Attempt at Korean #1: Soon Doo Boo Jigae

I'm Korean-American. I grew up in a Korean household with Korean food and Korean customs and Korean smells. Hands down, Korean food is my ultimate comfort food, especially with all the warm and spicy stews. My absolute favorite Korean dish is soon doo boo jigae, or soft tofu stew. Typically in a restaurant, this stew is served in a stone pot, bubbling with spicy and seafoody goodness. Unfortunately, there are few good Korean restaurants in the Boston area, and there are slim pickins for good soon doo boo jigae. So, I attempted to make it myself. Scary.

So, I started by adding about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to a pot. I then dumped in some Korean red chili powder (go-chu ga-ru), maybe about 2 tablespoons or so. I stirred this around until the oils started to come out of the chili powder and it was basically boiling. Before it started to burn, I added a chopped onion and about 2 cloves of chopped garlic.


After letting this cook for a few minutes, I then added about 3/4 cup of chopped kimchi and a few tablespoons of kimchi juice. Yum... spicy, fermented, and smelly.



After letting this cook for a few minutes, I added two packages of light silken tofu. I also added enough water to cover, maybe about 3/4 to 1 cup or so.


I stirred this around, broke up the tofu a bit, then added some halved fresh shitakes, and a handful of woods ear mushrooms.



I gave this a good stir, and let it boil for several minutes. Then, I added some delicious seafood -- some bay scallops, some littleneck clams (which I later realized I should have scrubbed), and some frozen shrimp.


I let this come to a boil and let it simmer, covered, for maybe 20 minute or so. I added quite a bit of salt and also a drizzle of sesame oil. I garnished with some green onion. The final product LOOKED so scrumptiously good, just like the restaurant versions. But.... it didn't taste so good. I was very disappointed in it's flavor, or complete lack thereof. It was missing something... and I still can't put my finger on it. It was sufficiently spicy, it was salty, the textures were great, but something was missing. I think next time, I'll have to use da-shi-da (basically MSG) or that shrimpy paste stuff, basically something that will lend a more potent seafood-salt flavor.

Suffice it to say that I was disappointed (especially since I made so damn much of it!), but that I'll be trying again in the future.

If you have any suggestions for how to make this taste better, I am open to any! Thanks!

I love the 88!

Ah, the Super 88 Food Connection, very possibly my favorite food place on the planet. Sure, it's smelly and probably wouldn't pass local health board codes. Sure, one time I saw a mouse jump out of a cash register (and I still ate the food!). Sure, the heat nor a/c are seemingly ever on. Sure, the building designer did not consider wind tunnel issues in the positioning of the doors. I could go on and on about why no human being should ever step foot into this place, unless s/he wants to contract some horrific food-borne illness or unknowingly ingest some rodent droppings.

But then you'd be crying hypocrite. Because, damn it, I LOVE THIS PLACE! This shall be the first of many postings about my adventures at the Super 88 Food Connection.

On this particular occasion, D and I ordered from the Dim Sum Chef (cash only!). It offers all the delicious greasy small plates you would expect, but without the chaos of a dim sum place in Chinatown. Here's what we ordered: BBQ pork buns, steamed homemade sausage bun, short ribs in garlic sauce, red bean paste bun, eggplant with black bean sauce, and pan fried sticky rice. Overall, the food was excellent, with some exceptions, and the prices were quite good ($2 to $5 each).













Let's start with the things I enjoyed the most. The BBQ pork buns were steamed to perfection -- pillowy soft, not too doughy or chewy. The pork filling was slightly sweet and simply delicious. The pan fried sticky rice is probably my favorite item on the menu. It's sweet and sticky, with pieces of sausage, teeny shrimps, and some green vegetable scattered throughout. I could eat this alone as a meal and be a very satisfied woman.














Now for the items I wasn't too thrilled about. The short ribs in garlic sauce were horribly greasy, oily, chewy, slippery, and just plain yuck-o. Now, I'm a big fan of short ribs in general, but these must have gone through numerous freeze/thaw cycles to get to the texture they were. The red bean paste buns were good, according to D, but I personally am not a huge fan of red bean, so they go on my thumbs-down list. The eggplant with black bean sauce looked like "brains" as D described, and strangly had a large shrimp stuffed in each piece of eggplant. This was an unexpected addition as the description did not imply that there was shrimp included. The texture of the eggplant was mushy, and the shrimp stuffed inside was just plain bizarre. Otherwise, the steamed homemade sausage buns were unremarkable in flavor and texture. Just mediocre.















So, overall, I recommend the Dim Sum Chef. It's good dim sum for a good price, without having to go into Chinatown. There's a lot on the menu, so I'll have to go on several occasions to develop a more educated opinion about the food.

More on 88 to come... stay tuned.

The good and the bad in Nashua, NH

D and I decided to be spontaneous today and drive to a new city to explore what it has to offer. We drove north to Nashua, NH and did a little investigation. Let's just say we had one decadent experience, and one experience that left something be desired.

Our first stop was a lovely little chocolate and dessert shop called Swan Chocolates (www.swanchocolates.com). Oh boy, what a way to start the evening! This small chocolate shop is filled to the brim with chocolate anything-you-can-imagine. The atmosphere and decor are calming and romantic. A lovely romantic pre-dinner dessert with D, what more could I ask for?



As you can see, the display cases were FILLED with delicate chocolate truffles, chocolate pastries, cookies... it's a good thing they were protected by the glass case, otherwise... trouble.



D and I settled on a few cookies. I had the chocolate chocolate chip cookie dipped in dark chocolate. Enough chocolate for ya? It was DIVINE. The best part, they WARMED the cookie in an oven. Oh boy. Decadently chocolatey chewy bliss.



After dessert, we decided to find a place for dinner. Right across the street, we saw a restaurant called San Francisco Kitchen (www.sanfranciscokitchen.com). To me, the name of this restaurant evoked images of wine country a la The French Laundry. As we walked in, I very quickly realized I was mistaken... horribly mistaken. Turns out, San Francisco Kitchen is an "east meets west" kind of a place, words that generally instill horror and immediate dry heaving. We decided to peruse the menu and figure out whether or not we would eat there. I will stop here and remind you, my loyal readers (all 2 of you), PLEASE FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS in regard to your food/restaurant choices. Advice I clearly did not take this evening. Regrettably.



We ordered the crab and corn egg drop soup, which wasn't THAT bad. It was on the salty side, and there was minimal crab meat in the soup. It had the usual gelatinous texture that egg drop soup has, but the corn was surprisingly quite crisp and appeared fresh.



Now the part that I hope to erase from my memory for good. The "sushi." I put that in quotes deliberately. The rice was not seasoned properly. And this was truly the first time I have seen sashimi cut into bite-sized pieces, unquestionably a culinary faux pas. Tonight was the only time in history I did not clean my plate of sushi.



Take home message: Never trust a restaurant with dropped ceilings. I am embarassed to admit I even dined at this horror of an establishment.

Birthday Dinner!

What would a birthday be without my favorite things: food and friends. D was sweet to organize a lovely dinner at Gaslight in the South End (www.gaslight560.com), a trendy brasserie du coin with excellent brasserie fare at very affordable prices. We had a reservation for a large group, and unfortunately got seated a whole HOUR later than our reservation time. The general manager was kind enough to bring us complimentary bottles of champagne (too bad I don't drink!) and free apps, so we didn't mind too much! Included in those delicious apps were steak tartare (MY FAVE), and pate with the traditional accoutrement (I love little cornichon!).


After we enjoyed our delicious apps (which, by the way, tasted better because they were free), we had our entrees. I had the rotisserie chicken with garlic herb frites. The chicken was cooked to perfection, moist and tender. The garlic herb frites were a bit TOO garlicky, even for someone like me who thoroughly enjoys garlic. However, the frites were nice and crispy, and the chicken came on a bed of greens which were quite tasty as well.














D had the steak frites, which he also enjoyed. He ordered medium rare, and it indeed arrived medium rare. Nothing is worse than a restaurant that can't cook a steak to order properly, so kudos to Gaslight! We also had the onion soup gratinee with truffled beef short rib, which is to die for! The flavor is beefy and rich, but we couldn't help but ask, "where's the beef?" It seems they neglected to put the "truffled beef short rib" in the soup. Perhaps the recession is hitting us all pretty hard.

Anyways, all in all, it was a lovely dinner, with the people who mean the most to me. At the end, D had a surprise: earlier in the day, he brought cupcakes from my favorite place (Party Favors in Brookline) and arranged for the waitstaff to bring them out as a dessert. Does he know me or what!? I had a special cupcake with a candle. It was very thoughtful, and a sweet ending to a fun and memorable evening.

Crema Cafe, Harvard Square

Fridays I don't have class. This should translate to taking advantage of the time to study all day, especially with my nursing boards coming up. Alas... I end up surfing the web, reading blogs, watching the Food Network, or simply lounging around. Bottom line, staying at home during my days off is a BAD IDEA.

Hence the topic of this blog posting: Crema Cafe in Harvard Square. The sun is out, it's warmer than it has been (37 degrees, sad that I consider that warm), so I decided to hop on the bus and check out a coffee shop I've been hearing great things about.

Crema Cafe is a delightfully cozy coffee shop in the heart of Harvard Square. I went during the busy lunch hour (bad idea), and the place was packed with students, intellectuals, mom/baby combinations, and your general Harvard/MIT geeks.

I was immediately drawn to the glass case of freshly baked goodies... brownies, banana bread, cookies, cupcakes. How could I resist?















I got a lemon curd cupcake, with tiny pieces of candied lemon peel atop the buttercream frosting. Doesn't it look delicious? It was moist and had a light lemony flavor that wasn't too sweet nor overpowering. In the center was a dollop of sweet and tart lemon curd. It was as tasty as it looks. I'm sure I looked like a crazy lady sitting alone, in my parka, wearing a big backpack, devouring a cupcake. Not to mention I got many stares while taking photos of the cupcake. Geez, don't they know I'm a food blogger!

Suffice it to say I did not get much studying done while I was there. I give that credit to the moms/babies, and the guy next to me talking about his "full scholarship to MIT." We're all impressed, buddy.

Next time I go, I will be sure to try their savory items on the menu, including delicious salads and paninis. If you're in the area, check it out!


mmm... cupcake.

Test posting...

This is the first "real" blog posting. It's more of an experiment, actually, as I am completely new to this blogging thing. I thought I would start by saying that my sister is my inspiration to start blogging (see her blogs to the left: kim-squared, and graciekdesigns). She is so creative, I love it! However, much of my inspiration has also come from the loads of food bloggers whom I follow (also see blogs to the left), and the delicious descriptions and photos they post. My lovely boyfriend, D, got me a Nikon D40 for Christmas (best gift ever!), so I am starting to take photos of my favorite thing of all: FOOD! Particularly, I'll be posting things that I cook, but I'll also be posting reviews of places I go out to eat. Now, being that I'm a poor grad student, those postings may be limited to budget eats in the Boston area, but hey, I might discover a hidden (cheap) gem!

To further the experiment, let's post some photos I took while out to dinner in DC for my friend's birthday...










Now that I've sufficiently screwed up the layout of this posting, I'll end this by asking you to be patient with me as I learn how to blog.

First-time blogger

This is my first blog. Naturally, it is about food. I will be posting photos and descriptions of my cooking and dining adventures. Enjoy!