homesick at home

i miss my mom.
samgyeopsal


kimchi chigae


pan-fried tofu


braised mackerel with radish


japchae


doenjang chigae


tteokbokki

thanks and two-hundred

yep, that's our mailbox. my husband took that photo. i sat inside the apartment all weekend, going out only to get the laundry. but it's not just the weather that's zapping my will to go out.

all this time my blog has been about food (and moving), with the occasional whine about missing california, but i think now it will take a slightly different turn. seeing as i'm being wrung through the system myself, i can't shut up about it. despite the fact that i am married to a danish man, work at a public hospital part-time, volunteer at a soup kitchen once a week, and speak danish at a conversational level, i am under threat of deportation. all this started because i turned in a form late. then it just snowballed. the problem right now is that i'm supposed to have a full-time job if i want to live here under a work permit (though i couldn't find it stated in the rules anywhere). ever since i was notified of the 'problem' with my work permit renewal, i haven't been allowed to work. yes, folks; it's been a month a half of me waiting by the phone and not bringing home any of the proverbial bacon. my boss is trying to work out a deal with immigration services though i don't know if there's any hope in that. if it doesn't go through, i'll have to go back to california and apply for residency based on marriage, which is looking equally, if not more insane. but this is my 200th post so i'm gonna end it on a happy note.


on thursday night i invited all my friends to the soup kitchen; not for a 20kr dinner but for a vegan-vegetarian and mostly gluten-free thanksgiving meal that would be cooked by us... for us. it snowed all day so some people bailed out due to sickness or just desire to stay at home under the covers. but with the eight of us it was so cozy and so nice. despite the fact that there was only one american present aside from me, i think it was a great celebration. good food with good friends. the lithuanian made the most amazing bean and bread salad, which we dubbed 'stuffing,' and the canadian presented his delicious homemade tofurkey and gravy. before eating, we all took a moment to say what we were thankful for, serious or not. most of us stated that we were thankful for the delicious food and company. this holiday didn't concentrate on discovery (or should i say theft) of land or killing of a bird. it was all in the name! unfortunately i was so stressed out about it that i forgot the camera (so you'll have to excuse the crappy phone photo) and potatoes! what is a vegetarian's thanksgiving without roasted potatoes, seriously? in any case, here's what i made:

• pumpkin pie with a nut crust
• miso-glazed aubergine (without miso for those with a gluten sensitivity)
• salad of roasted broccoli, chickpeas, and bell pepper
• brown rice served with my homemade kimchi and also roasted seaweed sheets

i have no idea why i was so stressed since i love cooking, and especially for friends. i guess it comes with the holiday. i always remember my mom each year looking so frazzled juggling the bird and stuffing and everything else! also it was my first time baking pumpkin pie from scratch, and seeing as how my last vegan, gluten-free baking attempt turned out far less than perfect, i can understand my anxiety. anyway it was a great night without meat or alcohol. it's nice to have one of those nights, especially in denmark. (:


what i am thankful for is my dear husband, all my friends and of course family who have supported me through this tough time in a strange land. the soup kitchen and countless afternoons in cafes for keeping me busy. my asian stinginess so that i could support myself in this time of 'unemployment.' my health. my bike. and last but not least, not having to deal with a kilo of dry-as-hell turkey leftovers for the next week! i ate the remaining vegetables quickly, one of the meals being thai-style pumpkin soup with somen noodles. VERY good. hope you had a good thanksgiving, fellow americans. and for the rest of you, count your blessings at least once in a while if you don't already. ^^

golden mushroom soup

this is one of the treasures inside the box of leftovers from from my recently relocated friend, R. mushrooms that were hand-picked and dried by her boyfriend. how does one give such a gift away? i'm certainly not complaining. these are quite expensive anywhere, and denmark is no exception. mushrooms are also one of my favourite foods. pretty ironic then, that they've been stored in a pickle jar. i hate dill pickles. (;

the temperatures here have suddenly decided to take a nose dive so i'm craving foods that have a bit more substance. and now that this crazy summer is over, i can finally turn on the oven to start baking bread again. and bread goes pretty damn well with soup.


golden mushroom soup has been one of my comfort foods for as long as i can remember. but the fact that it is not available here is probably better for my body, seeing how much sodium it contains. i never really thought of what went into that soup, but it tastes so good. thick and salty and slightly sweet. the only problem was that there were never enough unsettlingly soft mushrooms floating in that soup. what i ended up making was not exactly the taste that i remember, but it is quite close and very tasty. i think if i tweak it a bit more, i can get even closer. hmm, i think my husband's problem-solving personality is rubbing off on me.

golden mushroom soup
adapted from mushroom appreciation

400g mushrooms, chopped
a small handful dried mushrooms, soaked overnight
200ml of mushroom soaking water
2 tbsp olive oil
500ml vegetable stock
100ml soy milk
4 tbsp white wine
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped (using canned tomatoes won't hurt)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and saute the onions until they're getting a little brown. add mushrooms, paprika, white wine, tomatoes, and cook for about 5 minutes. add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. then add the stock, mushroom soaking water, and soy sauce. close the lid and let simmer for 10 minutes. add the soy milk and remove from heat. blend the soup with an immersion blender to a consistency of your liking. finish with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

my favourite colour!

i bought some nice danish sweetcorn and other nice grilling vegetables for our wedding reception, hoping the clouds would part and the sun would shine. too bad hoping for the best never got anyone anywhere... it rained almost the whole evening! so only a fraction of the corn was used that night; roasted in a very humid kitchen and chopped for a bean salad. corn didn't turn out to be the simple star of the show as i had hoped, but its day came eventually.


my chinese friend served corn soup as an appetizer one night and i was floored. soup isn't really something that i expect to taste so good, especially with such a humble ingredient as a base. when i asked her for the recipe i was a little surprised to see the seasonings were the usual suspects of garlic, onion, oregano, thyme, and lemon juice. maybe i was expecting some ancient chinese secret? me being arrogant and crazy and all, i wanted to try to asian it up a bit. that's right, i just verbed 'asian.' that's how crazy i am.


i boiled the corn lightly, no more than 9 minutes, before blanching them in cold water. after cutting off all the kernels, i threw the empty ears back into the pot to make stock. we're not wasting food. (:

---

corn stock

3-4 ears of corn, kernels already removed
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
5cm knob of ginger
6 cloves
2 star anise
1 tbsp peppercorns
pinch of salt

quarter the onion and coarsely chop the garlic. skin the ginger with a spoon and cut it into nice, thin slices. throw everything into a pot, add enough water to cover the corn in one layer and bring to a boil. simmer for 15 minutes. strain when cool enough to handle.

---

kinda chinese corn soup

corn stock
kernels from 3-4 ears of corn
1 tbsp oil for the pan
1 medium onion
2 clove garlic
2 tbsp soy sauce
sesame seeds
sesame oil

dice the onions and fry them in oil over medium heat until they soften. add the corn and saute for a minute or so. mince the garlic and add that in, frying it only for about half a minute. you don't want to taste burnt garlic (or do you?). add the stock, soy sauce, and salt if needed. simmer for 10 minutes and bust out the immersion blender. puree the hell out of the soup (with caution!) or leave it a bit chunky like me. serve with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and sesame oil, maybe some black pepper too.

if you've got a lovely standing blender like i have recently acquired (thanks, girls!), it would be a good idea to wait until the soup is reasonably cool before pouring it in. unless you like the potential of cracked glass and hot soup all over your kitchen. as for the end result, it was not quite as good as my friend's original... next time i better just stick to the recipe. /:

carrot tops

my vendetta against carrots is over, but i am still no fan of them. however, when i found some bunches with the greens still on, i couldn't help but take two. once i got home i realized i have no idea what to do with the tops. it would be a damn shame if i just picked the carrots for the lovely tops that would just end up back in the bin. those greens sat in the crisper all night but they were in my thoughts up until i fell asleep. probably in my dreams as well. YES, i do sometimes dream about food. you can stop laughing now. :P



after a good washing, i ate a few leaves raw. tasted a bit like carrot and parsley but not as strong. so i took the easy way out and made it into a soup. sauteed some onions in butter (no garlic, as the dane is still avoiding it. so sad!!), added the greens, and then some vegetable stock. then came some diced carrots and potatoes and sun-dried tomatoes and leftover rice. immersion blender. i know i am getting a bit lazy in the kitchen lately but it's just so instinctive to make soup! and also a good way to get all my vegetable servings for the day. the soup was an awful colour so no photo. but it tasted really good, probably because of the butter and marmite. i had a tiny bit left in the jar that i've had for over 2 years now but i just swished some stock in there and poured it into the soup. added a really nice oomph of flavour. (:

conclusion: do NOT toss those tops! there are some good-looking ideas here but i haven't tried any of the recipes. and of course, save that little bit of marmite or off-wine (or what have you) to add to soups. ^^

dumpster diving

i found this spidskål (some kinda pointy cabbage? help me out there) in a bin, along with a massive amount of potatoes, some carrots, and 2 yellow peppers. the peppers got roasted first, then everything was thrown into a pot, boiled, pureed into oblivion, and hit with a generous handful of chili flakes. how's that for veggie torture?



the result was a hearty soup for a rainy spring day. i topped it off with a bit of yogurt but i guess it wasn't really necessary to un-veganize it. bottom line is; it was good and so cheap. all i paid for was the onions, chili, and garlic. it's not that i'm poor (yet). it is simply amazing the amount and quality of foodstuffs that danish supermarkets throw out. but now i am taking advantage of it. (;

vegetarian pho

i tried making vegetarian pho the other day with soba noodles. this version of a southern california lunchtime favourite was tolerable, but nowhere near the intended taste. hot soup was nice on a cold, rainy day... but wished i had eaten something else. ):

oh well, i'll have the real thing in my hot little hands in just a few days! the dane and i will be in california for the holidays and i intend to take every opportunity to eat cheap asian food. :D

chunky or creamy?

no, i'm not talking about peanut butter. because everyone knows crunchy is better than creamy. (;

tomato soup! that's the subject. last week it was rain, rain, rain. surprise! so i was really craving a soup or stew of some sort. canned tomatoes, garlic, onion, herbs... those are all cheap things i have in the kitchen. my only splurge was a red bell pepper, which i roasted with a head of garlic and chopped them roughly before adding to the pot. of course the dane couldn't stand on vegetables alone for dinner, so i baked a chunk of artisan bread in a loaf pan. the results would have been better had i not turned my back on the oven for 3 minutes. the broil function don't mess around, sistah. however it was thankfully still edible.


though i really liked the rustic soup, sometimes i'm in the mood for a creamy, decadent soup. but for some reason we haven't bought a blender for the new apartment yet.

...until now!! today i was feeling totally lost for dinner so i just gave in and bought a braun standing blender on the way home from work. so that's how mina had hummus with cucumbers and carrots for thanksgiving dinner. the end. (:

to kale or not to kale

sadly, it was kind of a struggle for me to eat this. i guess the 'wasabi sesame drizzle sauce' is what makes all the difference. also, the texture was a bit too tough for me. i ate all the shiitake mushrooms greedily and pushed the greens around on my plate until i guilted myself into finishing it. i bought a bag of organic danish kale on a whim but it had to be taken care of. but it looked pretty!


however, the success did come eventually. leftovers plus more leftovers apparently equals awesome! only slightly daunted by the rest of the kale sitting in the bag, i took the water saved from soaking the shiitakes and dumped them in a pot with some water and crushed garlic. once it was boiling, i added the unthawed dumplings from the back of the freezer. when i assumed the dumplings were un-iced i laid kale on top and covered the pot so they could steam. i added soy sauce and a bit of sesame oil after the kale was a little tenderized.


too bad i don't have a recipe down because it smelled and tasted so much of the kitchen of my childhood. even the dumplings were pretty good despite the terrible wrapping job i did. this soup made me miss my mom and grandmothers' cooking so much! i can't wait to visit california in december. (:

fridge-cleaning chigae

here is another effort to clean out the fridge; kimchi chigae with tofu, cabbage, and potatoes. i added an extra heaping spoonful of gochujang and gochugaru to give myself some extra energy for the rest of the day. ^^


at the end of the week i reheated it and added a raw egg on top while the soup was still piping hot. when you mix them together, the egg cooks and you get lovely little white feathers of it throughout the soup. and of course the gooey yolk is a treat. i managed to take a quick shot before the egg cooked and the soup was still steaming. mmmm...

more thai

i've found my hangover cure.


SPICE. well, this bright pink soup wasn't spicy at all until i added the provided chili sauces. i ordered mild noodles (yen ta fo) in hopes to calm my raging stomach but it only made it worse; i had to take one bite every 3 minutes to not vomit all over the place. but after i dropped in some chilies my stomach felt like gammel dansk and vodka had never touched it. wonderful! and of course the soup was delicious. i only wish there was more shrimp and squid and less fake crab.

not pictured is a delicious whole fried fish. though it's listed with mango(?) sauce, ask for the spicy one. (;

thai kalasin
kattesundet 12
1458 københavn k
tlf: 33 36 36 12

korean-chinese relations

my fiance was smitten from the first time he tasted jjamppong. we were in new york city meeting my great uncle, who took us to a korean-chinese fusion restaurant. it was pretty cold weather in those days and we already had a bit of the sniffles. but once the spicy noodles started disappearing into our bellies, our noses were running like waterfalls. it was so spicy and delicious! yet my fiance marveled at the fact that all the spice could clear up with one sip of ginger ale. so it's easy to see why jjamppong was always on my to-do list ever since i got into korean cooking. sadly the seafood was frozen and small, but the dane still liked it and i was more than satisfied.


of course i used yet another one of maangchi's fail-safe recipes to make this spicy seafood soup. overall it was very easy to prepare. the longest part was making the stock and the pot was mostly unattended. these noodles, however, are quite rare in copenhagen. i had to go to 6-7 different green grocers to locate them. by the time i found the noodles, i was too happy to even care about the price. i know i paid at least twice as much as i would have in california but HEY. I AM NOT IN CALIFORNIA. AND I HAVE A JOB NOW. so i can deal with it. and i can bring some back next time i visit. (:


also i found soju. SOJU!! YAYYYY. but there was only one bottle so i feel like i gotta save this for a precious nectar (lol, who am i kidding) for a special occasion. congratulations, denmark. you have impressed me.

a bare fridge = bare suppe

yes, i know that summer boasts an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables even in northern countries like this one. but i still haven't begun work yet so i have no paycheck and europe does have a funny thing with shopping on sundays. i remember at the beginning of my first month in denmark i wanted to go to the grocery store, only to find that all of them were closed. even at 1 in the afternoon! was it a holiday? no, it was a sunday. some supermarkets back in my parents' neighborhood would be open until midnight on weekends and later on weekdays.

and what day is today? ):


but i'm blessed enough to be able to pull together a healthy soup like miyuk guk even with only tofu from the fridge. dried sea plant, dried shiitakes, and saved vegan fish stock from the freezer. the drizzle of sesame oil at the end makes all the difference. i played on maangchi's recipe of course, but swapping beef and fish stock for vegan substitutes. the last time i made miyuk guk i used way too much dried sea plant, totally underestimating how much it would grow after soaking. which is a lot, by the way. this bowl was just right. (:

tomorrow i hope to buy some danish summer squash and use it for some korean dishes. by the way, when is raspberry season going to hit?

kong guksu and kimchi

finally i got to taste kong guksu (콩국수), a chilled soup made of soy milk which is perfect for hot summer days. unfortunate that the first try has to be my own creation, but i trusted maangchi's recipe. the taste was such a pleasant surprise that i ate it way too fast and ended up with a bit of a greed-induced stomachache. @_@;

there were only two small problems. one was that it was a little too salty... next time i'll cut down on it since i actually enjoy the taste of plain soybeans. also here in the apartment we only have an immersion blender so the soy milk couldn't get as smooth as i wanted but the bits of soybean and nuts at the bottom tasted good too. by the way, this soup seems pretty vegan to me.


the proper noodles for this soup are way too expensive in denmark so i just made some noodles with half hvedemel (all-purpose flour) and half grahamsmel (whole-wheat flour) to make it somewhat healthier.

kal kuksu (homemade noodles) from growing up in a korean kitchen
makes about 1 pound of noodles

2½ cups all-purpose flour (not self-rising)
2 tbsp soybean powder (optional)
pinch of salt
1 cup medium-hot water
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 cups flour, for dusting

the traditional recipe for homemade flour dough (mil panjuk) serves as the starting point for both homemade noodles and dumpling wrappers.

in a large bowl, combine the flour, soybean powder, and salt and mix well. make a well at the center of the flour, then add the water and sesame oil a little at a time. mix into a cornmeal-like consistency and, with both hands, knead on a floured work surface for about 15 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. (in this state, we say it is ik panjuk, "par-cooked" dough, with a firm and supple texture.) place the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel. it is ready to use immediately, but letting it settle for about 1 hour will improve the texture.
divide dough into two portions. using one portion at a time, on a floured work surface roll out the dough with a rolling pin into ⅛-inch-thick sheets. dust the dough with flour often to prevent sticking. fold the dough into fourths, and using a sharp chef's knife, slice into the desired width, which for most recipes is about the width of a strand of linguini. don't worry if the strands are irregular; that's the unmistakable sign of homemade noodles!
fresh noodles take only 3 to 4 minutes to boil. for later use, spread the noodles on a tray to dry, then store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. the noodles will stay fresh for 1 week in the refrigerator and up to 1 month in the freezer.

i just pinched off enough dough to make noodles for myself and rolled the rest into dumpling wrappers. they're now sitting in the freezer, waiting to be made into mandu someday.


and finally i managed to make vegan kimchi! i did it the same way i usually do except for the fish sauce. instead, i boiled a fat konbu leaf in water and added soya to taste. it seems close enough to the original recipe to make me happy and i can continue experimenting. nah, i'm not vegan yet but fish sauce smells atrocious and i'm sure it has boatloads of sodium and things in it. this way is slightly less stinky. ^^;

kongnamul guk (soybean sprout soup)

i'm not fooling anyone who can read a weather report; summer is not in denmark. wherever it is, i hope it's having fun. today and yesterday have been very rainy and windy. fortunately, that's great weather for kongnamul guk a.k.a. soybean sprout soup. i used maangchi's recipe but made it spicy and vegetarian by adding the gochugaru but using a kelp leaf instead of anchovies. after removing the kelp, i sliced it thinly and put it back in the soup. served with brown rice, this vegan version of the soup was a healthy and filling dinner that i'm happy to say three other people enjoyed (though i might have made it a little too spicy). (:


i might not have attempted the soup if i wasn't able to find bean sprouts at a cheaper price. for our flat's new years eve party i made bibimbap and the sprouts and spinach i bought from superbrugsen were so expensive! but the chinese green grocer near the central station was selling a kilo of soybean sprouts for 18kr. not exactly southern california price, but close! i still have half the bag left so i'm wondering what else i can make. soybean sprouts side dish with soya and sesame oil, mixed in in kimchi pancake, in bibimbap... actually there's a dish that just has sprouts on rice but that seems a bit boring.

any suggestions?

kimchi chigae: revisited

my flight is leaving sunday morning and i gotta use up this kimchi before i take off! not that it won't last through the month and a half that i'll be gone, but i just think it'd be impolite to leave it glaring at all the danes (and the swede) every time they open the fridge door. i already made kimchi pancakes, so the next thing to do with soggy fermented cabbage is to make kimchi chigae! i even took it a step further by adding my radish kimchi to clean out the last of the offending foods and to bring a new texture to the stew. two red, smelly birds with one stone.

this is pre-makeup and styling. looks like death both ways, eh?

the first batch of kimchi i made was good, but either i didn't mince the ginger finely enough or i just don't like ginger and i'm still in denial. little ginger bits kept exploding in my mouth with each bite and i just didn't dig it. so this time around i just left it out. sorry, maangchi! sorry, korea! it's... just better this way.

kimchi chigae: adapted from maangchi's recipe
(feeds 3-4)

half of a napa cabbage kimchi (about 2-3 cups...?)
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp hot pepper flakes
1 1/2 tbsp hot pepper paste
400g silken tofu
1/2 cup kimchi juice
1 1/2-2 cups water (depending how thick/thin you like the soup)
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 spring onion

chop the kimchi and squish the tofu with your hands. put everything in the pot except the last 2 ingredients and cook on medium heat for about 20-30 minutes. add the sesame oil right before serving and garnish with spring onions, shredded seaweed, whatever you got in the fridge...

serve with rice to soak up some of the spice.

to accompany this fiery stew i made sigumchi namul (시금치나물), which is spinach as a common korean side dish. but this is known as mina's super lazy version©. since fresh spinach is pretty expensive here in denmark i used frozen whole-leaf spinach. and it was on sale so i bought the organic kind. i didn't feel like adding garlic since the chigae would be spicy. thaw, toss in a dry pan, add some soy sauce, and when you turn off the heat just add sesame oil. mmm, smells so good! garnish with sesame seeds. this might be even better with thinly sliced red onion on top.

after the spinach was done i threw some canned tuna into the pan and cooked it in the same way (soy sauce and then sesame oil to finish) but i added a bit of minced garlic to this and served it seperately. in case, you know, my swedish vegetarian roommate came home hungry. WHICH SHE DID. man, can i call them or what? by the time we finished half our bowls, our noses were running and we were all sniffles. a spicy, hearty stew for yet another cold night in denmark.

i still have about a cup of kimchi left. what can i do with it?

miso grateful

apparently february is soup month. fine by me, as our cabinet is well-stocked with miso paste and some dried accessories for it. my mom was kind enough to send me off with a bag of instant miso and a couple extra packets of the paste itself. it's so nice being able to have hot soup in the time that it takes to boil some water once you get home from running around in the cold. and of course a little spice to clear up the sinuses... (;

murder scene

my kimchi is still holding its own in the fridge and freaking out the roommates. i think kimchi chigae is in order soon! the stuff is ripe. if only i could bring myself to spend $8 on tofu for proper chigae... P:

modern art or peeling FAIL?

the last carton of eggs i bought was entirely too frustrating. no matter how long the cold water bath after boiling, the shells stubbornly held their ground. or rather, their egg. i've heard that old eggs are easiest to peel and this particular one was last in the bunch that was expiring the very day i boiled it. no way to explain it, i suppose. but a shoddy-looking peel job wasn't going to keep me from having a shoyu egg for a night snack. mmm!



the new carton is much more, uh, normal. this morning i peeled one flawlessly for a shoyu egg to top breakfast. carrots and green beans dressed with a mix of watered-down miso paste and rice vinegar. a sprinkle of sesame seeds didn't hurt.