Rice, Kim, Aloe

Let's talk about rice.

Why? Because it has so much potential for being an every day staple.

First, purchasing short grained rice-

You could get the supermarket Nishiki kind. That's fine. However, if you get something from an Asain market, it will be leaps and bounds less expensive, have a better texture and be generally more delicious. If you're trying to be Asian for no apparent reason like me, a meal consists of stuff on top of rice, so you might as well make it count!

A huge bag like this at my market is $18. I can't usually read what is different about the bags of rice, so I get something that has a semi-transparent look to the bag as such. (I think the selection has to do with where the rice is grown and how fresh it is.) You can store rice for a year.

Second, rice cookers are great!

1. They cook the rice perfectly. 2. They keep it warm and good for about 48 hours so you can eat it throughout the day.

This is my dream rice cooker. It is $200 but pays for itself in texture (if I had $200). You can set a timer on it to make the rice at a specific time. Anyone want to get me a birthday present?

This is the rice cooker I actually have. It's still a Zojirushi. It's a hand me down and works perfectly. It's easy to clean, and cooks pretty quickly. The rice never sticks. No complaints.

We always have rice ready-made in the cooker on hand, a blessing when hunger strikes.

Thirdly, wash your rice!

It makes it more sticky without being mushy.

Here's how: Pour the rice into the rice cooker removable pan. Pour lukewarm running water and drain it as you mix it around with your hand. When the water runs clear it is fully washed. The way I learned to measure rice is to fill the water to just touching the top of your hand when you place it palm down on top of the rice.

Yes, rice is rice, but you haven't had rice like this! Good staples equal everyday happiness.

KIM

Kim is Korean toasted and season seaweed.

Look for Korean writing on the packaging, not to be confused with Japanese nori, used for sushi. It comes in big sheets you can cut down or in pre-packaged bite sized pieces.

It is light, salty, and melt in your mouth. It's a little greasy on the fingers. I compare it to popcorn as a snack food.

Grab a little rice with the kim. Awesome instant snack!

Once opened, It keeps pretty well in the freezer for a few weeks if it's in a sealed container. People fall in love with kim.

To wash it down, I highly recommend aloe vera juice.

This juice is smooth. It has small chunks of aloe in it that are surprisingly not weird and satisfying. Even though it is sweetened with pear juice (like every other juice cocktail) I have heard that Aloe is really healthy. I could drink gallons of this. Hopefully, I have now given you the courage to try it out.

And remember to love your rice because it will love you in return. (I'm cheesy.)

*I use a lot of adverbs and contractions in this blog. Normally, this is discouraged in writing. I guess I am trying to go for a more colloquial or speech feel.

**I need improvement on my photos, I know.

Kimchi Stew

What is Kimchi?
Kimchi is any variety of Korean pickled vegetables. The most common type of Kimchi is brine-pickled Chinese cabbage spiced with red peppers. It is served as a side dish or used as an ingredient in kimchi fried rice or kimchi stew.

Kimchi has been an important part of Koran life for the past 3000 years. Traditionally, it was made by putting all of the ingredients in a clay pot that was buried. There are entire kimchi museums in Korea.

Korean people are very serious about their kimchi. My friend Hanjun told me that his family owns 11 separate fridges for storing different varieties, each at a specific temperature. The best Kimchi I've found in Salt Lake is from the local Korean market, called Oriental Market, on 700 E. and about 700 S. Whenever I shop there I usually run into a Korean acquaintance buying a 3 gallon jar. I buy the little jars, but be weary, it will stink up your fridge. Fortunately, I adore stinky foods.

Ok, now on to the stew...

Looks belly-warming, doesn't it? It can be yours without too much trouble.


This stew sold in pouches is very tasty and only about $3.


It's pretty dense so I add about 2 cups of water. I also add a bunch of other (optional) ingredients:

This is Korean pork. It looks like bacon, but tastes like pork. It comes in the fresh/frozen section of the market on those styrofoam meat trays wrapped in plastic wrap. Slice it into bite sized pieces and boil it. This doesn't seem like the most appetizing way to prepare it, but the texture is good for a stew.


Rice cakes- little frozen disks made from rice that become al dente when boiled. The only downside to using these is they don't make for good leftovers because they get soggy from sitting in the broth overnight.


How to chop onions with ease:
Cut off the ends, cut it in half, peel off the skin.


Then you can easily slice it evenly.


Here are all of the optional ingredients to add to the contents of the pouch - plus the 2 cups water:

1/3 C Korean red pepper flakes (they are finer, don't have seeds, and can only be bought in bulk- they can be stored for several years in the freezer in a ziplock bag)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb. Korean pork, sliced and boiled
1 onion, sliced
2 handfuls of rice cakes

You could leave any of these out or add other meats. The pouch already comes with big chunks of tofu in it.

Before adding all the stuff

After

Boil everything for about 20 minutes; long enough for the onions to cook and the rice cakes to get al dente.

Yum! You can see the fairly large pieces of pickled cabbage and tofu, plus everything else that was added. Pour this over rice and eat it with both chopsticks and a spoon. The rice absorbs the broth and swims in the uber-hearty stew.

This dish is both stinky (fragrant) and spicy! People generally love it but some don't care for this much flavor. I have to keep a tissue and glass of water by my side while consuming, which is awesome. Korean people believe that kimchi will literally keep your body warm, and should be eaten when you have a cold. Although they have kimchi for every season, for me it is definitely a winter dish.



More instant, more accessible:
Kimchi flavored instant noodles- a review



This is supposed to be kimchi flavored, but is more like soba noodles in an oyster broth. Not really worth $2-3 dollars in my opinion.



Fancy ramen! This is really flavorful and the ramen noodles are a great texture. It has dehydrated pieces of shitake mushrooms. If you notice, the package says spicy seafood. If you don't like fish broths, you probably won't enjoy kimchi anyway.


This one is delicious too. The heartiest of the instant ramens. Ranging around $1.50-$2.00. You can probably find these at your supermarket in the Asian section.


Or...
You could also just buy a jar of kimchi and eat some with a bowl of rice. However, I do not recommend the mass produced supermarket variety. Try to find a Korean market. They probably make their own.


*Coming at a later date:
My recipe for kimchi fried rice. (It's actually really easy if you know what to do.)

Baked Potatoes

I don't believe in complex recipes with twenty-five ingredients. It is not very practical to fill up your grocery cart to make one dish. Sure, you might make it once for a dinner party, but it's doubtful that recipe will be something you will make again if there is too much involved.

What I do believe in is improving upon staples. In less financially abundant times, what meal could be less expensive than a baked potato? Idaho potatoes are about $1.50 for a five pound bag; practically free food. A friend taught me a better way to bake them and I'd like to pass it along.

Forget about the tin foil. Instead after you have washed and stabbed your potato, brush it with oil and sprinkle it with salt. Then bake at 400 degrees for and hour, give or take.

When it is done it will look slightly more wrinkly than you are used to. It is hard to overbake a potato.
The result is that the inners are melt in your mouth and the skin is crunchy. The skin reminds me of the skin on twice baked potatoes (you'll need a knife.)

It's still a baked potato, but with a massive improvement on texture. At my house we recently obtained 50 lbs of potatoes. At first, we discussed making a different potato recipe every day. However, it turns out simplicity is often the most crave-able option.
Everyone likes to dress their potatoes in their own way. My personal favorite toppings are worchestershire sauce (if you get the super cheap generic version, it's usually vegan), earth balance margarine (also vegan), and pepper.

I find that toppings such as soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, BBQ sauce (sweet baby rays), and worchestershire sauce add saltiness without using more of the less flavorful option- table salt.

Of course, put whatever you have on there. It's pretty much impossible to screw up. Just try the technique. I promise you won't be disappointed.