Maangchi's letter to you

Tuna gimbap 🐠and candied sweet potatoes 🍠and springtime foraging in the park! Plus messages and photos from my readers and viewers [View online]( [Maangchi's letter] [Happy happy!] Happy happy! What’s in the bag? It’s dandelion. : ) I have a secret place near the river on the Upper West Side of New York City where I pick [mugwort (ssuk in Korean]( once a year. Last weekend, it was the first time I’ve been foraging in 3 years due to the pandemic. For some reason, there was no more mugwort in my secret place! “Where’s my ssuk!?” : ) But then I found lots of young, tender, green, and healthy looking dandelion growing there! Dandelion is completely edible and also contains high amounts of vitamins and minerals. It tastes a little bit bitter but the leaves have less bitterness when the plant is young, so we Koreans make kimchi or make wraps with rice with it, just like we make wraps with lettuce. Or we mix it with seasoning sauce to make a salad. Dandelion has its own benefits and medicinal properties. It also has antioxidants to remove toxins from our body, and is anti-inflammatory. But after the flowers bloom they are too tough to eat. I found these dandelions at exactly the right time! Some people make kimchi with the roots, but I only cut the leaves with my small knife. I thought “As long as the roots are still under the ground, they will grow next year. See you then!” [Mixing dandelion leaves in kimchi paste] Mixing dandelion leaves in kimchi paste If you can’t tolerate any bitter tastes you won’t like dandelion at all, because you can never totally get rid of it. I tried to cut the bitterness of these young leaves by soaking them in salty water for a long time. The kimchi turned out very good! I’m still developing this recipe and will make a video for it when it’s ready to share. New recipe: tuna gimbap [Tuna gimbap]( Tuna gimbap This simple and delicious [gimbap]( is made with a can of tuna! I’ve been making [tuna gimbap (chamchi-gimbap: 참치김밥]( this way for years and years. All my friends and family love it so it was one of the first recipes I posted to YouTube in 2007. Since then I’ve refined the recipe a bit and I remade the video in HD to share with you all. The flaky, salty, and sweet tuna tastes delightful and goes well with rice and the other fillings: avocado, yellow pickled radish, and crab sticks. The various tastes and textures make for a lot of variety in one bite! [Check out the recipe here]( New recipe: Mattang (candied sweet potato) [Mattang]( Mattang [Mattang]( is a delicious, easy to make treat that’s made from chunks of sweet potato coated in translucent hot brown syrup. Freshly made mattang is really irresistible, with an amazing, loud crispy crunch but then so soft on the inside! Do you have sweet potato, sugar, and cooking oil for frying? Then go ahead and make it! [The recipe is here]( John Vaughn's homemade tteokbokki! [Spicy rice cake] Spicy rice cake [John]( made tteokbokki for the first time! I’m sure he has a lot of confidence in Korean cooking now. Congratulations! It looks perfect to me. The recipe is [here]( Tidybaa's mattang! Whose finger is on the edge of the bowl? That’s lovely [Tidybaa]( holding her mouthwatering looking mattang. She also has some tips for you. “I could barely stop myself from eating them all before I took a picture! This recipe is so easy and delicious, I can’t wait to make it for friends. Everyone: cooking sugar can be tough, but just go slow, be patient, and don’t touch it!!” So good spicy cod filets! [Daegusal-jorim (Spicy cod fillets)] Daegusal-jorim (Spicy cod fillets) [thegameovercafe]( made this and said, “so good!” Yes, it looks so good, soft, flaky, and juicy cod! I’d like to scoop some with my spoon to taste it! I originally developed this recipe for those who are not comfortable eating fish with bones, but it ended up becoming one of my favorite quick everyday recipes! Check out [the recipe here](. Laurie's bibim-guksu [In this photo]( Lauie is showing us how tightly she follows my recipe. It’s my virtual meeting with Laurie! : ) She said, “So easy and super delicious!” Check out [the bibim-guksu spicy noodles recipe here]( Nmurphy's Kimchi fried rice with gulbi My reader [nmurphy]( from Denver, Colorado is showing us a nice, nutritious, and humble Korean meal. There are 2 recipes from my website: [kimchi bokkeumbap]( and [pan-fried yellow corvina (gulbi-gui]( in this photo. Do you have sour, well-fermented kimchi and [gochujang]( at home? Then you can make this too! Zach's homemade kimchi [Zach Clemente]( posted his homemade kimchi photo. I want to say just 1 word, mouthwatering! Why does this remind me of a bowl of warm rice?! Rice and kimchi, that’s all I need! Maybe sprinkling some crispy toasted sesame seeds over top just before eating is a good idea, too! : ) SchnauzerMom's Vegetarian kimchi [Vegetarian kimchi] Vegetarian kimchi SchnauzerMom in North Carolina posted [her vegetarian kimchi photo]( and said, “I’m just learning how to make Korean food and I am so proud of the vegetarian kimchi I just finished making (along with the vegetarian broth) from following your videos. It’s absolutely delicious!…Big hugs!” My vegetarian kimchi recipe is [here]( Comments from my readers & viewers I laugh, cry, and am impressed by your stories everyday! Here are some of the messages that I chose to share with you this month. Not long after I uploaded my candied sweet potato, Philip’s [short comment]( me laugh! Damnit Maangchi. I’m trying to lose weight… At the end of my tuna gimbap video, I suggested you make it and go on a picnic with your friends and family. [Sarah Elizabeth]( really followed my suggestion. Thanks, Sarah for trusting my recipes! My daughter and I made just as you said and took it on a picnic today! These were so delicious, I couldn’t stop eating them! The tuna and sesame oil combination is so irresistible. [Rahima]( Hassan’s honey butter chicken is her children’s favorite now. While reading her message, I feel her love for her children. Moms have eternal love for their children! I just made this for the 2nd time today while watching the video today. I didn’t get to eat much last time because my kids devoured them lol. Yesterday my daughter requested it again. It’s so easy and fun to make. Honey, butter, and garlic definitely make a difference in chicken. This time I added some pumpkin seeds, I’m enjoying them today. Very delicious!! [Lauren]( was looking for a new breakfast idea and she ended up on my yachaejeon (Korean vegetable pancake) recipe. Welcome to my channel, Lauren. I have a lot more recipes for breakfast! Dig in, please! My boyfriend and I shared this for breakfast today. It was so satisfying and filling. [Poojanee]( in Sri Lanka wanted to taste Korean style green chili pepper pickles so badly but the only peppers available to her were tiny tiny peppers. What would you do if you were Poojanee? Give up? Me? I would be like Poojanee and make any Korean dishes with whatever ingredients are available where I am. We don’t have Korean green chilli peppers but freaking spicy small ones. So I made them with this recipe. It tastes very good and helps to boost my immune system. My heart breaks when I get a comment about a mom and daughter who used to watch my videos and cook together before the mom passed. I often hear the story from readers these days, I think the lesson is to enjoy your time with your parents while you still have them in your life. [Jen’s message]( reminded me of this fact. I’m a 1.5 generation Korean American immigrant. I wish, so badly that I’d paid closer attention to my mom cooking; she was an excellent cook. She died a little over a year ago, and I miss her so very much. She loved watching you cook, just like I do. I made your fermented squid dish and somehow, it feels very homey, comforting, and so delicious. Thank you for sharing Korea, it’s soooo much more than just food. Eriue's birthday soup for her mom [Miyeokguk and rice] Miyeokguk and rice [Eriue]( this miyeokguk (Korean seaweed soup aka birthday soup) on her mom’s birthday. Her mom gave her a nice compliment that this tastes better than hers. So nice! Miyeokguk is a soup made of edible seaweed and is traditionally eaten on birthdays or after giving birth, although you can also eat it anytime you like. Miyeok is rich in iodine, iron, and calcium and many people eat it to lower their cholesterol. If you want to impress any Koreans, make this soup. They will never forget your kindness. Check out [the recipe here](. See you next time! I’ll see you next month on July 1st! Keep being happy with your delicious Korean cooking! And remember that you can type any Korean dish into the search box on my website, and you will find it right away (if I have a recipe for it). I use the search box all the time because that’s the fastest way to find my own recipes among the hundreds that I have posted there. Take care and continue to cook delicious food! Love, Maangchi ❤️ Did you enjoy this issue? [Yes]( [No]( [Maangchi]( Maangchi [@maangchi]( My monthly letter to my readers & viewers is sent on the first day of every month at 3pm EST! It includes all the recipes from that month, stories & photos from me, funny & touching stories & photos from my readers, & any news about upcoming events. In order to unsubscribe, click [here](. If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe [here](. Created with [Revue by Twitter](. Made in Manhattan, USA