DDUKBOKKIE (HOT AND SPICY KOREAN RICE CAKE)

I saw ddukbokkie *hot and spicy korean rice cake* in the Korean drama series for the first time. It looks good, but at that time I didn't know what is that. Then, two years ago when I passed the food courts at Bugis Junction, I saw this hot and spicy korean rice cake. Of course without think twice I bought it. But, after the first bite, I am really dissapointed :(. Because it didn't taste good :(.

Few days ago I saw ddukbokkie recipe at maangchi.com. I guess I will give a shot to make it. Guess what? It tasted really good!! Absolutely different taste than the one I bought before. I love it love it love it!! I guess Maangchi's recipe is the best recipe for Korean food :).

For Korean food lovers, you have to try this recipe. The recipe is highly recommended! :)

Ddukbokkie (Hot and Spicy Korean Rice Cake)

Ingredients:
1 package (450 gr) rice cake
4 cups water
3 tbsps small dried anchovies
6 tbsps hot pepper paste (Belzy - use 4 tbsps if you dislike to spicy)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp hot pepper flakes
6 stalks scallion, sliced

Directions:
Boil water and dried anchovies in a pan for 10 minutes over medium heat.
Remove the anchovies and add hot pepper paste, sugar and hot pepper flakes. Stir it until the hot pepper paste is thoroughly mix in the water. Add the rice cakes. Stir it constantly. Add in green onions. Keep stirring until the sauce is thick and the rice cake is shiny. Serve it hot.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SPREAD

I have nothing to do today, so I tried to make homemade chocolate spread and it tasted good!! Easy recipe and easy process :).

Homemade Chocolate Spread
Source: cdkitchen

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter // 125 gr mentega tawar
3 tbsps cocoa powder // 3 sdm bubuk coklat
1/4 cup cream cheese // 125 gr cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste // 125 gr gula, (gula bisa ditambah kalau ingin lebih manis)

Directions:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. // Cairkan mentega di panci kecil.

Add the cocoa and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes over low heat. // Tambahkan bubuk coklat dan aduk2 selama 3 menit dengan api kecil.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes. // Angkat panci dari api dan istirahatkan selama 5 menit.

Stir cheese into the cocoa, then mix in the sugar to taste. // Masukkan cream cheese dan aduk rata, kemudian campurkan gula, aduk rata.

Chill the spread in a covered container for up to 3-5 days in the refrigerator. // Dinginkan selai coklat, pindahkan ke kontainer, tutup rapat dan simpan di kulkas. Selai tahan 3 - 5 hari.

BISCUITS AND HAM GRAVY

Yesterday, my hubby talked about his childhood biscuits and gravy which made by his mom. He said that it tasted good but very greasy. I who never eat or see what this biscuits and gravy look like wondering hows the taste of it.

So, I looked the recipe and found this 2 recipes, and I tried both :). One recipe is using buttermilk and cold butter. The other recipe is using milk and melted butter. For the texture the first recipe made a bit harder than the second recipe. But for the looks, the first recipe is alot nicer :). My hubby liked the second recipe, because the biscuits are soft.

I will post both recipe, so you can have more choices based on my experience :).



Biscuits and Ham Gravy

Biscuits Recipe 1 (Recipe courtesy of Darlene B.)
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon butter or margarine, melted

Directions:
In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Combine milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Biscuits Recipe 2 (Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons buttermilk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and blend thoroughly. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and quickly blend in, making sure to not overwork the dough.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of 1/2-inch. Use a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass, press out as many biscuits as possible. Gather up scraps and quickly knead back together, then cut out as many additional biscuits as possible. Place biscuits on prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Ham Gravy Recipe
Ingredients:
300 gr ham slices
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour + 1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 tbsps chopped parsley
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat a large skillet over high heat and saute ham slices4 to 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate, then diced it. Set aside.

Add butter and onions to skillet and cook until onions are softened, scraping up any browned bits on pan bottom. Add flour and stir well to combine. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then add milk, chicken broth and the mixture of 1 tbsp flour + white wine. Whisk well to combine, then allow sauce to cook until thickened, about 6 minutes. Add chopped parsley and heavy cream and cook 5 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve over the biscuits.

SPICY PORK AND ONION JIAO ZI

Lately, I'm in love with Cooking Gallery's blog, because not only there are plenty of dim sum recipe *everything are all homemade, from the basic recipe til the advanced one*, also her buns are really cute!

I have lots of new recipe idea by seeing CG's blog. One of them was jiao zi, and kimchi and other korean recipes are in line still ;). When I saw this jiao zi recipe, it really brought back the old memories when I lived in China as a student 10 years ago.

However, there are loads of good food in China *tho some of them are too oily*. I remember, there were a shui jiao *chinese people called jiao zi* restaurant, and you need to be patient for the long lines there, especially at winter time. This restaurant has lots of kind of shui jiao with different filling. Usually, me and my ex bf ordered 5 kind of shui jiao and each kind came in 5 pieces. So, we ate 25 pieces of shui jiao *no wonder I gained few kilos there!*. No need to mention the black chinese vinegar with minced ginger and chilli oil as the condiments because those condiments are a MUST :). Without those condiments, the shui jiao will not as tasty as if you eat it with the condiments.



So, after my shui jiao was boiled, I ate it with memorizing those old days when I was in Nanjing, China.......what a day! :)

Spicy Pork and Onion Jiao Zi

Ingredients:
WRAPPER:
300 gr all-purpose flour
1 cup (250 ml) boiling water

FILLING:
250 gr ground pork
3 stalks spring onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsps oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp hot pepper powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper

CONDIMENTS:
1/3 cup black chinese vinegar
1 tbsp minced ginger
3 tbsps chilli oil

Methods:
For the wrapper: combine flour and boiling water, knead it until elastic and not sticky anymore. Shape it into long log. Cut it into small evenly pieces. Cover it with a kitchen towel to keep it moist.

For the filling: mix all ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

Finishing: take one piece of the wrapper dough, roll it as thin as possible. Scoope 1 spoonful filling, then fold the wrapper into jiao zi. You can go to this link to see the folding process.

Meanwhile, boil 1 liter water in a 5 quarter pan until boiling. Once it is boiled, dump all the jiao zi and boil it until the jiao zi is floating. Drain in from the water. Reserve the water for soup. Serve it hot with black chinese vinegar and chilli oil.

THE SECOND FONDANT: FOR AND FROM ME

Yea....it was my birthday cake that I made by myself :). Sad? Nope, just felt a little bit weird, cos this is my first experience making my own birthday cake. It was exciting tho :). My hubby complained,"Why your cake are more fancy than mine?" hahahaaha.....yea because I made Black Forest for his birthday cake last time :). Myself liked it so much because it was the most colorful cake I ever made :).
I made Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing and Daisies Go Crazy as the theme :).



Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing
Source: Wilton Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine , softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Red-Red Icing Color
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoons white vinegar
Cream cheese icing (recipe below)

Methods:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray two 8 in. pans with vegetable pan spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs and red icing color; mix well. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir baking soda into vinegar and fold carefully into batter. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

To Ice: Spread a thin layer of cream cheese icing on bottom cake layer. Top it with the second cake. Icing cake with the remaining cream cheese icing. Cover it with rolled fondant and decorate as your desire.



Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese , softened
8 cups confectioners' sugar (about 2 lbs.)
1 tablespoon milk

For Cream Cheese Icing:
In large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar and milk. Beat on high until smooth (30 – 60 seconds). If icing seems too thin, add confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. If it seems too thick, add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time until icing reaches desired consistency



Also, on my birthday I received an award from my dear blog friend, Cooking Gallery :). Thank you dear! :).