Tag: main course
Crispy Marinated Tofu
Crispy Marinated Tofu
I think this recipe in particular is my favorite way to prepare tofu. The pressed tofu is marinated in a simple soy/chili sauce marinade, then coated in cumin seasoned cornstarch and lightly fried. The tofu needs at least 4 hours of marinating, preferably overnight. By pressing as much liquid as you can out of the tofu allows it to soak up more of the marinade. Once it’s coated in the cornstarch, fry for 4 minutes a side over medium high heat. I saved some of the marinade and microwaved it for about 45 seconds. After the tofu has drained on paper towel, I spoon over the cooked marinade. Garnish the tofu chopped cilantro and green onions.
Ingredients
- 1 block firm or extra firm tofu pressed
- vegetable oil for frying
Marinade
- 1/3 cup light soy sauce
- 1/4 cup shaoxing cooking wine
- 3 tbsp chili paste
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp housin sauce
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp ginger grated
Coating
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp cumin
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
- green onions chopped
Instructions
- Mix together marinade ingredients.
- Cut your block of pressed tofu into 16 pieces, like so.
- Marinate the tofu for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Mix together the coating ingredients.
- Toss the tofu in the coating mix, making sure everything is evenly coated.
- Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the tofu.
- Fry for 4 minutes a side.
- Drain on paper towel.
- Garnish with green onion and cilantro.
Gochujang Marinated Grilled Shrimp
Gochujang Marinated Grilled Shrimp
If you like spicy, this recipe is for you. Gochujang paste is great as a marinade for shrimp, as well as chicken, pork, and squid. When selecting shrimp, I chose to use 8-12 count. These are the ideal size for grilling and broiling, especially if you want to add a glaze to the shrimp.
Equipment
- metal skewers
- charcoal
- chimney starter
- charcoal grill
- brush
Ingredients
- 1 lb 8/12 ct. shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp gochujang paste
- 1 tbsp honey
Garnish
- toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix all of the marinade ingredients together. Save half of the marinade for basting.
- Add in the shrimp. Marinate for 30 minutes.
- Skewer the shrimp. Let your charcoal turn grey in the chimney starter. Pour the charcoal into the grill and place on the grate. Place the skewers directly over the charcoal.
- Grill the shrimp for 2 minutes a side.
- Brush the shrimp with the other half of the marinade. Grill for another minute on each side.
- Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Gamjatang (Pork Neckbone Soup)
Gamjatang (Pork Neckbone Soup)
Gamjatang is my absolute favorite Korean dish. So let me tell you a long drawn out story about it…In December of 2018, I was in Koreatown in L.A. at the Decibel Magazine Beer and Metalfest with my Metal homies Brian, Kevin, and Marcos. Mike showed up the next day. We had just finished watching Armored Saint at the Whiskey and made it back to Koreatown and were super hungry. It was after midnight. We stumbled into this 24 hour Korean restaurant called Yanji Gamjatang. We all ordered our food. I remember getting blood sausages with tteokbokki. It was really good. But what Marcos was eating is what I really wanted. He got a large bowl of gamjatang. It looked absolutely amazing. I kinda obsessed over it for months.I went back to Koreatown in February 2019 for a short vacation, mostly to eat. It was after midnight again and I went directly to Yanji Gamjatang. I ordered a bowl of gamjatang. It was massive. It was spicy. It was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. So I had to learn to make it.Gamjatang has a lot of steps in preparation, but all are very simple. The most important step is making sure the broth is clean and free of impurities. To do this, the neck bones need to be soaked in cold water to remove any excess blood. Then the bones need to be boiled for 8 minutes then washed under cold water. This will eliminate any scum that would float to the top of the broth from the bones. After these steps, the rest of the cooking process is a piece of cake.
Ingredients
Pork Broth
- 2-3 lbs pork neck bones
- 1/2 onion
- 2 green onions
- 6 garlic cloves
- 5 slices ginger
Seasoning
- 1 tbsp gochugaru pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp gochujang paste
- 2 tsp doenjang paste
- 1 tbsp soup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Stew
- 6 oz cabbage
- 2 large potatoes cubed
- 8 perilla leaves roughly chopped
- 2 green onions chopped
Instructions
- Soak the neck bones in cold water for 1 hour, changing the water half way through.
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Boil the neck bones for 8 minutes. Strain. Rinse and wash each bone under cold water.
- In a large stock pot, add the neck bones, onion, green onion, garlic, and ginger slices. Add 8 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes uncovered. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 50 minutes.
- While the bones are simmering, mix together all of the seadoning ingredients. Set aside.
- In another smaller pot, bring water to a boil. Blanch the cabbage for 1 minute.
- Scoop out the cabbage and drain. Add one tbsp of the seasoning mix and set aside.
- In the same pot of water, boil the potatoes for 10 minutes. Strain and set aside. Disregard how shitty this picture is.
- Uncover the pot of neck bones. Scoop out the onion, green onion, and ginger slices. Add in the cabbage, potatoes, and the seasoning. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add in the perilla leaves and green onion. Cook for 5 more minutes.
