc pear, a quarter of onion (about 3 tbs), 1 ts garlic, 1 ts of ginger, ½ cup of corn syrup, 4 tbs hot pepper flakes, 3 tbs hot pepper paste, ¼ cup of apple vinegar, 1 tbs sesame seeds, 3 green onions, 1 tbs soy sauce
Place the ground sauce into a container and add 1 tbs sesame oil and 1 ts of fermented mustard and mix it.
4. Make naengmyeon broth by mixing 1 cup of Yeolmu kimchi juice and 2 cups of stock.( you can add some vinegar or salt and sugar)

5. Boil the noodles:
Put noodles into boiling water in a big pot (2/3 of the pot is filled with water). The direction of cooking noodles is on the back of the noodle package and it usually takes 3-4 minutes to boil after putting the noodles into the boiling water. You can take some sample to check if the noodles are cooked enough or not.
When the noodles are cooked, move the pot into a kitchen sink and pour cold water and remove some water and pour cold water again. This process helps the noodles get chewier. Place the noodles into a basket or colander and keep rinsing and draining the noodles until all starch from the noodles are removed.
6. Serve it cold

For mul naengmyeon:
1. Put some noodles into a serving bowl and fill the broth until the noodles are submerged.
2. Add crushed ice and place toppings: yeolmu kimchi, a few pieces of pear and cucumber, and a half side of boiled egg on top.
3. Add 1 ts of mustard


For bibimnaengmyeon:
1. Put some noodles into a serving bowl.
2. Add a half cup of icy broth
3. Place some hot and spicy sauce, yeolmu kimchi, a few pieces of pear and cucumber and a half side of boiled egg on top.
4. Add some more sesame oil if you want.

Now your Cold noodles (naengmyeon) is ready to serve!

Rice cake / 송편 / Songpyeon (or songpyun)

Songpyeon is a Korean traditional rice cake to eat on Chuseok, which is celebration of the year’s good harvest. Traditionally it’s made with the rice of the first harvest of the year. 

Ingredients:

Frozen rice flour, salt, water, sesame seeds, sesame oil, dried and skinned mung beans, brown sugar, white sugar, pine needles, mugwort powder (ssook garu in Korean), strawberry Jell-o powder.

Make the dough:

1. Prepare a package of rice powder (2 lbs) usually sold frozen at a Korean grocery shop. Just before using it, you must thaw it until the powder is at room temperature.
2. Put rice powder through a sifter to make the powder fine.Tip: If your rice powder is very fine, you can skip sifting. If your rice powder is coarse, you may have to grind it with a food processor or coffee grinder before sifting.
3. Prepare 3 stainless bowls and put 1 cup of finely sifted rice powder into the each bowl. (Bowl A, B, and C)
4. Boil 2 cups of water for your rice dough.
5. Bowl A (white songpyeon): add a pinch of salt and 3 tbs of boiling water and mix it with a wooden spoon. (it’ll be too hot if you use your hands at first) Knead the rice dough for about 5 minutes. Put the dough into a plastic bag and set it aside.
6. Bowl B (pink songpyeon): add a pinch of salt, a pinch of strawberry Jell-o powder, and 3 tbs of boiling water. Mix it with a wooden spoon and knead the rice dough for about 5 minutes. Put the dough into a plastic bag and set it aside.
7. Bowl C (green songpyeon): add a pinch of salt, 1 ts of ssookgaru (mugwort power) and 3.5 tbs boiling water. Mix it with a wooden spoon and knead the rice dough for about 5 minutes. Put the dough into a plastic bag and set it aside.Tip: You will need to add 3.5 tbs of water because of  the 1 ts of ssookgaru.

Make the filling:

Roasted sesame seeds powder filling:

1. Grind ¼ cup of roasted sesame seeds using a coffee grinder for 15-20 seconds.
2. Transfer the ground sesame powder into a small bowl and mix it with ¼ cup of brown sugar and a pinch of salt.Tip: if you grind too long, the powder will become sticky from the oil in the seeds.

Mung bean powder filling:

1. Wash and drain ¼ cup of dried and skinned mung beans and put them in a pot with a thick bottom.
2. Add ¼ cup of water and a pinch of salt to the pot and simmer it for 30 minutes.Tip: Be sure not to burn it – simmer over the lowest heat.
3. Open the pot and use your wooden spoon to crush the beans into fine powder.Tip: if you make more than ¼ cup of mung bean powder, you may have to use your grinder or food processor to grind it finely.
4. Transfer the crushed mung bean powder into a small bowl or container and wait until it cools down.
5. Add ¼ cup of white sugar and mix it. That’s it!

Let’s make songpyeon now!

1. Break off a piece of rice dough about 1 inch in diameter and roll it between your palms to make a rice ball. Then press your thumb in the center of the ball to make it shaped like a cup.
2. Fill the cup with either sesame filling or mung bean filling using a small spoon, and seal it using your thumb and index fingers
3. Place all the raw rice cakes (songpyeon) on a plate.
4. Wash your pine needles thoroughly with a little dish soap. Towel dry them.
5. Put some water (4 cups) into a steamer and boil it. When it starts boiling, place a damp cotton cloth on the bottom of the steamer tray.
6. Make a bed of pine needles on the wet cloth and put the raw songpyeon on top. Put more pine needles on top of the songpyeon, too.Tip: Pine needles stop the songpyeon from sticking together and give them a good flavor.
7. Steam it for 25 minutes over medium high heat.
8. Prepare some cold water in a large bowl, and drop in a little sesame oil.
9. Dump your steamed songpyeon into the cold water and quickly remove pine needles. Take  them out put them on plate to serve.