Good old Korean country style food

Even though I have had the great luck and opportunity to train under Dr. Tae Yun Kim for over 30 years now, and even though I have learned a lot about Korean food, there are some things that still intimidate me.  For example, making really good Deng Jang Chigae (fermented soybean paste soup)  and the many different kinds of ban chan.  Ban chan are wonderful little side dishes that liven up your rice and make a simple meal into an explosion of flavors.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim is a most excellent and very creative cook, Korean cuisine and way beyond.  She can make the most exquisite meals imaginable, yet her personal favorite are very simple, country-style dishes.

So I finally decided to conquer my fear of making ban chan and started with something relatively simple.  This particular one happens to be one of Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s favorite ones and is made out of the long, skinny kind of eggplants, this kind:

By JVRKPRASAD – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67744202

Turns out, this is really simple to make.  How simple?  Goodness, you cut the eggplant into small finger size stripes, marinate them in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, a tiny amount of sugar, ground garlic, ground ginger and a touch of lemon juice; and after about 15 minutes you saute it until the eggplant is soft.

And, tada!  That’s it!

And when you mix all sorts of ban chan into your rice and add some hot sauce, you end up with this heavenly dish called bibim bap, and when it’s served in a stone pot it’ll be dul se bap.  Either way, it’s delicious!

And not only is it delicious, but also very healthy!  And the good thing is, that these kinds of dishes do not require strict recipes, but allow for a lot of creativity.

And as a bonus, here is a quote from Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s new book, “Seven Steps to Inner Power, how to break through to awesome!” I just happened to read this one today and I thought you might like it as much as I did.

“You can determine each day, then, to get to know yourself a little better and get to know what’s true for you – and have fun doing it.  You can live with a sense of excitement, wonder, and gratitude.  Nobody is going to charge you more taxes for being happy.  Appreciate every day you are given as an occasion to learn to love – to love who you are, to love others, to connect with your authentic self.  You have an opportunity each day to fall in love with the real you, to get to know who you are – your body, your hands, your feet, your eyes, your heart, your entire being – inside and out.”

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Healthy Korean Style Stew

The title purposely says “Korean Style”, because with Dr. Tae Yun Kim there is no restriction or limit on her creativity.  She bases many of her innovative dishes and creations on the Korean cuisine of the time she was growing up, when all food was by default organic, grown on healthy soil with no chemicals applied to either ground, plants or animals.

Nowadays she shops for organically grown fruit and produce and grows a lot of her own fruits and vegetables.  She makes sure any poultry and meat she purchases came from healthy, happy, organically raised animals.

She still cleanses the meat before using it by using this method (from a few blog posts back.)

In these pictures, Dr. Tae Yun Kim started with chicken pieces, and sautéed them in some water seasoned with salt and garlic.  She added tofu and vegetables, starting with the hard varieties like carrots, onions, Brussels Sprouts and Yucca root, and then follows with mushrooms, zucchini and cabbage.

As sauce, she added her very own brand of hot sauce.  I know, not fair!  To make a close approximation of that sauce, you take a couple of spoons of gochu jang, available in any Korean store.  For us gluten-free folks – there are gluten free varieties available online and they are every bit as good.

To this you add a spoon of garlic, a couple spoons of raw sugar, and some apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.  Heat up, stir vigorously and add a few spoons to the stew, enough to cover the meat and veggies but not so much it turns soupy.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  You can add some chopped up jalapeno’s of you love it really hot.

Lastly, add some cilantro, green onions, and parsley, according to your own taste.

This stew can be served over brown rice or acorn noodles, or use chap chae noodles.  Either way, it is amazingly delicious!

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The powerful Tomato

Here is some more of what Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim is teaching about internal cleansing.

(disclaimer:  I am not a doctor or nurse of any kind, so please check with your physician before you start any cleansing program, new diet, or anything that could have unwanted side effects. )

I personally, on the advice of Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim, am increasing the amount of tomatoes in my diet by a lot, for one week.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim mentioned in Jung Suwon class the other day, that tomatoes have powerful cleansing and healing qualities.  You can find the scientific data all over the internet.  But Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim – although she knows all the scientific background – goes strictly by Ki energy.  Great Grandmaster Kim mentioned that right now the energy is right for some good cleansing, losing weight, internal housekeeping and such.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim also points out that no two people are the same, so therefore no program will fit all people.  For me, personally, I will have breakfast every day, and then tomatoes the rest of the day, for one week.

What I can recommend though, is for everyone (that isn’t allergic to them) to incorporate more tomatoes in your diet.  I love them a lot just plain, and eat them like an apple.

They are also great slized or quartered, with just a little salt, or with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Or your can use the sauce you learned to make here and enjoy that way.

Or, slice them up and have them with some parsley, as parsley is also a wonderful cleanser and has incredible amounts of vitamin C.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim recommends that it’s always best to combine internal cleansing with an exercise program.  Of course classes at Jung Suwon are awesome for that, as you are guaranteed to sweat out everything.  But any type of exercise that will make you sweat works great!

Let me know how you will use more tomatoes, and stay in tune for more tomato related updates tomorrow!

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My favorite way to make rice

Yesterday I promised I would share with you how I like to make rice.  I realize that, as in so many things, there must be dozens of ways to make really good rice.  Whether you prefer a rice cooker, or you cook it on a pan, or if you just open a bag of Uncle Ben’s, this just happens to be my favorite, because to me, this just tastes best.  I learned this way of making rice from Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim.  At first, it seemed impossibly difficult to me.  But now that I have the technique down, it’s easy, fairly quick, and very good.  As in all things in this life, once you know how to do them, they are easy, as Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim points out.

You will need one of these:

This is a traditional Korean stone pot.  If you live in an area where there are Korean grocery stores, you’ll be able to get one.  But I am sure there are other stores that have them.  Pretty much any stone, or earthen ware small pot that can withstand direct heat will do.

Next, put in some rice, about this much:

This works best with short grain, white rice.  (Yes, I hear you.  Doesn’t Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim teach us that we should use whole, unprocessed foods whenever we can?  Absolutely!  But just wait a minute!)

I always mix either millet, or black sesame seeds, or both, with the white rice.  I also add some vegetables, (those that can withstand the long cooking process) such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, radishes, mushrooms, even chestnuts, cut in big chunks.  Here you see Oriental mushrooms in the rice pot:

Rinse the rice well and fill the stone pot with water, about 2/3 full.  It will look like there is way too much water.  Add in vegetables, if any, cut in chunks.  Put the stone pot on the stove – I have a gas stove and it works really well.  Bring it to a rolling boil, then cover it with it’s lid:

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has also shown me how to do this for brown rice and rice mixed with beans:  You’ll need to soak those for several hours and preferably pre-cook them a little.  A lot of effort?  Perhaps, but well worth it.  As we hear at Jung Suwon a lot, some things in life you can’t just get from a convenience store – you have to work for it!

Turn the heat down to the very lowest setting, and wrap a towel around it, being careful not to let it touch the flame or the burner, and put something heavy onto the towel to keep it in place.  If you don’t do the “towel thing,” then you’ll end up flooding your stove, as the steam will come out the sides.  This is what it looks like:

Then it’s time to practice the Jung Suwon code of ethics, last one:  PATIENCE!  For the next 20 – 30 minutes, don’t peek!  Resist the temptation!  Go practice your Jung Suwon forms in another part of the house, or read one of Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s books!

After 30 minutes, you can open the pot and check – doesn’t it smell wonderful?

Check and make sure the rice is done.  If it’s done but looks too wet, leave off the lid and let it sit on the stove on very low for 5 minutes or so and it will be fine.  If its not done yet and the water is gone, add some water and cover back up.

Now, enjoy!

And tomorrow, you will learn from Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim, her favorite sauce to eat with this!

HE CAN DO, SHE CAN DO, WHY NOT ME!

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