Zola's Mom: Home Cooked Korean Food for Dinner

Hello everyone!!!!

I can't believe I wasn't able to blog AT ALL last August! Things got a little busier last month because the Princess started Kindergarten! I knowwww, she is a big girl now, in a big school, far different from the 4 corners of her preschool classroom. I am sure that all of us have experienced that first day in school excitement and have found it overwhelming too. When we picked up our Princess from school, she cried the moment she got in the car and my heart just went out to her. I was afraid that she would tell me that she doesn't want to go back the next day! And my heart melted when she told me that she just missed Mommy and just being at home. I'm happy to tell you that she is feeling and doing better now. (Yayyy!)

So this is one of the reasons why I haven't been blogging (this and a lot of other small things--- things that added up and somehow took my time! haha) for the past month.

So for today's post, I want to share with you something that I got excited about!!!!! (see, there's not one but 5 exclamation points! Haha)

I haven't really tried any new recipes for some time now. Finally, I got the chance to do so this week and I'm happy to say that they are both winners!

I had a sudden craving for the Korean Beef Stew (called Galbijim) we usually order in Kaya Restaurant back home in Philippines. So I googled and there are a lot of recipes which you can find online. I went with the recipe of Ms. Hyosun of the Korean Bapsan blog because there is always something special about a Mom's cooking!

For the complete recipe, please click on this link to go to her site.

Personal Notes:

1. I didn't put Asian Pear in the braising liquid because. . . I didn't have any on hand, haha! But the recipe still turned out good. I will put it the next time I am cooking this and I'm sure it's going to be even better!

2. The level of sweetness in this recipe was just right for us. You can adjust the sweetness of your Galbijim as you go (you can have a play with your sugar, honey or mirin).

3. I just used carrots and shiitake mushrooms. (If you are using dried ones like I did, please soak them first in hot water for 4 hours).

4. For garnish, I just used spring onions and next time, I want to try sprinkling some sesame seeds on top.

And because I love this blog and this Mom's cooking, I thought of trying another recipe the next day, haha!

Since I have some chicken wings, I searched her blog and saw this . . .

And I was sold!

Yangnyeom Chicken it is!

(Or what others call KFC . . Korean Fried Chicken! Haha)

If you like Kyochon or Bonchon, you have to try this recipe! If you like your wings crispy, sticky, sweet and spicy, this one is for you! It is really finger lickin' good!

I did not have ALL of the ingredients listed in the recipe but mine turned out still really good and tasty!

For the complete recipe, please click here.

Personal notes:

1. For the coating of the chicken, since I didn't have cornstarch, I just used a tempura batter which worked out really well actually. As a matter of personal preference, I will use this instead of cornstarch. (I used Kikkokman Tempura Extra Crispy batter)

2. This recipe was meant for a spicy fried chicken. You can adjust the level of spiciness to suit your taste. I did not put hot sauce and just used 1 tbsp of chili sauce.

3. Since I don't have gochujang (Korean red chili paste), I just used tomato catsup. But I'm planning on buying some gochujang since I'm sure this is not the last time I am going to cook this, haha!