Happy New Year!

🎉 Happy new year to all of you and your families! 🥳 🎊 #  [View in browser](  #  [[]  #  Happy new year!  [I made a short video for you](!   [Watch the video!](  #  New recipe: Soybean sprout soup  If I meet someone who wants to learn Korean cooking, I recommend they start with [making kimchi](. After they master kimchi, my next choice would be either [doenjangguk]( (soy bean paste soup) or [kongnamulguk]( (soybean sprout soup). Rice, kimchi, and one of these soups is the kind of food that you can never get tired of.  [Kongnamulguk]( is one of the most common, typical, and popular Korean soups. It's made with soybean sprouts in a delicious, savory broth. I learned this recipe from my late aunt, so whenever I eat this soup, I think of her.   [Make soybean sprout soup](  #  Homemade rice syrup  [Rice syrup (Ssal-jocheong: 쌀조청)]( is a traditional Korean sweetener made with only 2 ingredients: rice and barley malt powder. You probably saw it in [many of my recipes](. It adds a bit of sweetness to dishes and makes them shiny as well.  Now you can make it at home! Homemade rice syrup tastes earthy, nutty, and less sweet than store bought rice syrup or honey. If you make this just one time, you will keep making it over and over. [I posted 2 versions](: How to make it the traditional way in a large pot, and how to make it the more modern way in an electric rice cooker.   [Make rice syrup](  #  Traditional Korean crunchy nut candy  Koreans have been using rice syrup to make delicious snacks and desserts for a long time. This [crunchy nut candy (yeot-gangjeong)]( is one of them. It's so addictive and sweet and nutty that I keep eating and eating it. You can make this with only 2 ingredients: rice syrup (homemade or store bought) and nuts! I posted this recipe only a few days ago, but suprisingly so many people have let me know in the video comments that they have a simliar candy in their culture. I heard it so many times that I can memorize what they say. For example, my Indian viewers kept saying: "Our chikki is very similar but it's made with jaggery." Who or what is jaggery? : ) I had to look it up. It's cane sugar. I'm always learning something new from you guys!   [Make crunchy nut candy!](  #  My reader's yeot-gangjeong!  Check out this delicious looking crunchy nut candy, [posted to my website just right after I released the recipe](. The person's username is Maangchilove lol. She is regularly posting beautiful photos of the food she made from my recipes. Does it look sweet and crunchy?   #  Michael's Korean table!  It's such a fantastic combination for a Korean table! [Michael]( said he celebrated the end of the term with a Korean meal. All these dishes are from the recipes on my website: rice, [kongnamulguk](, [braised black beans](, [sauteed zucchini and shrimp](. All look great!   #  Mom's kkwabaegi is the best!  [Cecilia]('s homemade [kkwabaegi]( made her daughter so happy! I used to make [twisted doughnuts]( (kkwabaegi in Korean) for my children when they were young. My kkwabaegi made them so excited when they came back from school! Now my readers do the same thing as I did.  Cecilia, your daughter will always remember your delicious kkwabaegi and talk about it when she grows up, just like my children! : )   [Make Korean doughnuts](  # [My first cookbook]( has all the recipes for traditional Korean pastes and sauces! Doenjang (fermented soybean paste), ganjang (traditional soup soy sauce), gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), cheong-guk-jang (extra pungent fermented soybean paste), and fish sauce!  [Buy on Amazon]( #  Amazing messages from my viewers and readers!  You guys reach me in many places such as my website, YouTube, and social media. I'm always happy to read your stories about Korean cooking! These are some of them that I want to share with you this month.  #  One of my German readers left a [comment]( and it made me laugh! She started using scissiors in her cooking after watching my videos:  "In germany using scissors in cutting food is not common, we just use scissors for cutting paper, for artwork with paper, or to open packages, so I was very irritated when I first saw koreans cutting meat and octopus with scissors. But it´s really practical, so I started doing it too."  #  One of my fellow Korean readers left a [comment]( on my soybean sprout soup video:  "어릴때 엄마가 자주 ë“ì—¬ì£¼ì‹ êµ­ì´ê³ ì„±ì¸ì´ 되어서는 ìˆ ë¨¹ê³ ë‚œ 다음 ë‚ ~ 숙취해소에 ê¼­ 먹었던 êµ­~^^ 영상 잘 ë³´ê³ ê°‘ë‹ˆë‹¤"  Translation: My mom used to make this soup often when I was young and when I became adult, I always had this soup to cure my hangover after drinking the day before~^^."  #  One of my Czech readers [said](:  "I cook almost daily. My girlfriend keeps cursing at me, 'You are Czech or Korean?' And I keep telling her, 'My love, I am Czech in my heart but I'm 99% Korean in the kitchen 😁😁😁!'"   #  Julie's delicious life!  What do you think of [Julie'sÂ]([photo](? It's a simple picture but it gives me lots of feelings. I looked at this photo over and over, and I fell in love with Julie!  She's making abalone porridge at the beach while her family are enjoying their time there. I can tell she is a good mom, an awesome wife, and a great human being! : ) Can you feel her passion for cooking through this photo? Check out the large bottle of 3 Crabs fish sauce on the right, which is my favorite. Are you like Julie? Then I'm falling in love with you, too!   [Make abalone porridge!](  #  I hope you enjoyed my first letter of 2021! I'll see you on February 1st, with more stories. Love, Maangchi  #  This email was sent to {EMAIL} You received this email because you are registered to get Maangchi's letter  [Unsubscribe here](  #  © 2020 Maangchi LLC Â