Happy Lunar New Year!

Seaweed chips, a braised octopus lunchbox, and hearty warm porridge (with more seaweed chips!) 😀 [View in browser] [["Maangchi"]] The Korean government gave me an award On January 13th I was awarded a Certificate of Commendation from the Korean government's [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]. They wanted to thank me for promoting Korean food and agricultural products worldwide. It was an honor to meet them and recieve the award! I'm happy to hear that they think I have helped promote Korean food & culture! Recipes from January: 1. F[ried seaweed paper coated][with glutinous rice paste], called Gim-bugak (김부각) in Korean. It tastes very crispy, airy, savory, and full of the fresh flavor of the sea. When you bite into it, it breaks softly and gently, but with a loud noise! [Make gim-bugak!] 2.[Mung bean porridge], called Nokdu-juk (녹두죽) in Korean. The mild, smooth, and soft porridge is not only comforting but also nutty and filling [My nokdu-juk recipe] 3.[Braised Octopus Lunchbox], called Muneo-jorim doshirak (문어조림 도시락) in Korean. Muneo-jorim is a great side dish for drinking, and its saltiness also goes well with rice. It's a little firm, sweet, salty, garlicky, chewy, and has a full of unique octopus flavor. The more you chew it, the more flavor you get! [Button] Check out Avihai's gim-bugak process! From [Facebook]: It's pretty easy to make [gim-bugak seaweed chips], but it does take care and they need to spend time in a breezy place. Like my reader Avihai you can let them sleep next to the window! I was so impressed by his passion! [Linda's Korean fried chicken for her father-in-law (with her own tips)] From [maangchi.com]: My 89 year old father in-law is a southern man who only eats southern food. I made the [crispy chicken with ginger] yesterday and OMG it was so yummy. He lives 5 minutes away so I made him a plate. He called me on my cell phone and left me a message: “This was the best meal I have ever eaten." He said he ate all of it. So Maangchi, you won my finicky father in-law over with this dish. Just a few things to mention: both my husband and father in-law cannot eat spicy food, so I omitted the chilies. Since I was cooking for 3, I cut all the measurements by half, and the brown sugar even more. We loved it but next time I will make a separate batch with hot peppers for me because I love really spicy food. Love Love Love your site and plan on trying other dishes. - Linda [My Korean fried chicken recipe] Gaby's Korean-Mexican table From [maangchi.com]: After not living at home for the last 8 years (since I left for college) I am finally home in Boston, Massachusetts and cooked a Korean meal for my Mexican family. I have used Maangchi's recipes for years and Korean cuisine is what I cook the most! My family does not know how to use chopsticks, had never seen kimchi before and were overall very confused and did not know where to start! They were overwhelmed by the variety of food! They loved the fried fish, they loved the kimchi soup, they loved everything. I'm so happy to cook more for them. This year I want to try cooking all your recipes on YouTube. Today I cooked 5 different ones! Hopefully I can get through all of them in the next 365 days ;) - Gaby Roman [Seldon's wife is hooked on yaksik] From [YouTube]: I remember my Grandmother & my Dad making [yaksik (sweetened rice with dried fruits & nuts: 약식)] when I was little. I always thought, I'll never learn to make this. And now I finally learned how to make it!! And it is the same taste as I remembered!! So good! My wife is hooked!!!!! I'm Canadian-Korean and she is Canadian. Thank you so much for your recipes!! They bring more Korean food to our table!!! We have tried other of my favorites and sooooooo good! ê³ ë§™ìŠµë‹ˆë‹¤ (thank you very much)!! - Seldon Jeung I'm so happy to hear that you rediscovered yaksik! You never forgot the taste and now you can have it anytime. - Maangchi [My yaksik recipe] Bye! See you next time! Stay warm and cozy this month and I'll see you next time! Take care! (In the photo I happened to meet my readers from Tibet at a Vietnamese restaurant) - Maangchi [I happened to meet my readers from Tibet at a Vietnamese restaurant] This email was sent to {EMAIL} because you wished to get Maangchi's letter [Unsubscribe if you changed your mind] Sent by [SendinBlue] © 2017 Maangchi [Facebook] [Twitter] [Instagram] [YouTube]