Comfort Food: Recipe for Korean Brisket (Jjang-joo-rheem)

Today seemed like the perfect day to make jjang-joo-rheem (Korean brisket). Rainy and a bit cold, the weather reminded me of winter in the Pacific Northwest. When I think of the Pacific Northwest, I think of my former college and Boston roommate, Kar-yee, who now practices family medicine at OHSU. One of her favorite comfort foods is jjang-joo-rheem.

When I was living in Boston with Kar-yee, my mom would send us jjang-joo-rheem—especially knowing that sometimes it’s just tough to motivate oneself to cook, and ordering out every night can be cost-prohibitive. Jjang-joo-rheem is a nice panchan (side dish) to have around because it lasts awhile (or not, if it’s really good) and the sauce can be used in many ways.

On a basic level, it can be eaten as a side dish with rice. Kar-yee would combine some some butter/margarine or sesame oil with her rice, shred some of the brisket, and then add a little jjang-joo-rheem sauce, and then mix it all together. Sometimes we’d make fried rice with the jjang-joo-rheem and frozen vegetables, and then wrap it up in an omelette. I later found out that it’s called “omo-rice.”

The jjang-joo-rheem flavored soy sauce can also be used in making dipping sauces for mandoo (Korean potstickers) and bin-dae-dduk (Korean bean pancakes). The brisket and garlic (and peppers, if you add that) add another dimension to the dipping sauce that you can’t get any other way. Pure heaven!

For You Kimchee Fans, Check Out November’s Saveur

The November issue of Saveur has a great feature on kimchee, “Korea’s Miracle Food” by Mei Chin. Most people would probably grab the issue for the “Ultimate Turkey” spread, with “recipes, tips, and techniques for an unforgettable feast,” but I know at least 4 non-Koreans who would be racing to their closest newstand for the kimchee article/recipes.

My mom called me “the Caucasian” while I was growing up because I generally preferred to eat non-Korean meals. It wasn’t until after I went to college that I appreciated my mom’s cooking.

In fact, my appreciation for good home-cooked Korean food became even greater after moving to Boston, because what most people considered “good” wasn’t really even Korean food per se—more like Korean-adjacent (derived from Margaret Cho’s describing Jon Gosselin as “Asian Adjacent”).

Grandma Lee’s Quick and Easy Turkey Meatball Recipe (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free)

My mom is a pro at figuring out ways to get people to eat. To leave her kitchen without having a bite is unheard of. (For those folks who are on a diet, keep away from Helen’s kitchen or prepare to feel lower than a snake’s belly for hurting her feelings.)

Both my sister and I have a child with severe food allergies. But thanks to Mom’s chicken soup and other specialties, our girls have thrived.

Yesterday, I mentioned to Mom about my concern that the Princess might be getting bored with the same old meals and her reluctance to try something new. Mom took me aside, showed me a quick and easy turkey meatball recipe, and managed to get the Princess to eat it. Hooray for Grandma Lee.

Mama Sophia’s Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe (Dairy Free)

One of the best (and worst) things I was introduced to in college was Nutella. When the dining hall didn’t serve anything that tempted me, I would just carry out some of their freshly made bread and take it back to my room to have with the chocolate and hazelnut spread. And sometimes I would just eat it straight from the jar. It didn’t matter that it had palm oil and tons of sugar and fat. It was food for my soul and a balm for broken hearts and bad biochem tests. I would even go as far as saying that Nutella helped me get through college.

Some people can’t get enough of Nutella. Others can’t get enough of Marshmallow Fluff. For the Princess, it’s my Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese frosting. If given the opportunity, I’m sure she’d eat it straight out of the bowl.

Nice Like Lice

I just got off the phone with one of my dearest friends. During our conversation I was reminded of another conversation that I had with a different friend. I said, “Nice is like lice…Don’t be so nice all the time because people take advantage of you.”

Even the word “nice” is off-putting. It’s very dismissive, like when someone says, “That’s nice,” and then changes topics or directs his/her attentions elsewhere. And then there are those folks use “nice” when they can’t think of anything else to say. It’s no coincidence that “mice” and “lice” are close neighbors to “nice,” and I find myself reacting accordingly.

Eating for Love

I just finished watching a Korean drama called Phoenix (Boorl Sae)—what an emotional roller coaster that was! In one scene, one of the secondary characters tells the other, “I know you love me because you eat whatever I leave on my plate—just like how my mother would eat my leftovers.”

I hadn’t thought about eating another’s leftovers as a way to show love, but more about not letting good food go to waste. Then I remember my grandmother who would say that each grain of rice left in our bowl was a day in our life. She would insist that we finish all our rice so we wouldn’t lose a day. I can imagine some Korean moms finishing off their children’s leftover rice for that reason.

Metabolism Friends and Foes

Today I read an interesting blog posting by Lynn Harris on foods that speed up metabolism. Looks like I need to revamp my selections, especially the veggies/fruits.

Here’s a summary:

Bacon and Rice: The Ultimate Comfort Food

My uncle who lives in Astoria, Oregon, used to live in Saudi Arabia for ten years between the mid-1970s to 80s. I don’t know what he was doing there at the time, but when he came to visit us, he had some exciting tales and some pretty interesting gifts. He brought my brother an old sword, which appeared to have some dried blood on it. For my sister, he had a camel skin bag, which smelled horribly, but the etching and design on it were exquisite. He gave me a gold necklace with a pendant of a Sagittarius, which I thought was odd because no one in our household was that sign, but the design was pretty so I didn’t complain.

He’d ask my mother to make him some bacon, which was something he was not allowed to eat in the Muslim country. Nothing pleased him more than to have some bacon and rice, and of course, some good old American beer (alcohol was another forbidden item). Unfortunately, half of the beer would be out of the can before he would be able to drink it. My brother used to shake the can while he’d bring it upstairs from the basement fridge, and Uncle would have a welcome-home surprise.

How To Make the Best Hash Browns

The Princess loves hash browns. In fact, for breakfast today I ended up shredding 4 medium-sized russet potatoes in my Cuisinart and somehow they all disappeared between the bellies of myself and the Princess. (Let me tell you, I was pacing myself so that I would have one bite to every three that she had, so my 50-pound, 6-year-old must have eaten three potatoes.)

She’s a chip off the ol’ block. According to family folklore, my first favorite American food was the potato chip. I consider hash browns a close relative.

How would I define the “best” hash browns? They are crispy and tender, not mushy or greasy. Ideally they should be able to stand on their own—ketchup optional.

Although in theory they should be simple to make, the only thing easy about them is making them mushy/greasy. In the spirit of America’s Test Kitchen, I decided to experiment.

Here’s what I’ve tried:

Green Tea to Whittle the Belly

I think I may have to switch over from iced coffee to green tea. According to a Health.com article:

• Five cups of green tea every day could help you shed twice as much weight—most of it around your middle, according to a Journal of Nutrition study. Researchers also found that people who had sports drinks with green tea for 12 weeks lowered their levels of triglycerides, a blood fat linked to heart disease.
• Catechins (the antioxidants in the tea) are thought to boost energy and enhance fat-burning, and they may influence body composition in other ways.

What’s not stated in the article is that one needs to watch the sugar that’s added in the sports drinks. Also, the other downside is that green tea does have caffeine, so people who are sensitive to caffeine shouldn’t drink it.

I like to have my green tea with a little bit of honey or with a splash of Minute Maid Lemonade Lite. Speaking of which—I should probably go brew some right now.