Korean Mung Bean Pancakes

One of the things I miss most is my Korean mother's home-cooked meals. She's the one who gets all the credit for my cooking skills, drilling me, at a very early age, that no good man would marry a woman who couldn't cook for him and his family! Though I can make her special dishes, it still just doesn't taste the same like when she used to make it. I sure do miss being in the kitchen with her, listening to her gossip about whatever new talk of the town there was while simultaneously teaching me how to cook.

I've been wanting to expand my horizons when it comes to trying new foods to work with in my kitchen. Since I've been feeling pretty nostalgic about my mom's food, I wanted to do a recipe this week that's not only Korean, but something I've never tried making before! The challenge? Mung beans. My mom used to make Korean pajeon pancakes, but this has a flour, egg and potato base unlike the Korean mung bean pancakes. The mung beans are soaked in water for several hours before grinding it up into a batter.

These Korean mung bean pancakes, nokdujeon (녹두전) aka nokdu bindaetteok (녹두 빈대떡), are rather addicting and relatively easy to make. I would strongly recommend buying the already-peeled mung beans at the store. That was my big mistake. I got the ones that were unpeeled, and had to do the hard, manual labor myself. Talk about torture! Ha ha! Let's just say the peeling alone took me an extra hour (or two...)! But the results were totally worth it.

These savory pancakes are soft and nutty. I used carrots and scallions for my veggies. They give an extra crunch, bring texture to the pancake. I'll warn you now though, they're rather addicting!

Korean Mung Bean Pancakes

Ingredients

For the Pancakes:

  • ½ cup peeled and split mung beans, soaked in warm water for at least two hours
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 Tablespoon doenjang or brown miso
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • ½ cup brown rice flour
  • 1 cup of chopped chives (scallions and leeks are good, too)
  • 1 cup of shredded carrot
  • a couple Tablespoons oil for pan-frying (any neutral-flavored oil, I used sunflower)

For the Dipping Sauce:

  • 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • ¾ teaspoon sugar
  • ¾ teaspoon gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) or ½ teaspoon common red pepper flakes
  • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Rinse your split mung beans and soak for a few hours to tenderize.
  2. Drain the beans and put in a blender or food processor with the water, doenjang or miso, and sugar and blend until the beans are broken up into little bits (It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth). Then add the brown rice flour and blend again just to combine. Pour the thick, yet slightly runny, mixture into a bowl and set aside.
  3. Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat for about a minute then add 2 teaspoons oil to the pan. Using your fingers, put a mound of chives into the pan for each pancake. Top the chives with another pinch of carrots. Finally, using a tablespoon, put 1 Tablespoon of the pancake batter onto the chive and carrot mounds. Swirl the pan gently to redistribute the oil and cook the pancakes until the edges look browned and crisp. Take a peek under one to see how far along they are. When sufficiently brown, flip the pancakes and cook on the other side until browned. After they are done, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil. Repeat the process until you are done with the batter, replenishing the oil in the pan as needed.
  4. Make the dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients together. Done! Serve with the pancakes while they are still hot.

Notes

-This recipe makes about 20 mini pancakes if you use one Tablespoon of batter for each one.

-Do yourself a favor and buy the peeled, split mung beans rather than unpeeled. It will save you the step of peeling them. Find mung beans in any Korean or Indian market.

-Add anything you want to these pancakes. You can try chopped kimchi, perilla leaves, mushrooms, and peppers. All are delicious.

-This recipe makes thin, but dense pancakes. If you prefer a lacier and thinner version, add another ¼ cup of water to the recipe.

Special thanks to Lands and Flavors for the recipe! I was so happy to come across it on Pinterest when looking to try something new! I know I'll be using this one a lot more often. :)

The dipping sauce to go with it is simply delicious! It's got my three favorite components: it's spicy, a tad sweet and is loaded with sesame!

We hope you try this recipe and share this amazing dish! Come on and try something new! Enjoy!

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz

Friday Stir-Fry

Today on the blog, we have a super delicious, healthy meal you can make in less than 30 minutes! And that includes the marinade time! A perfect recipe for a busy Friday, whether it's lunch or dinner, or if you're planning on going out or staying in!

I make this beef stir-fry on a consistent basis, especially during the chillier seasons, and have been using this recipe for years. It is originally from the amazing Gimme Some Oven food blog, though I've adjusted a couple of items such an opting out on shiitake mushrooms and what to serve it with. You can have any type of rice, quinoa or even noodles with this dish, but being part Korean, Korean sticky rice is what I call for. It's the only rice I use in Asian cuisine. 

This is such a quick and easy recipe. I know some of you may not be a fan of kale, but don't knock it till you try it! It goes perfect with the ginger beef and none of the flavors are overpowering. They are all there and so-so good! Check out some of the photos I took of this yummy dish! Mmm...

Ginger Beef, Mushroom & Kale Stir-Fry

This delicious ginger beef, mushroom, and kale stir fry is quick to make and full of great flavor!

Prep: 5 mins Cook: 25 mins Total: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Marinade Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth (or chicken/beef broth, or water)
  • 3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. corn starch
  • 2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper

Stir-Fry Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. thinly sliced flank steak or sirloin, cut diagonally across the grain into thin strips
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 10 ounces baby portobello or button mushrooms, halved
  • 3 cups chopped kale
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:

To Make The Marinade:

Add all marinade ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour marinade into a large bowl or ziplock bag, then add in the steak and gently toss to combine. Cover/seal and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

To Make The Stir-Fry:

Once steak has marinated, heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Remove steak from marinade with a slotted spoon, reserving the marinade, and add to saute pan with garlic. Saute for about 2-3 minutes until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove steak with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add mushrooms, kale, and reserved marinade to saute pan, and stir to combine. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the kale is wilted, the sauce has thickened, and the mushrooms have cooked, stirring regularly so that sauce does not burn. Add in the steak, and toss to combine.

Serve immediately over sticky rice, garnished with chopped green onions.

I think my favorite part after cooking is not to taste, but to relish with the idea of it while I photograph whatever dish I've just made. It makes the first bite that more enticing. I'm already salivating at the mouth just writing about it!

Alright, that's it! I have to dig in. Bon Appetit! :)

We hope everyone has a great weekend! Catch y'all on Monday, where we will be doing our first giveaway! Stay tuned to find out what it is and how to enter your chance to win! It's going to be oh so chic!

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz

Pasta Pasta Pasta!

This week's recipe is from one of my favorite Italian chefs, Lidia Bastianich! I have cooked so many of her recipes through the years and of course, I wanted to blog about my experience with one of her pasta recipes. 

This tomato-based rigatoni dish is perfection. With its deep blend of flavors from the sausage, the basil, and cheese, the zucchini and peperoncino flakes complete its magic in the pasta, giving it texture and an extra kick.

Rigatoni with Sausage-Tomato Sauce

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage
1 cup white wine, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing the sauce
2 cups onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the pasta pot
1/2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste
1 cup zucchini, diced
6 cups canned Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand
1 branch fresh basil, with lots of leaves
1 pound rigatoni
1 cup Grana Padano, freshly grated, plus more for passing
 

Preparation

Remove the sausage casings, and crumble the meat into a large bowl. Pour 1/2 cup of the wine over the meat and mix this in with your fingers, breaking up any big meat clumps, so the sausage is evenly moistened.

Pour the olive oil into the big skillet and set it over medium heat. Stir in the onions and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Scatter the sliced garlic in the pan and season with the salt and peperoncino. When everything is sizzling, crumble in the sausage and stir with the onions. Pour in the remaining 1/2 cup wine, raise the heat a bit and cook, stirring, as the wine cooks away and the sausage becomes all browned, about 10 minutes. Add in the diced zucchini and stir to incorporate. Pour in the tomatoes and a cup of water (which you’ve used to slosh and rinse the tomato cans and bowl). Submerge the basil branch in the liquid, cover the skillet and bring to a boil. Set the cover ajar, adjust the heat to keep the sauce bubbling steadily and cook for an hour or more, until the sauce has developed good flavor and reduced to the consistency you like for dressing pasta. Remove and discard basil branch. You can use some of the sauce right away—you’ll need half of it to dress the rigatoni—or let it cool, then refrigerate or freeze for later use.

For cooking and dressing the pasta, bring a large pot of well-salted water (at least 7 quarts water with 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt) to a rolling boil. Heat half the sausage-tomato sauce, about 4 cups, to a bare simmer in a wide skillet or sauté pan (if you’ve just made the sauce, use the same pan). If the sauce has cooled and thickened, loosen it with some of the pasta water. Add the rigatoni to the boiling water, and cook until just al dente.

Lift out the pasta in big bunches with a spider, let drain for a moment, then spill them into the simmering sauce. Over low heat, toss the rigatoni and sauce together for a minute or two, until all are coated and perfectly al dente. (Thin the sauce, if necessary, with hot pasta water or thicken it quickly over higher heat.) Turn off the heat, and sprinkle the grated cheese over the rigatoni and toss well. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, toss again and heap the pasta in warm bowls. Serve immediately, passing more cheese at the table.

I love this recipe because it's quick and easy, and it's the ideal comfort food. Trust me when I say this, this pasta is really super delicious! I was salivating while shooting the photos- I couldn't stand to wait and eat it! Don't forget the wine and bread! I know some of you will think I'm bonkers for having bread with pasta, but I grew up eating like this and I love it. So extra yummy when you dip it in the sauce! ;P

Lastly, for a really adorable, entertaining video of Lidia, Rachel Ray and Nate Berkus working in the kitchen on this recipe, click here for lots of laughs and more! Seriously, Nate... you and the sausage! OMG! HA HA HA!

Until next time, have a great weekend everybody!

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz

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