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!

Today I made some jjang-joo-rheem and dared to give my mother-in-law a taste. She approved and even took a jarful home.

Jjang-Joo-Rheem (Korean Brisket) Recipe
4–5 lb. beef brisket, trimmed of fat
About 6–8 cups of water (or enough to cover meat in the pot)
2 bulbs garlic
3–4 cups Kikkoman Shoyu Soy Sauce
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
Optional: 6–8 long green peppers—non-spicy kind

1) Cut brisket into  4 in. x 3 in. chunks. Make sure it’s not too thick (aim for about 1-1/2  to 2 in. thickness). Put in stock pot and add enough water to cover meat. Set pot to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 15–20 minutes. Be sure to skim off foam and fat that floats to top.

2) While waiting for pot to boil, peel garlic.

3) After about 15–20 minutes, remove half of the water that’s in the pot and set aside (this should be used in making beef stock later or discarded). Add soy sauce (final ratio of water to soy sauce should be about 1:1—you may choose to keep more of the water to make it less salty, but the saltiness prolongs the shelf-life), sugar, and whole garlic cloves, and simmer for about 45 minutes more.

4) Cool for about an hour before storing in jars. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Notes:
1) My husband’s family does not add sugar when they make jjang-joo-rheem; they believe it toughens the meat. I tend to disagree. I think a bit of sugar is needed to offset some of the harsh saltiness of the soy sauce. What makes the sauce good is its slight sweetness.

2) Brisket comes as point cut or flat cut. The point cut of the brisket is more tender than the flat cut because it is a bit thicker and has more fat. This, too, can have something to do with how tough or tender the final result is. I also read in an America’s Test Kitchen book that the trick to keep briskets from drying/toughening up is to keep the heat level between 250–300 degrees (low simmer).

3) When serving, you can cut the meat into slices (perpendicular to grain), or shred with the grain. As a panchan, it is served cold with a bit of the sauce. Be sure to remove the fat that floats to the top before serving.

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”). It’s a shame that a city with celebrity chefs like Ming Tsai and Todd English doesn’t have a decent Korean restaurant.

I’m always amused to meet kimchee fans, especially when they are non-Asian. I remember watching two of my non-Asian colleagues chowing down on the salty, spicy, sour, fermented napa cabbage without even glancing at the rice. And it wasn’t even good kimchee. One of my colleagues described it as “battery-acid, but really, really good—just can’t get enough of it.” He’d eat it by the barrelful if his wife wouldn’t divorce him for stinking up the house. (It doesn’t matter that they have 20 cats and God knows how many kitty litter boxes. What’s one little jar of kimchee to that, anyway?)

I have another friend, also non-Korean, who gets her fix on kimchee chigae (stew) in the morning (rice optional). I guess one could wake up and get warmed up quickly, but my stomach turns at the idea of eating something so pungent and spicy in the morning.

The other day, my sister-in-law and I were talking about the first time we made kimchee. I think there’s an unwritten rule that a kimchee-making virgin (one who has never made kimchee before) is guaranteed to make the best kimchee of his/her life. She told me that although she’s made kimchee a number of times, it has never been as good as the first time she made it.

I remember making my first gak-dugi kimchee with my grandmother who was visiting from Korea. I think it was the best kimchee I had ever tasted. Although my Korean is so-so, I do remember her complimenting my “sohn-gheerum” (hand juices) or “sohn-maht” (hand taste), which made it taste good. However, I think my first-time success was having her guide me through the steps. I have never tried making kimchee after that because I know it would be let-down. Who knows? Maybe after 7+ years of not making kimchee, I can get my kimchee-making v-card back.

I may have to try out those kimchee recipes from Saveur. Maybe at my mom’s house—she has a kimchee fridge which she bought the last time my grandmother was here. And I’m sure she has plenty of tips and tricks as well.

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.

Grandma Lee’s Turkey Meatball Recipe
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 medium onion diced finely
1 tsp. finely minced garlic
1 tsp. sesame oil (or other aromatic oil)
olive oil or grapeseed oil for cooking
salt and pepper to taste

1) Mix ground turkey with onion, garlic, and sesame oil. Make into small balls (no bigger than 1 inch diameter).

2) Heat olive or other oil in frying pan in medium to medium-high heat. Cook meatballs until nicely browned (about 7-10 minutes). Make sure roll/rotate the balls to cook all sides evenly.

Notes:
1) For a milder onion and slightly sweeter taste, saute diced onions and cool before combining with the ground turkey.

2) Feel free to experiment with different oils if you don’t like sesame oil (e.g., white truffle oil, or rosemary or basil-infused olive oil).

3) Serve with marinara, ketchup, or yang-nyum-jjang. (Yang-nyum-jjang is not gluten-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.

I usually use the frosting with my banana muffins or carrot cake. But sometimes I pair it with fresh strawberries—it reminds me of creme fraiche.

This past week at the PTA Book Fair, I picked up a Fancy Nancy book and saw an interesting recipe for a snack to make for a tea party—celery sticks with cream cheese and raisins. I was thinking that I should try putting  some of this better-than-cream-cheese-frosting on the celery stick instead and maybe sprinkle a few vegan chocolate chips. Who knows? The Princess might accidentally enjoy the celery stick part as well?

Mama Sophia’s Better Than Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
One 8 oz. container of Tofutti Better-Than-Cream-Cheese
1 stick Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread (about 1/2 cup)
2 tsps vanilla
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Chill in fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Notes:
1) Use a food processor vs. hand-held mixer for easier clean-up.

2) When applying frosting on baked items, make sure they have cooled down sufficiently (at least an hour). Not only will you have a cleaner product (no crumblies), but the frosting will hold its shape better (look more like frosting vs. a glaze).

3) For a tangy-er frosting, use Tofuttti Sour Supreme Better than Sour Cream instead of the dairy-free margarine.

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.

There are some people who I consider angels on earth disguised as humans. My friend is one of them—although she’d be the last to admit it. Abundantly caring, loving, and generous to a fault, she’s always willing to help and puts others’ needs before her own. On top of that, she doesn’t think of it as anything extraordinary.

What gets me angry is when I hear about people who take advantage of her good nature, twist her words/actions around and accuse her of having a hidden agenda, or assume that they can just keep taking from her because they were able to do so in the past. If I could, I would like to be her avenger and set those people straight.

I told her that it’s OK to be a bitch every now and then. Highly encouraged, in fact. I once heard on the radio that “bitch” stands for “Being In Total Control of Herself.” There’s nothing wrong with that.

I also told her that sometimes one needs to shock the hell out of someone in order to get one’s point across. To say “f*ck-off” every now and then does the trick. (Not too often, though—the shock wears off very quickly.) On a side note, I recently read that swearing is good for one’s health.

So a lesson to all you kind people out there—embrace your inner bitchiness. Being nice is like lice.

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.

Growing up, I remember cleaning off my plate most of the time. (OK, maybe it helped to have a mom who was a good cook.) But on those rare occasions when I didn’t, I felt bad. I thought, Mom went through all this effort to make something for—the least I can do is eat it. Cleaning off my plate was a relatively easy way to show love and appreciation.

And then there’s the guilt factor—the starving people in the world. How can I let food go to waste? (How dare I?)

So here are 3 bad food habits I’m trying to break:

• finishing off my plate (even though I’m more than full)
• eating other people’s leftovers (usually my daughter’s)
• storing leftovers in the fridge that go uneaten

Although I don’t eat rice everyday like I did when I was growing up, I’ve been applying my grandmother’s philosophy of “waste not, want not” to food in general. And even my husband doesn’t like throwing out food—he says it’s like throwing away good luck. As you can imagine, it’s hard for me to say goodbye to leftovers.

I have this compulsive need to clean off my plate…and my daughter’s. It’s not something I’m proud of because I know it’s what’s been keeping me from getting back down to my healthy weight. I need to remind myself that I can show love to myself by not overeating. More importantly, I can demonstrate my love for my family by increasing my life expectancy through healthier eating and weight management.

I need to be more selective about which leftovers I choose to keep and be better about tossing food out. No need to use the fridge as a holding pen/bio lab for leftovers—most of which end up in the trash anyway. In fact, I should post notes on the fridge for myself along the lines of, “Toss now, if you know you’re going to toss it anyway” or “eat within 3 days” and then write the date. Maybe having an inventory list of what needs to be eaten/tossed will help, too.

Rethinking Love and Food—Note to Self
It’s not a parent’s job to finish off the child’s leftovers. It’s OK to leave food on the plate. It’s also OK to toss it. In fact, think of tossing food as feeding the earth. You don’t have to validate your love by cleaning off your plate. Sometimes to eat for love, you need to be selective of what you eat. Love yourself and your loved ones by eating the right foods in the right quantities.

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:

Good foods: spinach, broccoli, carrots, asparagus, cabbage, beet roots, assorted beans and dark, leafy vegetables; fruits—blueberries, melons, apples, citrus fruits, tomatoes; skinless poultry, eggs, fish; nuts, peanut butter; whole grains—brown rice, cereal, barley, oats. (Omega 3 fatty acids in fish boost metabolism by burning up to 400 calories/day—fat burning enzymes increase while those that store fat decrease; if you’re not a fish fan, take omega 3 capsules that contain a minimum of 300 mg total of EPA and DHA.) Foods with B vitamins, magnesium, and fiber help to increase metabolism.

Portion control/count calories. Watch serving sizes. Aim for small meals and healthy snacks throughout day to keep sugar levels in check. She says there are “negative calorie foods” that burn more calories during digestion than what they contain themselves. I wish she would have mentioned what those are. If dark chocolate were included, that would totally make my day. Anyway, she did mention there is such thing as “too much of a good thing,” so all things in moderation.

Good habits: drink 6-8 glasses of water, exercise minimum of 3 times a week, build muscle tone with free weights to help stimulate metabolism.

Another thing she forgot to mention—get enough rest. I’ve noticed a difference in terms of weight loss/gain when I get a good night’s rest vs. when I don’t. Now, if only the Princess would cooperate, I’d be more than half-way there.

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.

Bacon and rice is a favorite breakfast item at my house. For the Princess, I would make “bacon maki” for which I would put a bite-size piece of bacon on top of a small ball of rice; she loves to eat with her fingers. Or sometimes, she prefers having bacon with some “moorl-bop” (water or tea with rice). HB likes to have his bacon and rice with a sunny-side up egg all mashed and mixed with a squirt of ketchup and some hot sauce. Me? Although I like bacon and rice like everyone else, I generally prefer bacon with egg between pieces of toasted bread. Sometimes I would get fancy and spread a bit of Boursin on the toast and add some baby spinach and Campari tomatoes in the sandwich. When I think of breakfast sandwiches, I am reminded of breakfasts at Sonia’s Café in Lechmere (no longer there), where I’d meet with my dear friend Daniel when he’d be post-call. Good times!

What makes bacon so comforting? The combination of salty and slightly sweet, crispy and chewy, tender and tough. It could also be the memories associated with it. I think of my soul-brother, Sam, who would be able to finish a pound or more of bacon in one setting. He claimed it was the way I cooked it that made it hard for him to stop eating. Even though he tried to replicate my technique of cooking it at home, it was never quite the same. (I joked, “You have to cook it with chopsticks in a non-stick pan at high heat, while turning it regularly to keep it from burning.”) I also think of my college friend, Romana, who is Muslim and also loves bacon. When she and I would go to Sam’s family house on the Cape, we would create magnificent feasts. For part of my wedding gift, she gave me a cast iron pan and a bacon press.

Nowadays, I just cook bacon using the broiler and give it one turn, especially as I’m busy mulitasking—whether it’s cutting up fresh fruit, preparing hash browns or fried potatoes, or making smoothies. But whenever I get the chance, I cook the bacon on the stovetop and think of all the people I’ve known who love bacon.

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:

• Test 1: after shredding, lightly toss in oil and partially bake in oven and then pan fry (to see if dry oven heat would help)
• Test 2: rinse shredded potatoes (to remove starch) and briefly soak in ice bath (using ice to perk up the potatoes), and then fry
• Test 3: dry potatoes with towel after shredding (to remove moisture/excess starch in order to make potatoes crispy); add to non-stick pan of hot oil (not too much—just enough to make sure the potatoes don’t stick to pan) and lower heat slightly after a few minutes to avoid burning while giving potatoes some time to cook.

Of these methods, I’ve found that Test 3 worked best. The trick is to make sure the oil is hot (but not too hot), and also to let the potato shreds set instead of keeping on flipping them. (Goal is to not flip them more than once…or, ok, twice.) You’ll know when to flip when you see the bottom slightly browning. Be careful when flipping—you don’t want to burn yourself.

Depending on my mood, sometimes I like to add a little bit of shredded onion as the first side is browning. Some people prefer to season their hash browns with a bit of garlic salt. The Princess prefers to eat her hash browns with her fingers and to dip each bite with ketchup. (Talk about finger-lickin’ good.)

Bon appetit!

_____

Note: Another way to remove excess moisture from potato shreds is by using a salad spinner. The downside is that you have another contraption to clean, but at least you’re not throwing away tons of paper. Also, it’s easier to clean than a kitchen towel, which I found I had to soak in Oxy-clean for a day or so to remove the brownish/gray stain that came from the potato starch.

Use organic potatoes for better taste. Today (7/3/09) I tried some, and they were divine!

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.