Maangchi's letter to you!

How to make traditional Korean gomtang (beef soup)! 🍲 Plus, what I'm making these days and photos and stories from my readers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]() for more [Maangchi's letter to you!]( How to make traditional Korean gomtang (beef soup)! 🍲 Plus, what I'm making these days and photos and stories from my readers. Feb 1   [READ IN APP](   Hello, hello! Anybody is making doenjang? These are my 6 meju (soybean paste blocks) made from 10 pounds of organic soybeans. They're all dried and fermented, hanging in my house right now. In March, they'll go into salty water in my big earthenware pot. A few months later, I'll have Korean soup soy sauce from the salty water and doenjang from the soaked meju. Even though my meju have a bit of a strong smell, they make me excited and smile! The smell gets milder as they dry. By the way, it's best to try making it during the cold winter to avoid flies and bugs. Check out [the recipe here]( if you want to give it a try! --------------------------------------------------------------- New recipe: Gomtang! Gomtang is traditional Korean soup made with long-simmering beef and intestines that’s perfect for this cold season. It can also be made with pork, goat, or chicken, but beef gomtang is the most common and popular and that’s my favorite. For [this recipe]( I used beef brisket and beef tendon. When I lived in Korea, I used to go to a famous gomtang restaurant with my family all the time. The soup was delicious and worth the drive! Here in New York, I haven't found any good gomtang restaurants, and the taste is never quite the same as what I enjoyed in Korea. The recipe I'm sharing here is based on the gomtang that holds a special place in my memory. Enjoy making gomtang and sharing it with your loved ones! [The recipe is here]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 1 minute video: a wonderful asparagus side dish Making sweet sour spicy asparagus muchim is so easy! Just blanch the asparagus and mix it with seasonings. I love the delicious flavor and crispy texture. Find [the detailed recipe here]( with a full video. --------------------------------------------------------------- Broccoli tofu While broccoli and tofu are widely recognized as healthy, not everyone is a fan. If you have a loved one hesitant about broccoli, consider what one of [my readers]( shared: This is such an easy and tasty dish! My partner, who isn't a fan of broccoli, loves it so much that he wants it in our fridge all the time. You can imagine the taste and the texture of this dish just by looking at this photo. Yum! Check out [the recipe here]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Tteokguk (Rice cake soup) Rice cake soup made by [hotpeople]( A bowl of sliced rice cake, cooked in flavorful beef broth, topped with yellow egg strips, green onion, and crispy black toasted seaweed (gim) creates a visually appealing and nutritionally balanced combination! Do you agree? [My rice cake soup recipe is here]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Melbmatt’s kimchi pork duruchigi table One of my readers, Melbmatt, did a beautiful job setting this table with [kimchi pork duruchigi]( rice, [eggplant side dish (gaji-namul)]( soju, and some vegetables, including homegrown perilla leaves (kkaennip)! I love the romantic and cozy atmosphere. Can you imagine how to enjoy this meal? I can! : ) First, pour some soju into the little golden cup (yugi). Next, serve yourself some [kimchi pork duruchigi]( and eggplant onto the large plate, and enjoy them with the warm rice and the fried egg.. --------------------------------------------------------------- Edo’s Cheese buldak I was thrilled to read [his description]( about the dish! : ) This is delicious, but hot. There is a reason it’s called fire chicken. Fire! 🔥🔥🔥 We couldn’t stop ourselves with the tender chicken pieces and chewy rice cakes, browned mozzarella over it for even more flavor… Check out [my recipe here]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Maple flavored makgeolli Is this some kind of makgeolli factory? : ) The larger earthenware crock is 22 liters (about 6 gallons). Texaspete363 is brewing a huge amount of makgeolli (Korean traditional rice liquor) and posted [this photo]( of his process. Looking at it reminded me of seeing my grandmother making a huge amount of makgeolli for a festival! So many people gathered at my grandmother’s house and enjoyed the makgeolli with bunch of other dishes made with fish, meat, and vegetables. The [recipe on my website]( is for making a small amount of makgeolli but my serious readers make double or triple or more. Impressive! I just was to thank you for introducing me to makgeolli brewing! I started several years ago and found that I really love it. For the new year, I’ve moved to a bigger onggi and added temperature control as I start my first attempt at a maple makgeolli! The little one is my old fermenter. The big one is my new 22L onggi. --------------------------------------------------------------- Yukhoe (Korean style beef tartare) Joseph from NYC shared[this photo]( saying: “Yes, it’s Maangchi’s recipe!” It looks incredibly delicious: sweet and garlicky tenderly seasoned beef lined with pear strips, all combined with a generous amount of nutty toasted sesame oil and seeds. Umm~ It couldn't get any better! Similar to French tartare, you'll need exceptionally fresh beef for this dish. Interested in making yukhoe? Since not many butchers are familiar with this Korean traditional raw beef dish, just tell them you need beef for beef tartare. That's what I do! [My yukhoe recipe is here]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Messages from readers & viewers! You always inspire me, amaze me, make me smile and make me think. Here are some of your messages that I chose to share this month. [One of my readers]( made kimchi for the first time and it turned out so delicious that she was nearly moved to tears! I completely understand that feeling! I’ve just eaten the kimchi I have made out from your recipe and I could cry. It is so good. I thought I messed it up cause I did not have a good cabbage and just estimated the ingredients based on the cabbage's weight. Thank you so much!!!!! --------------------------------------------------------------- I often receive questions about my fermented squid recipe, with people asking if they can shorten the recommended 1-month fermentation period. My response is always the same: please be patient and wait for the full month! One of my readers reassured me that the one-month wait is indeed worth it! Yaho! : ) Today is the day I finished my [ojingeojeot (spicy fermented squid)]( project and I had to say that the one month of waiting for this side dish is very worth it! My mom and I were very skeptical about this fermented dish and when I took it out after its fully fermented and washed, she said that it reminds her of another fermented squid dish she loves (we call it juhi here) so that's already a green light from her. --------------------------------------------------------------- I’m the person who is eating Korean food every day, so I’m accustomed to doing it and of course I love Korean food in general. I’m also very conscious of my health and always very careful about the ingredients I use and the food I eat, and I always try to pass that on to you guys too. These days I’m getting more and more messages from people who are eating Korean food as a way to improve their diet and are also telling me that it’s helped them fight serious diseases! I have no proof that Korean food can cure disease but I believe that eating in balance and moderation, with good ingredients and lots of fruits, vegetables, and fermented foods is going to be good for anyone, don’t you think so? Anyway, here is a message I got from [Janice in Florida]( is finding that Korean food is good for a healthy lifestyle: I am 65, and have been following, learning, and cooking so, so many of your recipes for the last maybe 8 years, so much that I almost feel like you are a sister! I eat Korean almost every day now, my diet has shifted gradually to a majority of Korean dishes, over the last 3 years. Gochugaru, gochujang and kimchi of many kinds, (that I make myself of course!) are staples along with many other Korean ingredients, in my pantry! I even believe eating this way has helped fight the cancer I have been fighting for the last 5 years, as for the very 1st time, my last 2 checks have been free of new tumors! I have to think diet is a big influence, many more vegetables and herbs that I never ate before, and LOTS of Korean peppers, flakes, etc! My diet is now more Korean than American, thanks to you and I never have a day without kimchi! Thank you so much and as long as you produce content I will be here trying them all out!! And also this touching message from Bill: I met you on the internet back in 2007 or 2008 and you introduced me to, and taught me to make, kimchi. I only make it a couple times a year and I go to the web and search for your face and [“Easy Kimchi.”]( I always pray that YOU are still there to guide me. I am a fairly young man (age 90) who was diagnosed with cancer, Metastatic Melanoma way back in 2015 and am now, essentially cancer free. Is it possible that you and the kimchi had anything to do with my success? Maybe yes, maybe no. One thing is for certain. Knowing you and learning to make your “Easy Kimchi” has added enjoyment and pleasure to our friends, family and this old man’s life. I thank you. --------------------------------------------------------------- [One of my readers]( has been faithfully following my recipes for 17 years, ever since I started sharing them! To those of you who have been cooking with my recipes for such a long time, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude once again. Thank you all! I'm so excited that your recipes are always from scratch and don't use any shortcuts. They feel so clean and traditional. I've been following you for 17 years, have cooked countless of your recipes... no other Korean cooking channel can come close to you. Thank you for teaching me your recipes. --------------------------------------------------------------- See you next time! These days, the wild spinach with sweet red stems taste really good. Try making a yummy [spinach side dish]( with them! Thanks for reading my newsletter. I will see you next month on March 1st! Keep being happy with your delicious Korean cooking! Love, Maangchi ❤️   [Like]( [Comment]( [Restack](   © 2024 Maangchi Manhattan, New York [Unsubscribe]() [Get the app]( writing]()