Migi's Kitchen

Mushroom Party

2011-08-16T20:54:00.000-07:00

버섯전골[beo-seot-jeon-goal]How many different kinds of mushrooms have you eaten in your life? Both Min and I are mushroom lovers, but when we saw a wide array of mushrooms on display at the Monterey Market a few weeks ago we realized there are so many types of mushroom that we have never known about, let alone taste it. So, we decided to try every single kind of mushrooms sold in the market. The

Yosemite National Parks

2011-08-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I had mentioned about upcoming camping trips this summer. Here is our first one this year to the Yosemite National Parks. We went for a 1 night 2 day camping trip with friends. The weather was just perfect, not too cold and not too hot. We left Oakland around 9 a.m. and arrived at the Crane Flat Campground by 1 p.m. Our camp site was quite spacious and was surrounded by a wall

Tofu Stick Salad

2011-06-22T23:15:00.000-07:00

The weather is finally becoming more like summer! I am already getting excited because we already have two camping trips and a few outdoor activities planned for coming months. In this kind of weather, a simple cold dish is just about what I need. When the weather turns hot, you really want to avoid any thing to do with the heat, be it your stove. Also you don't want to have left-overs sitting

Tomales Point Hiking

2011-06-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went hiking with a group of friends to Tomales Point in the Marin County, about 40 miles north of San Francisco. It was the first hiking trip for this year, and I was so happy to be finally able to pursue outdoor activities after several months of hibernation through not-too-cold but very wet California winter weather. I love going on a weekend trip to the Marin Headlands.

Bibimbap

2011-06-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

비빔밥[bi-bim-bob]There is no denying that the popularity of Korean food is fast growing in recent years across the United States as well as in other parts of the world. I often get requests from the Middle East or from Africa for Korean recipes. Some pople also email me pictures of Korean food products they bought and ask me to translate the instructions on the packaging. Whenever I get those kinds

Beef Chili Paste Sauce

2011-06-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

약고추장 [yaak-go-choo-jaang]I originally made this sauce to use as a dressing for bibimbap but decided to make it a separate post. It is part of bibimbap recipe, but it goes well with many other dishes as well. You can mix in a spoonful of this beef chili paste sauce onto your rice for instant beef-chili-bibimbap, or use it as ssamjang for vegetables or BBQ. If you like the original Korean chili

Gosari Salad

2011-06-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

고사리무침 [go-sa-ri-moo-chim]This is the third in the Korean vegetable series followed by Spinach Salad and Bean Sprout Salad. While spinach and bean sprouts may be known to Westerners, gosari may still be quite foreign to many people. Gosari is the young stem of brackens which is often harvested in mountainous areas all over the world. While many cultures do not use this plant for cooking, it is

Korean Spinach Salad

2011-06-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

시금치무침[shi-keum-chi-moo-chim]Spinach is packed with vital nutrients like iron and beta-carotene and is an excellent source of fiber. But unfortunately, I find there are not that many dishes that feature this healthy vegetable as main ingredient. I guess in the Western diet, spinach salad and creamy spinach are as popular as it gets. Salad is always a good option, but I personally don't like creamy

Bean Sprout Salad

2011-05-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

콩나물무침[kong-na-mool-moo-chim]Although bulgogi and Korean BBQ are most well known Korean dishes to many Westerners, they are not part of typical Korean diet as those dishes are only served on special occasions. Contrary to popular beliefs, I think one of the defining characteristics of Korean cuisine is the use of wild and domesticated vegetables in various forms. Typical lunch or dinner table in a

Acorn Tofu Noodle Soup

2011-05-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

도토리묵국수[do-to-ri-mook-gook-soo]When we were in Korea last fall, we had mooksabal, acorn tofu noodle soup for the first time and fell in love with it instantly. We had had acorn tofu (dotori mook) before but never seen a noodle soup made with it. When we first read about it, our reaction was how can they make noodle with acorn tofu?! (For those who are wondering how they make tofu out of acorns,

Japan Quake

2011-03-20T22:58:00.000-07:00

Photo Source: National Geographic It's been ten days since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan. I just saw a special footage on NHK which showed the stark reality of the situation in Japan after the earthquake hit. As I was watching, I couldn't stop thinking how little we are in front of the fearsome power of nature and how grateful we must be with every second we have with

Crab Bibimbop and Crab Soybean Soup

2011-03-05T11:04:00.000-08:00

꽃게된장찌게[kot-gye-dwen-jang-ji-gye]Sorry for the delay with updating this blog. No excuse except that I just can't remember how the last two months flew by so quickly. As a Korean saying goes, it feels like all things happened in a blink of an eye. Since this is the first blog post for this year, I would like to send a belated wish to everyone a very happy new year! I am sure hearing new year's

Hanok Stay in Bukchon

2010-12-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

This time in Korea, we had a quite unique experience in Seoul by staying in hanok, a traditional Korean house. We loved staying in hanok so much that we even wished that we could live in one of the hanoks if we ever decide to live in Korea. It is said that there were over 800,000 hanoks in Seoul until the 1970s, but more than 90 percent were demolished during the post-Korean War era as the

November 16 to November 28

2010-12-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

We were in Korea and Japan during the last two weeks of November. We spent the first week in Korea mainly touring Seoul and Kangwondo, and spent the the second week in Japan travelling major cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hakone. Although we missed turkey and Black Friday, we got to celebrate this year's Thanksgiving with the freshest sushi (probably in the world) in Tsukiji Fish Market in

Bean Sprout Soup

2010-12-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

Easy clear soup recipe that anyone can make. This soup is very convenient to serve because it can be served either hot or chilled. When it's served cold, a bowl of bean sprout soup could taste very refreshing. I usually make this in a large quantity and serve it hot on the first day, and then from the second day and onward I simply take it out of the refrigerator and serve it chilled. Enjoy

Pickled Radish Salad

2010-12-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

Korean BBQ is usually served with a stack of lettuce, ssamjang (thick dipping sauce), garlic slices, and some vegetable salads. It is intended for you to make a lettuce wrap with a beef slice, a slice of garlic dipped in ssamjang and some seasoned vegetable salad. This radish salad goes very well with Korean BBQ or samgyupsal. And it can also be served as a side dish to go with your rice. Best

The Kitchen Restaurant

2010-12-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

For my birthday this year, we ventured out to Sacramento to dine at a very unique restaurant recommended to us by our long-time friend Yunji who now calls Sacramento her home town. As its name implies, the concept of this restaurant is that, as a customer, you are invited to someone's kitchen where you can see how your foods are prepared and you can talk freely with chefs while you dine. The

Yuzu Roasted Anchovies

2010-12-07T21:52:00.000-08:00

유자 멸치볶음[yu-ja-myul-chil-bok-eum]Welcome back to my anchovy series. This is the third in the series followed by Spicy Roasted Anchovies and Butter Roasted Sweet Anchovies. Personally, this is my favorite. As winter approached us, I bought a jar of yuzu marmalade (yujachung) to make tea. Yuzu tea is a very popular winter time tea in Korea because it is full of Vitamin C and is widely considered

Butter Roasted Sweet Anchovies

2010-12-05T22:51:00.001-08:00

버터 멸치볶음[butter-myul-chil-bok-eum]I love Korean-Western fusion dishes because they tend to bring out the best of both cuisines. This butter-roasted anchovies is a good example. I find the combination of salty anchovies roasted in sweet butter and mixed with almonds to be surprisingly delicious. They are crunch and salty, and can be quite addictive. I keep eating them as snacks even after finishing

Roasted Spicy Anchovies

2010-12-05T22:51:00.000-08:00

고추장 멸치볶음[go-choo-jang-myul-chil-bok-eum]If you grew up in a Korean family, you would recognize this dish right away. It is a signature side dish our moms pretty much forced us to eat everyday when we were little. Or, at least my mom did. Korean moms believe that anchovies are very rich in calcium because you get to consume the whole fish including their bones. The average height of Korean people

Dry Anchovies

2010-12-05T22:50:00.000-08:00

멸치[myul-chi]Whether you like anchovies or not, they are staple ingredients to many Korean dishes. Ironically though, these anchovies are rarely recognized on your plate because they are usually used as soup base and then tossed out. Unless you are cooking, the only other time you see them would be as side dishes. When you go shopping for anchovies, you may be perplexed to find so many different

How to Store Garlic

2010-09-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

마늘[maa-neul]Koreans eat lots of garlic. Garlic is on top of my grocery list too whenever I go shopping, and I always keep fresh garlic cloves in my vegetable basket on a corner of my countertop within easy reach. Since I use garlic a lot in my cooking, sometimes peeling and chopping garlic in the middle of cooking five different dishes at the same time can be quite hectic. So, those pre-chopped

Humboldt Redwoods State Park

2010-08-31T19:07:00.000-07:00

Has anyone been to the Humboldt Redwoods California State Park? If you have, you are as lucky as I am! I think redwood forests are one of the most beautiful places on earth. When you are surrounded by these trees, it reminds us how small part of the nature we are. The splashes of sunlight filtered through the redwoods is an unforgettable sight which awaits you in this place. The Humboldt Redwoods

Seafood and Vegetable in Mustard Sauce

2010-08-29T23:04:00.000-07:00

양장피 잡채[yang-jang-pi-jap-chae]I impressed quite a few of my guests, including my mother-in-law and my mom with this dish. Though it looks quite sophisticated, you can easily deceive your guests because this is actually very easy to make; all you need to do is to slice the ingredients individually and then arrange them as neatly as you can. This makes a great party dish because you can prepare

Birthday Party

2010-08-29T19:49:00.000-07:00

First, this post is over a month overdue since Min's birthday was in July and it's already the end of August. When I was brainstorming Min's birthday gift ideas last month, I realized that if you are over 30 and you are a guy, there are not many gift options out there unless you are in need of something. At the last minute, I tried to make a dinner reservation at Chez Panisse but was too late. So