Croustillant isn’t an essential item in making choux pastries; however, it delights many gourmands when there’s a streusel-like cookie topping to enhance an airy pastry like a cream puff. The crunchy-crackly shell it creates makes for a better mouthfeel. Plus, it extends the shelf-life of a pastry by slowing down the softening of a choux shell.
Read More “Croustillant – Cookie Topping for Pastries”
Our Korea trip continues on! We went to the must-see area of Dongdaemun, so the following morning, we set out to see Namdaemun, the market around the Southern gate.
Read More “Food Adventure in Korea – Our Second Week – Part Two”
A few weeks ago, we began writing about our adventure in Korea! We really enjoyed our time on Ganghwa Island, visiting the farmer’s market and seeing what my aunt and uncle were growing on the family farm. I made them yukgaejang, a spicy beef brisket soup, before leaving for Bucheon.
Read More “Food Adventure in Korea – Our Second Week – Part One”
Fondant is a kind of icing, often used to decorate cakes and pastries, and fill chocolates. There are two versions of fondant: rolled and poured. The rolled version is mostly used for layered cakes, putting a smooth blanket cover over frosted layers of sponge. It’s malleable, allowing a decorator to create figures and shapes for cake toppers. The poured version is used to cover petit fours and choux pastries, and fill various confections.
Read More “Poured Fondant”
Crème Pâtissière is a base component for pretty much anything we wanted to fill. Pastry cream is excellent in fresh fruit tarts, varieties of choux, millefeuille, and breads. You can also find them inside desserts like Boston Cream Pie. It’s versatile, in that you can turn the cream into whatever flavor you want!
Read More “Crème Pâtissière – Pastry Cream”
Hey, everybunny! It’s been over a month since I’ve posted, so it’s about time for an update!
Kitty and I came back from a two-week trip to Korea! It was really great to see my relatives and explore around Seoul. Immediately after we got back, one of my dearest cousins decided to visit New York City, and I’ve been a bit preoccupied in showing her around.
I’ve finally had the chance to shuffle through hundred of photos from the trip, and I wanted to share with you what we ate, saw, and enjoyed during our time there! Here is our first week of our adventure!
Read More “Food Adventure in Korea – Our First Week”
Jokbal (족발) is a braised pork dish that many Koreans love to eat. Most people go out to a restaurant to eat jokbal (족 – feet), but I always wondered how I could make this at home. I asked my mom, and then I set out to do some research. After digging around on the internet and looking through some cookbooks, I felt good about the ingredients I chose for this recipe, and decided to give it a go!
Read More “Jokbal (족발) – Braised Pork Trotters”
Much like saeujeot, ssamjang is equally important in bringing bo ssam (보쌈 – simmered pork belly, or other cuts of pork, wrapped with lettuce) and jokbal (족발 – braised pork trotters) together. I call it the happy trinity: shrimp sauce, wrap sauce, and lettuce wraps! Each of these components bring you that much closer to having a delicious dinner with your protein of choice!
Read More “Ssamjang (쌈장) – Wrap Sauce”
As I was making my jokbal, I realized that I needed to make its accompanying dipping sauce! Saeujeot is a crucial component to many kinds of ssam (쌈 – wrap), like bo ssam (보쌈 – simmered pork belly, or other cuts of pork, wrapped with lettuce) and jokbal (족발 – braised pork trotters). It’s excellent with the garlic and sesame oil, boosting its flavor.
Read More “Saeujeot (새우젓) – Shrimp Sauce”
Seaweed Soup. It is the quintessential dish for Koreans to have on their birthday. I make Miyeok Guk (미역국) for my hubby whenever I can, but always remember to make this in February for his birthday. Rich in nutrients, seaweed is associated to mothers and their need for these vitamins and minerals. We often eat this on the morning of our birthday, to celebrate, but more in thanks to our mothers that birthed and took care of us.
Read More “Miyeok Guk (미역국) – Seaweed Soup”
Exactly a week-and-a-half ago, we celebrated my dad’s birthday. To remember him and observe his life with us, I wanted to share with you one of my dad’s favorite dishes! I remember that he would *always* get Yukgaejang when it’s on a menu at a Korean restaurant.
Read More “Yukgaejang (육개장) – Spicy Beef Brisket Soup with Vegetables”
When brownies are too much chocolate, I make a batch of blondies! The sweet, rich, and chewy texture is still there, but I’m not being bombarded with a ton of chocolate. Don’t get me wrong, I love brownies too (less cake, more fudge); though there is definitely room for a piece of blondie on my plate, especially when Valrhona chocolate is involved!
Read More “Caramelia-Coconut Blondie Bites”
Sujeonggwa (수정과) is a Korean drink, traditionally enjoyed on special occasions! It’s also a great digestive tonic after having a hearty meal. Lunar New Year is coming up at the end of this week, and I have this excellent punch recipe to share with you!
Read More “Sujeonggwa (수정과) – Cinnamon-Ginger Punch with Persimmon”
Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) is a savory Japanese pancake, mainly consisting of cabbage and nagaimo, also called Chinese yam. After many years of tinkering with our Okonomiyaki recipe, Kitty created this as our set method in making these delicious Japanese pancakes!
Read More “Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) – Japanese Savory Pancake”
Hey everyone! It has been two months since I posted, and it has taken me some time to organize my thoughts and emotions over the course of these eight weeks. I haven’t forgotten about you guys, I just needed to spend time with my family after the sudden departure of my dad. He passed away in early November.
Read More “Gimbap (김밥) – Seaweed Wrapped Rice with Meat and Vegetables”
Now, this Seolleongtang (설렁탕) is a labor of love, but you’ll be completely satisfied when it’s all done!
It’s getting colder here in New York, and Kitty and I have been searching for some excellent soup. It’s nice to have a delicious hot meal when you have been running around town the whole day, battling the wind chill through the concrete jungle.
Read More “Seolleongtang (설렁탕) – Ox Bone Soup with Brisket”
Galbitang (also spelled Kalbitang; 갈비 – rib, 탕 – soup) is a universal favorite in the Everybunny household. Whenever we’re out dining in a Korean restaurant, I’m always checking to see if they have this on their menu before I browse for other possible selections. It’s a definite *yes* to ordering galbitang if they do have it!
Read More “Galbitang (갈비탕) – Beef Short Rib Soup”
The first time my mom gave me Sikhye, I couldn’t stop smiling. I *loved* the subtle sweetness that cleansed my palette after eating a savory meal. The added bonus was the rice and sweet pine nuts floating in the serving bowl. I would go fishing with my spoon to gather all of the grains, and thoroughly enjoy every sip and bite. It didn’t matter how full I was from dinner; I always requested a second serving!
Read More “Sikhye (식혜) – Korean Rice Drink”
Kitty and I really enjoy eating Salt and Pepper anything. We’ve tried shrimp, prawns, and squid in restaurants, and have also found that places make chicken and pork versions too. Since cuttlefish are markedly close to squid, we wanted to try making this dish with it! We found some baby cuttlefish at the wet market, and just knew that it would be perfect for dinner.
Read More “Salt and Pepper Cuttlefish”
One of my summertime favorites is this cucumber kimchi called Oi Sobagi. My mom would go visit a local vegetable farmer’s field and buy Korean cucumbers by the bushel, and make various pickles, side dishes, and this cucumber kimchi! When our farmer friend no longer had fresh cucumbers in her yard, my mom would go to the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays and pick up small kirbys to make this for us.
Read More “Oi Sobagi (오이 소박이) – Spicy Cucumber Kimchi”
Dwaeji Bulgogi (돼지 – Pig/Pork, 불고기 – Fire Meat) is something I grew up eating at home. My mom would make this for my dad quite often! For the period of time that I was vegetarian, I didn’t eat this; the bulgogi disappeared from view until after I started eating meat again, and after I had moved back in with my parents (after college). I pretty much had forgotten about dwaeji bulgogi, and I can’t believe that I did! It’s so good with a piping hot bowl of rice!
Read More “Dwaeji Bulgogi (돼지 불고기) – Spicy Grilled Pork”
Kitty and I went to one of the markets in Chinatown and found packs of instant noodles with XO Sauce. They seemed interesting enough to buy, so we bought a couple of them to try. We went home and whipped up two bowls for dinner, and were pretty surprised at how good it tasted; however, it just didn’t have enough seafood in the sauce mixture. That’s when we knew we would have to try making our own batch of XO sauce!
Read More “XO Jiang (XO酱) – XO Sauce”
It’s been *so* hot in the City lately. Even with the rain, it’s still super hot! On days like this, all I really want is something light to eat, and I don’t want to turn on the burner (or the oven, for a long time) to cook something. I think of salad rolls often, especially when I don’t have much of an appetite to eat a lot of heavy carbs.
Read More “Salad Rolls with Peanut Sauce”
My hubby and I have made this peanut sauce for our salad rolls, but sometimes we have some left over. We don’t let it sadly sit in the corner of the refrigerator, where it waits to get thrown out. My hubby likes to use it on grilled meats (satay), or cold noodles (ma jiang mian or dan dan mian, à l’américaine), and I like to use it as a salad dressing.
Read More “Peanut Sauce”
We love cheesecake here at Everybunny HQ, however, we often find that the cakes out there are too fluffy, grainy, wet, or too sweet. To remedy these issues, we decided to make our own cheesecake, but cut down the rich filling and turn it into a cheesecake tart!
Read More “Cheesecake Tart with Berries”
When it comes to kimchi varieties, I *love* any radish-type kimchi! The crunchy radish just makes me so happy! One of my favorites is an easy one, called Kkakdugi (깍두기). It’s a large Korean radish that’s been cubed up and seasoned very similarly to a standard napa cabbage kimchi.
Read More “Kkakdugi (깍두기) – Cubed Radish Kimchi”
We *love* anchovies! There! I said it! I don’t care what most people say about those tiny fish. They’re delicious. We like them in our salads (Caesar!), our kimchi (Fish sauce, anyone?), and occasionally on our pizzas (Mmm, umami…). I also use dried anchovies to make a flavorful broth. At the Korean grocery store, I buy the dried ones in two sizes: the larger fish for soup, and the smaller fish for dishes like this recipe.
Read More “Myeolchi Bokkeum (멸치 볶음) – Pan-Fried Anchovies”
I’ve eaten tteokbokki (떡볶이) as long as I can remember. My mom would make this for my sister and I on the weekends as a lunch or a snack. I started making this for my hubby a few years ago, and then we wanted to make an upgrade. Rabokki (라볶이) was the most natural progression, as it didn’t require too much of a shift in ingredients.
Read More “Rabokki (라볶이) – Spicy Rice Cakes with Noodles”
With the upcoming Independence Day festivities, I wanted to share my potato salad recipe with all of you! Lately, I’ve been making this dish almost once a week. My hubby loves everything potato, and this has been such a hit in our home. I don’t normally eat a lot of heavily creamed dishes, so to make this salad creamier, I broke apart some hard-boiled egg yolks to thicken the mayonnaise dressing. It’s been a better alternative than to add more mayonnaise to the recipe.
Read More “Creamy Potato Salad”
Lately, I’ve been so deeply engrossed in researching and developing recipes that I’ve been neglecting to post some dishes we’ve eaten for the past month. I’m sorry guys. Truly. Before my fight with the horrible flu, I had been trying to re-work a Japanese melon bread recipe into a stuffed blueberry bread recipe. I’ve also been trying new ways to make pain de mie, or pullman loaf, to make some yummy milky bread. I made some taro steamed buns that also have been a work-in-progress. I know, it’s all bread, but lately, I’ve found myself really wanting to work with yeast.
Read More “Works in Progress – Bread and Some Other Things”
My hubby made this for me back in February, and I didn’t manage to get the recipe out of him until now. We had been talking about *that potato recipe* for a couple of months, always wanting to make it again. He told me that when Valentine’s came, he just created the dish without much measurement. So we set out to make the dish again last week, making sure that I take all of the notes I need to post it for all of you!
Read More “Cheesy Potato Gratin”
Originally consumed during the Winter, Dongchimi literally means *winter kimchi* (동 – dong – winter; 치미 – chimi – old word for kimchi). Root vegetables were harvested late, pickled in a jar, and consumed during the cold months, when finding and growing leafy greens were much harder. Nowadays, we eat it all through the year; many people enjoy eating this in the Summer for its crunchy texture and cooling nature.
Read More “Dongchimi (동치미) – Joseon Radish Kimchi”
Apologies, everyone! My hubby and I have been super ill with the flu the past couple of weeks! Thankfully, we’re mended and feeling a lot better. I thought this beef pot roast was a good dish to bring us back from the dead.
Read More “Pot Roast”
Over the years, my hubby and I have been continuously changing our macaroni and cheese recipe, trying to make it better and tastier. We love making it from scratch because it gives us leftovers for lunch or an easy dinner.
Read More “Baked Macaroni and Cheese”
Here is our version of Gomadare (ごまだれ), a sesame seed dipping sauce, using white sesame seeds and black sesame seeds. We used the white sesame version with our spicy hotpot, and the black sesame version with our nabe hotpot. It’s one of our favorite dipping sauces!
Read More “Gomadare (ごまだれ) – Sesame Sauce”
Last week, we really enjoyed eating nabemono. This week, my hubby and I decided on eating spicy hotpot (麻辣火鍋 – Málà huǒguō) to change things up a bit. We both love eating hotpot during the Winter and had previously talked about making spicy hotpot at home.
Read More “Málà Huǒguō (麻辣火鍋) – Sichuan Spicy Hotpot”
We’ve been experiencing cold and rainy spells in New York lately, and although Spring has arrived, it has been quite gloomy. Having hotpot for dinner seemed like the best idea: to relax, savor our food, and have warm tummies at the end of the evening.
Read More “Nabemono (鍋物) – Nabe Hotpot”
I’ve been making large cakes recently, and I felt the need to make some cute little whoopie pies with the same amount of fun and flavor. Easter is just around the corner, and I thought this would be the perfect pick for little hands that may want something sweet after hunting for eggs.
Read More “Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies”
My hubby and I have been talking for weeks about making a satsuma pie. Ever since I baked two key lime pies for New Year’s, we wanted to do a little bit of a science experiment at home.
Read More “Satsuma Pie”
I made Japchae (잡채) a couple of weeks ago for my hubby’s birthday, and I thought I should share my recipe! Originally made for Lunar New Year this year, I made extra to eat during his birthday and for a few days after. Noodles are eaten around this time of year to symbolize the longevity of life; eating long noodles brings us luck.
Read More “Japchae (잡채) – Glass Noodles with Beef and Vegetables”
It was nice having Valentine’s Day during the weekend because it gave us the chance to take our time to make our meal. Over the years, we found ourselves *never* eating out on the actual day; we decided, unofficially at first, to have dinner at home and enjoy eating the things we want to eat. It’s now become our tradition to go grocery shopping together to pick out our items for our menu.
Read More “Valentine’s Day Dinner”
New York has been under a cold and ugly spell for a while, and that means that I’m breaking open my stash of beef dumplings for dumpling soup! The soup, called Mandu Guk (만두국), is a warm and hearty dish that I look forward to eating each Winter.
Read More “Mandu Guk (만두국) – Dumpling Soup”
It’s Valentine’s Day on Sunday and I *had* to make something for my sweet hubby. We had a crazy last week of celebrating our anniversary, his birthday, and Lunar New Year all in one day, and it seemed excessive to go nuts on making a huge spread again. I decided on making some cute biscuits for us instead!
Read More “Lime-Raspberry Shortbread Sandwiches”
It was my hubby’s birthday on Monday, which overlapped with the Lunar New Year celebration. It was also our anniversary during the weekend, and so we decided to have a large festive dinner and some cake to end our meal. I prepped some of the ingredients on the weekend so I wouldn’t have a whole lot to do Monday afternoon.
Read More “My Hubby’s Birthday Celebration”
My hubby and I love garlic, but we don’t always like the punch that comes with it. Roasting garlic was our way around it, and now we’re adding it to everything we eat!
Read More “Roasted Garlic”
Kimchi Stew (김치 찌개 – kimchi jjigae) is an easy way to make a weekday meal. When there isn’t much time and you still want to have a good sit-down dinner, this is the ticket! Many Korean households serve every meal with a soup or stew, and my mom isn’t an exception. She made sure we had a jjigae or guk, and a variety of banchan to share.
Read More “Kimchi Jjigae (김치 찌개) – Kimchi Stew”
Beef dumplings (소고기 만두 – sogogi mandu) are such a treat! My mom would make a couple hundred of them every year around New Year’s. Nowadays, she makes about a hundred and gives some to my grandma. I miss making them with her every December, but she’s given me a lot of pointers to help me make my own mandu.
Read More “Sogogi Mandu (소고기 만두) – Beef Dumplings”
My hubby and I were at a wet market last week, and found some razor clams that were still moving! I got super excited because I miss eating them raw. When I was growing up, my dad would bring a bucket of them home, and we would eat a few of them straight from the shell. The rest of the clams were battered and fried for dinner. The natural sweetness from the clams got me hooked! I hadn’t eaten razor clams in years, and to suddenly happen upon them, we couldn’t say no.
Read More “Razor Clam Ceviche”
I used to dream about my grandma’s Bindaetteok. She would only make them once a year, and we would all have to wait until that day arrived to eat her pancakes. It really was an all-out pancake-making party; she spent the entire day making them for her family and friends. She placed old newspaper down (for grease spatter), set up her electric griddle on top of it, donned an apron, and began frying them up! The bindaetteok were amazing when they were piping hot. She always plated a freshly fried one for me, and watched me joyously eat them.
Read More “Bindaetteok (빈대떡) – Mung Bean Pancakes”
Key lime pie is a classic. You find it all across the country: in diners and bakeries, to refrigerated cases at the grocery store; however, many people don’t consider Key lime pie authentic, unless you use the small limes found in Key West. Unfortunately, those limes are quite elusive here in New York. We (mostly) all agree with one ingredient though… you really *should* use condensed milk for this pie.
Read More “Key Lime Pie”
My hubby and I have been perfecting our gingerbread for several years. We’ve come across some very molasses-forward cakes out there, and that doesn’t make it tasty. I’m very excited to share this with you today. Our version has a good gob of molasses to give it that scrumptiously moist texture, but also a nice mix of spices to showcase the Autumn and Winter palettes.
Read More “Gingerbread”
Christmas dinner was a bit crazy this year, but it came to a nice end. Everything seemed to be right on track; my hubby prepped our rib roast while I began mixing my chocolate sponge cake. Thankfully, I had soaked the dried cherries (for the log) in some booze overnight, and I made my buttercream the night before as well. However, the next day, to my disappointment, my Italian buttercream (I tried a new recipe) decided to not work out (I even tried troubleshooting it, with no success), so I had to make a fresh batch (with my tried and true recipe!). By this time, the roast was ready to go in the oven; I quickly made my sponge cake successfully (Thank Goodness!) and I still had about four hours to make everything else, assemble, and chill the log.
Read More “Christmas Dinner 2015”
Peach pie is all I have been thinking about this past week. I know it isn’t peach season, but this strangely warm December has really made my tastebuds crave the nectar-like fruit. As you know, my need for pie is always there; it’s like I have to constantly feed the pie beast. Any kind of fruit filling with buttery and nutty crust is definitely my cup of tea.
Peaches from the grocery store are rarely the best ones to eat. They look really nice on the outside, but you take them home and they turn out to be like a rock. They’re often picked when they are still green, and with improper storage, they turn mealy and mushy. Buying frozen peaches prevents you from buying unripe ones, and it only gives you more security in making an outstanding pie.
Read More “Brown Sugar Peach Pie”
Pâte Brisée is a standard pastry dough that is “broken”, or scraggly. It’s the French version of a basic flaky pastry dough that you often find with hearty meat pies and delicious apple pies. What I like about Pâte Brisée is the versatility; it’s exceptional in both savory and sweet pastries.
The process isn’t as scary as people believe. The important rule for any pie dough is to not overwork it. Don’t you want to enjoy the tender, flaky, and buttery layers of an onion-cheese tart? I sure do!
Read More “Pâte Brisée – French Flaky Pastry”
Literally translated as “water cold noodle”, for its ice-cold broth and chewy buckwheat noodles, Mul Naengmyeon (물 냉면) is a favorite for many gourmands seeking a reprieve from the sweltering heat of Summer. The dish was originally consumed in the colder months, when the buckwheat seeds were more readily available; today, we eat naengmyeon all through the year.
Read More “Mul Naengmyeon (물 냉면) – Cold Noodles in Broth”
Ginger-Soy Sauce Chicken is a dish that I didn’t think of codifying until recently. It’s a side dish, or banchan, that my mom used to make for us at least once a month. Right before going to bed, she quickly made the marinade, put the wings in, tossed, covered, and refrigerated the bowl. The next morning, she gave it another toss, and the chicken was ready to bake after she came home from work. I immediately knew when it was ready to eat; that sweet, salty, and garlicky aroma would waft through the house. I’d perk up, run into the kitchen, and steal a drumette (my favorite part of the wing!) while she wasn’t looking. She *always* knew when I did… I’m pretty sure it was my toothy grin that gave it away!
Read More “Ginger-Soy Sauce Chicken”
Savory pancakes (전 – jeon) are common in Korean cuisine as a banchan or appetizer. Seafood Scallion Pancakes (해물파전 – haemul pajeon) are just one of the many kinds of pancakes out there. They are found in many Korean restaurants where you can share with a group of people. Oftentimes, it is made with the intention of sharing, although my mom makes them smaller and thinner (and without seafood — simply called pajeon, or scallion pancake –, because my sis is a vegetarian) for portioning. They’re just the right mix of sticky, savory, sweet, crispy, and crunchy.
Read More “Haemul Pa Jeon (해물파전) – Seafood Scallion Pancakes”
These past few days I really have been wanting some good pie. The corner diner has a vast selection of pies by the slice; however, I couldn’t cave and spend so much on one slice. I really really just wanted pie. It didn’t matter what kind, as long as it was packed full of fruit. Thankfully, the grocery store had some frozen berries on sale, so I quickly grabbed a bag. I then remembered my apples I bought from the greenmarket last week, and thought “How perfect! Those apples will bulk up the pie filling so nicely.”
Read More “Apple-Berry Crumble Pie”
Streusel is a staple in our household. I’ve been using this in all of my pie recipes lately because I don’t want to fuss with making a lattice. Plus, this lets me stretch that Pâte Sucrée dough into two pies! I love the crunch and the nuttiness of the almonds and oatmeal. Don’t be afraid to use this in a cobbler, crumble, bar, tart, or cake. It’s an easy way to make a weekday dessert wholesome and delicious during those cold Winter months.
Read More “Basic Streusel”
Dough is the foundation to almost every pastry or baked good out there. It’s a versatile carrier for anything savory or sweet. While I was working at Ladurée, every pastry I made had some sort of chocolate, cream, or fruit filling. Those dainty, delicate, and dreamy pastries were ready for those display cases because of a strong structure; in came the wondrous dough that made assembly possible.
Pâte sucrée is a French “sugar dough” that is widely used for sweet confections. I like using this dough for any tart, pie, or bar that requires a full bake. It’s excellent for pastries that need that bit of structure and some added sweetness.
Read More “Pâte Sucrée – French Sweetened Shortcrust Pastry”