Kimchee Bokum Bap - Korean Leftover Favourite!

Kimchee Bokum Bap - Kimchee Stir Fried Rice

There are dishes in every cuisine that will never be found on a menu.  Alas, they are often the best.  Perhaps some day the homey Korean favourites will become more popular they way peasant dishes like Bread Pudding and Haggis have.  Until then you'll have to enjoy my photos or try it out yourself.

There is always cooked rice in a Korean home.  I remember a few years back, we all joked about the omnipresent halogen fire hazard lamps everyone was buying as being aliens setting up for the invasion.  Well, that could certainly be said of the ubiquitous Rice Cooker in Korean homes.  I'm not talking about the tin bowled, one button dealy you can buy at Walgreens or London drugs for 20 bucks.  No.  Those work fine except on harder grains or brown rice.  Forget brown rice in those things!  No, they've come along way, the simple Rice Cooker.  For years, the next generation were the self contained cookers that let you know when they're done and kept your rice warm for upto a day.  Though mom still had to do the end 're-do' where you press the cook button one last time to ensure the bottom was 'cooked' away from the bowl.  Then a few years back they evolved yet again.  The Rice Cooker!??  Now mom's Rice Cooker plays some Bach when the Rice is done and it needed be pressed again.  It shows a timer for cooking and how long it 'should' be kept in the cooker.  The link is to a similar one. 

Regardless of the model, we always had warm or cooled cooked rice sitting around the house.  Why Korean mom's never got into the habit of cooking to order still baffles me.  Mom still cooks for twice as many people as are at the table.  Leftover rice in many cultures hardly ever goes to waste.  Indian, Chinese and Koreans like to stir fry theirs.  Italians roll and fry theirs into Arancini.  Koreans also sometimes deepfry the drier bits left clinging to the older Rice Cookers and sprinkle them with Sugar.  mmmmm

One of my favourite dishes as a kid with leftover Rice was Kimchee Bokum Bap.  Bokum is a stirfry. Bap is Rice.  It is a simple and humble dish that is super simple and amazingly tastey. 

Kimchee Bokum Bap

2-3 c cold leftover Rice
1 c chopped Kimchee (Cabbage Kimchee, bit sized)
1 c Mung Beans, blanched
1 small Onion, sliced
1-2 cloves Garlic
2-3T Kochujang
1/2c - 1c Cucumber, seeded and sliced
1-2 T Canola/Peanut Oil for cooking
Sesame Oil for garnish
Toasted Sesame Seeds for Garnish
Scallions for Garnish

In a Wok, heat the Oil on high.  Your Bean Sprouts should be blanched and drained before frying.

Toss the Onions for a minute or two until slightly softened.  Add the Garlic for a minute. Add the Rice Sprouts, and Kimchee.  Toss and mash.  Toss and Mash.  Add the Kochujang and distribute thoroughly.  If the Kimchee is spicy enough for you, leave out the Kochujang and add a couple of T of the Kimchee juices.  Mom made her own Kochugadru (Chili Powder) for her Kimchee so it was pretty firey as it was.

Turn the heat off.Add the Sesame Oil to the pan and distribute.  Garnish with the Cucumber.  You can use Scallions and Sesame seeds too.

Comforting Yummmmmmmmo!

Saturday, Feb 5th - Leftovers - Indian Stir Fried Rice and Aloo Jeera Sandwiches

Leftover Indian Fried Rice

It's funny.  I think that most of us faced with the predicament of using leftovers tends to stay within the confines of our comfort zone.  Casseroles, Sandwiches, Pasta Sauce or Stir Fried Rice within the paradigms of what ever we know.  I don't know why.  We were in this ski house share as we have done for years and we're all from various backgrounds and we'll generally do a few things for meals year in and year out.  Then on the last night, we trawl out the leftovers or if there is little snow, have them for lunch.  I'm a big fan of this as you may know.  I cannot abide wasting food.  I dropped an apple the other day coming from the market and I was gutted because I knew it would spoil before anyone ate it.  :^/

This year I had my eyes opened to a whole new world of Leftover Opportunities.  I'm terribly excited about this and almost wish I had some leftovers to try them out with :^D.  One of the couples on our trip is Indian.  They usually make a fabuloso Vegetarian Indian meal on one night.  As light as alot of the more carnivorously inclined members of the group might think vegetarian food may be, it was hearty and satisfying and we had a decent bit of leftovers.

The next day for lunch I did the boring option of just heating up some of the Lentil and Spinach Dahl, Aloo Jeera (Spiced Potatoes) and Rice.  I was quite contented because it was yummoriffic.  See? fixed paradigms.  Well, R and A, the chefs of the meal, made a childhood favourite out of the Aloo Jeera which I was right up my alley.  They made Aloo Jeera Grilled Sandwiches.  Simply scoop a good portion of the Aloo Jeera on to two slices of sandwich bread and fry it in Butter or Ghee.  If the Potatoes have been the fridge, you may want to heat them up slightly because the bread may brown quicker than the potatoes are hot.  Serve as you would a grill cheese sandwich.  The frying in Butter was something A insisted was necessary to make it authentic like his mum's.

Then for our big BBQ dinner night, R made an Indian Stir Fried Rice.  Funny how I've always though of Stir Fried Rice as the domain of the SE-Asians.  Why would that be?  I mean India and Pakistan eat as much rice in their diets too, I'm sure.   Though they do have more alternative starches in their regular repetoire like  Breads that are more of an adaptation in SE-Asia which is why when we make Indian at home, we always have more rice than we need because we often make Naan too and D won't eat both.

So there we were with a good 3 c of extra rice because alot of Westerners don't eat two starches in one meal.  R made a lucious Indian Stir Fried Rice which I will have to replicate.  Now, I did not ask her for the proportions but I know what went into it.  You'll have to fiddle with the portions.

Indian Stir Fried Leftover Rice

Jeera Seeds (Cumin Seeds)
1/2 Onion, diced
1-2 Serrano Chiles (leftovers :^D), minced
Black Mustard Seeds
Ground Tumeric
Mango Powder
Chili Powder (dash)
1/2 stick Butter
3 c COLD Basmati or Jasmin Rice
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pan or wok, melt the butter.  You should use a neutral Vegetable Oil, Ghee or Butter.  Do not use Olive Oil.  It will not taste right.  Fry the Seeds until you can smell them or hear the Mustard Seeds pop.  Add the Onions and Chiles and fry until slightly browned.  Add the other spices.  Add the COLD rice, cold because it won't clump up and absorb more liquid too quickly.  All the grains should be fluffy and separate. Season to taste. Mix well to combine and serve.  MMMMMMMM

.

Sunday, Jan 16th - Leftover Ackee and Saltfish with Bagel or Eggs

Leftover Ackee and Saltfish on Toasted Bagel

 It's a good deal that though D likes Ackee and Saltfish, he prefers to Saltcod to the Ackee and I love the Ackee.  How to describe Ackee?  Hmmm, someone on the DDD show on Food the other night described it as tasting like Artichokes.  I can't entirely agree or disagree.  I would maybe put it somewhere as a combination of steamed Articoke, Asparagus and mild Squash.  The texture is quite often described as being similar to Scrambled Egg.  I would agree that it looks like Scrambled Egg but I would say that though it's quite delicate, the lobes have more 'structure' than Scrambled Egg, like the white of a Soft Boiled Egg.  YUMMMMMMO!

So we had about a dinner portion to a portion and a half left over.  I heated some up and served it on a toasted Bagel.  It was delicious!  I picked out as much Ackee as I could in D's half and left him slightly more Saltcod.  He had Fried Eggs, Sunny-Side Up and Saltcod on a Bagel.  It is quite versatile and the basic Vegetables are similar to a Western Omelette.

When I was living in Kingston, Jamaica as an Engineering Student Intern, our cleaning lady used to make us Ackee for Breakfast.  Though, I think she did it because I seemed so genuinely facinated by Ackee.  She actually only made us breakfast as part of her routine and promised to make it if I bought it for her.  So I would buy it from a sidewalk vendor on the way home from work.  I used my Taxi allowance (for safety) bought Ackee and took the bus home.  Our local supermarket never stocked it. 


One time I had bought so much that she steamed the whole lot in case I wanted to cook a second batch on my own.  When it is picked, it looks like the picture on the tin; like a tri-lobal Peach that has split open.  Each piece or lobe of flesh has a large black pit, about the shape of a chestnut.  The flesh is quite firm, like plastic.  You need to boil or steam it too cook with it.  Outside Jamaica and out of season, in Jamaica, use the tinned variety that just need draining.

Jul 28th - Cold Salmon Rice Rolls - Leftovers

This is what happens when you buy an enormous Whole Salmon on a Sunday, particularly when you cannot abide throwing food away. Actually this use of leftover Salmon worked out well, because it was pretty hot today. I suggested making a Quiche but D did not want to turn on the stove.

You can buy all these ingredients in any Asian section of a supermarket or Asian foodshop. The wrappers would normally be in the same aisle as the dried rice noodles. They look like clear, semi-translucent discs. They are super easy to prepare though a bit tricky to manipulate but that is half the fun. We don't prepare them all and sit down. We like to do them Taco style with all the stuffings out and the wrappers stacked up next to a pie plate filled with warm water. Well, I like do it that way. D would probably support my making all 6-8 rolls to sit down too.

The only prep work you need to do is wash and chop some of the vegetables and soak the vermicelli noodles.  You can make a Dipping Sauce of the same marinade for the noodles below and add some chilis or Chili Flakes.  

Our stuffings were:

• Cooked BBQ Salmon from Sunday July 25th's post
• Washed fresh Basil
• 1 Carrot, grated
• 1 Cucumber, julienned
• Chilis (optional)
• Other dipping options include Peanut Sauce

To assemble a Cold Roll, you  need a pie plate that is big enough for a Rice Wrapper to sit in with room.  Fill with slightly warmed water.  1/2 Boiled to 1/2 Room is a good rule of thumb.  If you use water that is too hot, then they wrapper will disintegrate.  We lived and learned that one.  Let it soak until it starts to soften to the texture of wax paper, 30 seconds and turn over and soak some more.  I like to take it out a bit earlier than D, so it is a bit more durable when I'm trying to roll.  To be completely honest, we are both lousy at the rolling of these things. Like a Burrito, you want to add the ingredients in a cigar shape down the middle.  Bring up the short ends at the top and bottom of the cigar and then roll the flaps over. I do not know how they get them so tight in the shops.  Ours are loosely affiliated ingredients generally agreeing to stay in the wrapper for most of the time I am eating it.  Still they are fun too do and tasty nonetheless.

Vermicelli Noodles for Cold Wraps

2 bunches Bean Thread aka Cellophane aka Rice Vermicelli Noodles
(the packages normally come with individual sized portions about the size of a tennis ball)
1 T Thai Fish Sauce
1 T Rice Wine Vinegar
1 t Mirin (optional)

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Boil the Noodles for 2-3 minutes max. I know some people say just soak them. I find them WAY WAY too chewy that way. Upto you to experiment and discover. Drain immediately and shock with Cold Cold water in the strainer until the noodles are cool to the touch. The noodles are thin so you should use a seive.

Drain well, press with your hand to get rid of alot of the moisture. The noodles will continue to absorb. Take some scissors and run through the noodles a couple of times. You could do this before boiling but they are difficult to cut when dry. It makes biting into a roll much easier.

Toss with the Fish Sauce and Vinegar and set aside.

July 26th - leftover BBQ Salmon Wraps

My Leftover Salmon Wrap with Baba Ganoush

Nothing glamourous about dinner tonight.  After our dinner party last night with the Whole Sockeye Salmon, we had quite bit of yummo herbed Salmon to spare.  As well, we had loads of sides and condiments.  As sensible people like me do, and my mother taught me, we do not abide tossing leftovers.

We made BBQ Salmon Wraps with Soft Wholewheat Wraps.  It was doubly a good idea since it was warm so a cool dinner was just what was needed.  Warm by Vancouver standards really.  It never really gets humid or muggy.  It was a balmy 25.  Still too warm for the stove to be on.

Leftover BBQ Salmon Wraps

2 Wholewheat Wraps per person (well, it was a lot)
100-125 g of Leftover Salmon per Wrap

Condiments in the fridge:
Prewashed Baby Greens
BBQ Roasted Baba Ganoush
D's Diabolical Salsa Verde
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
1 random BBQd Sweet Potato
Sour Cream
Fresh Basil

Let your imagination go wild.  I used quite alot of the fresh Basil.  We munched the Cucumber on the side.  I do not know why but I find Cucumber clashes with cooked Salmon or Tuna.  I do not know why.  D did not believe me and he tested it.  He agreed.  It's tinny and unpleasant.  It did not go into my wrap. 

D through a half of the Sweet Potato with some Sour Cream into his.  We don't normally have Sour Cream in the house but we had bought it to marinade some Prawn for a Curry dish but we might not get to it this week.

No sides just two wraps, it was quite filling and felt light and healthy.  And after two lunches we are almost through the Salmon.  Hoorah!

D's leftover Salmon Wrap with a Sweet Potato

May 17th - Baked Lemon Risotto with Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower

I was originally going to make Arancini aka fried Risotto Balls with the leftover Lemon and Sage Risotto but I was trying something new by adding a bit of egg to the Risotto but it made it way to runny to handle.  After 20 wasted minutes of trying to carefully dump flour coated balls onto wax paper I decided it was futile because they would never hold up in the Oil.  Grrrrr!  Well, I decided to 'make lemonade' and bake it with a crispy crust since it was just me anyway.  It worked out well.  Nextime, I may add some grated Parmesan to the Breadcrumb crust.

Baked Lemon Risotto

1.5 c Lemon Risotto
1 large Egg
1 T Water
1 T flour
1/2 c Breadcrumbs
1 T melted Butter
1 T Cambonzola Cheese

Butter liberally a small individual baking dish, ~5x7".  Dump the Breadcrumbs in and cover with plastic wrap.  Shake all around.  Dump out the excess crumbs for topping.

Beat the Egg with 1 half shell of water.  Add the Egg into the leftover Risotto.  Add the 1 T of Flour (optional if super runny.  If your risotto is runny, do not add the water).  Mix well. Spread out the Risotto evenly as possible without disturbing the breadcrumbs. 

Cut the Cambonzola (or Blue Cheese) into 4 small cubes.  Poke the Cheese into the Risotto and cover up with your clean finger.  Top with the leftover Breadcrumbs.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 420F until slightly puffed up and lightly browned. (that is the temperature I had the oven set to for the Roasted Veg.  Turn out on a plate.  It should come out whole and encrusted.  Yum!!

Roasted Cumin Asparagus and Cauliflower

1 small bunch Asparagus, trimmed and halved
1/4 head Cauliflower, chopped thumbsized
1/2 T ground Cumin
1 t Cayenne Pepper
1/2 t Coarse Salt
1/4 c Olive Oil
5 leaves Basil, chiffonade, (optional Garnish)

Pre Heat the Oven to 420-425F

In a large bowl,  add the Oil and the Spices.  Mix.  Add the Veg and toss until thoroughly coated.

On a large baking sheet, spread out a piece of Parchement Paper.  I use this even if it is a non stick pan. It will save you oodles of heartache!  As well, DO NOT use wax paper!  It is not the same. 

Spread out the Veg in a single layer as much as possible.  Place in the bottom third of the oven.

Place the Baked Risotto in the Top Third.  After 10 minutes.  Toss the Veg and then switch the positions of the Baked Risotto and the Veg for 5-10 minutes.  The Risotto may need 5 minutes more than the Veg.

I also had a piece of Smoked Salmon to go with the Risotto but it was actually too much food but I had gone to the gym and was pretty hungry :^D

Had a wonderful Artazuri Rose 2007! Wondrous summer in a bottle!

Saturday, August 15th - Leftover Lemon Risotto and Unpacking

I went away to visit my folks in Toronto pretty much after we finished moving. So D was left with a pile of boxes. He knew it was coming as it was nearly impossible to get away in July especially since with the month end being at an awkward Friday... that meant we lost a whole week of packing. Frig!

So D is visiting his folks this week and working out of Montreal. That leaves me with my neglected boxes. Thankfully, I made extra risotto yesterday and D bought a whole fillet of coho salmon for our salmon yesterday so there's one piece left. That's what I'll have tonight. I'll sear the last piece in a cast iron skillet.... I should probably take it out of the fridge.

I am struggling with how to reheat the risotto. If I have the patience, I like to reheat on the stove whenever I can. I also like to fridge defrost as well. I just think that nuking just kills too many nutrients. As well, the waste-hater I am tends to dislike wasting something as sticky as risotto in a pot. I thought about baking it since it has become stiffer from cooling. I think that's what I'll do. Yeah. I'll add a bit of water though.

My next decision is which wine, which wine, which wine. There is a Spanish white, slightly fruity, already in the fridge. I have a french style chardonnay. I put it in the fridge but I'm leaning away from it. I stuck an Italian Pinot Grigio in the freezer for a bit. Hmmmm what to do. I'm leaning to the Pinot Gris.

I'm going to get the fish out of the fridge and prep the risotto. Later folks.

Baked Lemon Risotto

Preheat the oven to 425 convect so you don't waste time.

Oil a small baking dish, 4"x6" or so.
Spread a cup or cup and half of leftover risotto mixed with 1/4 c water in the dish
Cover tightly with foil and place in oven
Bake 20 minutes
Uncover and turn on broiler
Place under broiler on top level for 5 minutes
If you like, top with some fresh parmesan.

I seared the last piece of salmon with the herb seasoning left from last night. In a cast iron pan, on high, heat up some oil. D used butter. If the skin is on, you want to do most of the cooking on the skin side. 3-4 minutes. You only want to cook on open side for a minute or two. This ensures a crispy skin as well as preventing over cooking and drying out.

YUM!

I landed on the Pinot Grigio. Corte Giara....


http://www.flickr.com/photos/37852350@N04/3551343845/in/set-72157617444486204/

Photos of food later.

Wednesday, July 8th - Leftover Curry on Ultimate Frisbee Night

I spent the entire day working in the centre of a construction hurricane. I could have worked downtown but I stayed home because after discovering holes in our walls from the exterior improvement work, I was a bit worried about leaving the nest unprotected. Just when it seemed that the work was quieting down, it ramped up! It was so loud I had to take calls in a closet. I wore ear plugs for most of the day with the phone on vibration.

As well, it rained all day. Today is obviously ultimate frisbee day and I was in no mood to play so the weather wasn't helping. The crew also messed an electrical circuit over the weekend, there is a socket missing from our back wall. So the fire alarm went off three times and we were woken with a start each time. Very upsetting.

It was a tough call for lunch since I'm trying to reduce my caloric intake at the moment. I didn't watch myself at all over the weekend in the Okanagan but I already knew that I was carrying an extra 4 lbs over my target weight and 6 lbs over where I feel comfortable. It all happened over the last few weeks only. Stress I guess. I'm usually quite happy either way so long as certain things fit okay. A pair of my trousers were a bit snug which prompted me to weigh myself last week :-(. So I've been eating only 1.5 packages of oatmeal for lunch and cutting out snacks. I don't cut out wine because that's madness. As well, I actually think that wine has increased my metabolism over the last two years that I've been seeing D and drinking red wine regularly. I also found an obscure medical paper on the topic. I don't want that to encourage you to start doing this. Not at all. I only sought the information out because I wanted to understand why I lost 10 lbs AFTER starting to drink wine nightly. But as it looked as if it were clearing, I ate a full lunch. Ultimate is basically running on a field roughly the size of an indoor soccer field for 2 1 hour games. Very high cardio as well as the subbing off is cardio training with the fluctuating effort. Really good for fat burn! I need to load up on game day or I feel weak.

When I got home, D had already put my leftover Prawn Balti Curry I made last night in the microwave for me. He was rather blue about all the work in the house but he was still sweet enough to think of me and put my food in the microwave for my approximate 9h30 home time. He BBQ'd. He does that when I have a game because he gets to eat meat on his own :-D.

He had a Carmen Reserve Syrah. Very dry, a tad acidic for me but nice with my tomato based curry. Yay polyphenols!

(photos pending)

Thursday, July 2nd - Pesto and Leftovers

We're heading out town for the fake long weekend to the Okanagan Valley with some friends to do a wineries crusade, so we wanted to go through our fridge so tonight was leftover or ez pasta.

I save some of my Shaolin takeaway from last night for lunch but in the end I didn't fancy having nuked smelly noodles at work. I wanted to heat them up properly and enjoy them at home. D didn't want noodles again. He felt like pasta. D had some of the pesto I made last week with Garofolo pasta. I had the leftovers from my Shaolin to myself. My Veggie Cumin Hela (Round extruded) Noodles and half of D's Seafood Curry Cutting noodles. I heated it up in a non-stick pan without oil since most chinese noodles have soooo much oil in the sauce and prep that it didn't need it. We ate most of the tofu and seafood the night before so I added some TVP for protein supplement.

TVP is texturised vegetable protein. It comes in mince sized or chunk sized. All you do is add enough boiling water cover and set aside... or at least that's what the instructions say. I never find that the soaking is enough. I prefer to cook it in the water on the stove top for a few minutes until the water is soaked up. It has the chewy texture of say, firm tofu or chicken. In the UK, you can get it in savour flavours or plain. The plain has NO flavour at all. It's all texture. D says it's like chewing on a sponge. I'll admit that it's been a fair amount of time since I've had chicken, but I kinda thought that it was simulating chicken. Maybe not a chicken breast but say a chicken nugget. I like it in a pinch for that little bit of weight to a dish when I don't feel like I've had protein. Before I started seeing D, I definitely wasn't getting regular protein like seafood. I could have gone days on just veg. I started eating quinoa because of that. It's a very high protein grain. So this TVP sold at Choices in the bulk food area is perfect. It's defintely more expensive than it was in the UK and harder to find. It was half the price. Here I've only found it in Choices Markets and not all of them. For awhile, it wasn't always there. I asked the manager and he said that there wasn't enough demand so he would only order it once in a while at the request of one of his regulars and he would come it as soon as it was in stock and bought it all. Now, two years later, it's always there. Yum. I'm glad because even if I were to start eating meat again, chicken and poultry in general would be the last I would have again. Too strong a flavour but the texture was okay.

Monday, May 25th - Greek Cous Cous with Tuna

I had the couscous I made yesterday http://365vancouvereats.blogspot.com/2009/05/sunday-may-24th-drunken-poached-prawns.html

I topped it with some tuna loin. We've opted lately to go with the foil packed tuna loin over the cat food tins. I wish I had had some extra dressing or mayo because just adding this to the salad was a bit dry. The couscous was awesome though. I used to make even bigger batches and bring it to work for a week. MMMMMM

Thursday, February 12th - Leftovers and Delfina's Spicy Cauliflower

I had cereal for breakfast with Strawberries and the last of the Blueberries.

For lunch, I think I'll have the Yak-Shik I took with me in the tupperware. I still have the risotto from Tuesday but that will keep longer than the Yak-Shik. The sweetrice tends to harden up if it gets old. I could resteam if that happens or add water before nuking but HASSLE!

For dinner, I had intended to make Spicy Creole Shrimp Gumbo but as it turns out we got free accomodation at Whistler for the weekend so we're going up there on Friday until Sunday so I thought we should probably go through our leftovers. We'll have the Bean and Barley stew and we made the fried spicy Cauliflower that we had on the weekend from the Delfina's pizzaria recipie. I had some Brandade and D had some crackers and the rest of the tapenade.

I had a lovely glass of the Dona Paula Chardonnay.