BonChon and my revenge

Dr. Food is in trouble. He has been gone 3 out of the 4 weeks in the last month. So, I will get my revenge. Dr. Food (hence forward referred to as "Dr. Poophead") has been in India and China and now California. I did get to see him for two days. Then Sunday he was off again.



I remember when we travelled together. We went to places and had fun. Ha! Now he leaves me behind in New England to fend for myself.



Ok ok. So, while Dr. Poop is away being important I am becoming a Vegetarian (Evil Grin). THAT will show HIM. Really. When he comes home I switch back and pretend that I am not. I have been infiltrating the home front when he is home though. Exhibit 1.



I called it Banchan (Korean side dish) and he fell for it.




It really is an easy and wonderful dish. I swiped it from Sunny-side Up Recipes



Tofu is just sliced up and then browned up a bit in a pan.



Don't tell him but now that I got him to eat this I am trying out a Pizza that has a crust made out of Cauliflower and a "Yum Yum" Sauce that has Nutritional yeast in it instead of cheese. BWHAAAAA!



Ah, but then so the good doctor didn't catch on, I suggested we make Korean Fried Chicken



This dish is really time consuming but well worth it. Since I wouldn't eat something fried like this more than 1 or 2 times a year I can see making it again one day.



One of the secrets to this extra crispy chicken is that it is fried twice. Also, the oil should be kept at a steady temperature. Oh give me a break about the fried thing.



Not like I eat this every night. Want to see what I ate last night while Dr. Poop was chowing down at a restaurant?



Baked potato with tuna (Sorry sissy, I know I just made you gag).



Here is the chicken after the second fry.



Voila. Chicken after it is coated with the secret sauce. Ok, quit whining. I gave you the recipe below.



Dr. Poop made a Korean potato salad. It was really good.

One more thing...

Dear Coworkers that pretend you don't read my blog: The thing that I cooked in the microwave the other day that you were all drooling over is this recipe here. I think you should make it. It is healthy.


Korean Fried Chicken
Gourmet Issue 127
Printable Version

Canola oil, for frying
5 cloves garlic
1 1 1⁄2" piece peeled ginger
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. gojujang (Korean chile paste)
1 1⁄2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. Asian sesame oil
1 tbsp. honey
2⁄3 cup flour
1 tbsp. cornstarch
16 chicken wings (about 1 3⁄4 lbs.)

1. Pour oil into a 6-qt. pot to a depth of 2". Heat over medium-high heat until a thermometer reads 350˚. Chop garlic and ginger in a food processor. Add soy, gojujang, vinegar, sesame oil, and honey; purée. Put sauce into a bowl.

2. Whisk flour, cornstarch, and 2⁄3 cup water in another bowl. Add chicken; toss. Working in 3 batches, fry chicken until golden, 6–8 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Return oil to 350˚. Fry chicken until crisp, 6–8 minutes more. Drain again. Toss chicken in sauce.



Korean Potato Salad
Adapted from About.com
Printable Version
4 small-medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 hard boiled eggs, yolks removed and cut into small chunks
1 small carrot, cut into small chunks
1/2 small cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 small yellow or sweet onion, thinly sliced and diced
1 small asian pear, cut into small chunks
3/4 cup mayonnaise (we used Kewpie)
Salt and pepper to taste


Preparation:

Boil potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes. Add carrot (and eggs if not yet hard-boiled) for the last 8 minutes.

While cooking, sprinkle salt on the cucumber and onion and let them sweat for about 10 minutes.

Remove potatoes and carrot (and eggs) and let cool. If necessary, cut egg whites into small chunks.

Rinse cucumber and onion lightly and squeeze out excess water with paper towels.

In large bowl, mix all ingredients together gently with mayonnaise.

Serve as a side dish or as a sandwich filling.

(Serves 6)

Pan-fried Tofu
Sunny-side Up Recipes
Printable Version
1 block of medium to firm tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp hot pepper powder (flakes are okay, but if you can find powder, that's better)
2 tbsp chopped green onions

1. Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, hot pepper powder, and green onions together in a small dish. Set aside.

2. Open and drain the package of tofu, then slice into 1/2" thick rectangles.

3. Heat a frying pan on medium, and drizzle some vegetable oil. Once oil is hot, add the tofu slices into the pan without allowing them to overlap. You'll have to do this in shifts, as most frying pans aren't big enough to hold all the slices.

4. After cooking on one side for about 5 minutes, flip it over carefully and cook the other side for another 5 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and make a layer of fried tofu in a dish, preferably one that has high-ish walls.

Over that layer, spoon some of your soy sauce mix on top.

Add another layer of tofu and spoon more soy sauce on it. Repeat this process until all layers of tofu have sauce between them.