Tteok Manduguk - Korean dumpling soup with rice cake has become one of my favorite dishes these days because it’s one of the easiest guk(soup) that I can make and still delicious. Of course, it will will be a very different story if I dare to make mandu(dumpling) from the scratch. (I do have a strong ambition to make mandu myself one of these days, though!)

But not any time soon. I buy pre-cooked frozen mandu from local Korean grocery stores. There are many different kinds such as kimchi mandu, pork mandu, vegatable mandu, seafood mandu, etc. It usually costs $3 to $6, and one package contains 20 to 40 dumplings.

- Frozen pre-made mandu (dumplings)

Here is a simple recipe for simple manduguk!

Ingredients for 2 ~ 3 servings
12 ~ 18 pieces of dumpings*
1/2 cup of sliced rice cake
8 ~ 12 dried anchovies
1/2 small onion
1/4 small carrot**
1 ~ 2 spring onions
1 egg
1 toasted & sliced gim(seaweed)
2 tsp soy sauce
salt
2 cloves garlic (minced)
3 ~ 4 pieces of dasima(kelp) (optional)

* The number of dumplings varies depending on how many you want per serving and how big they are.
** Many people choose their own vegetables to add, i.e., some prefer zucchini. I like carrots because of the color.
*** The amount of each ingredient is subject to personal taste.

Directions
1. When you buy rice cake from stores, it’s usually hard, dry and frozen. Soak the rice cake in cold water for 20 ~ 25 minutes. The package may have the instructions of its own. If so, follow the instructions to make it softer.

2. Add 6 cups of water in the pot with anchovies. If you have dasima(kelp), add it, too. It will add more flavor. Simmer the soup with medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes to make it nice broth.

- Dry Anchovies

3. In another pot, steam mandu separately. You can add mandu directly to the soup, but sometimes, the dumplings get broken while boiling. If you steam them separately, and add them to the soup at the end, they will keep their shape. Frozen mandu is already cooked, and it doesn’t need a lot of time to cook. Just poke one of the dumplings, and if it’s smooth, it’s steamed well.

- Steamed mandu

4. Heat a pan with medium heat to cook the egg. Whisk the egg and add a little bit of salt. Pan fry it and thinly slice it when it’s cool. Traditionally, Koreans separate the white and yolk and make two toppings, white and yellow. I usually choose a simpler way to save time.

5. Slice the onion, carrot, and spring onions. (I like lots of vegetables, so I usually add them a lot.) Mince the garlic cloves.

6. When the soup has a good broth taste, take out the anchovies and dasima(kelp). You can throw them away, but I sometimes eat them with the soup or separately because they are so nutritious!

7. Add the rice cake, garlic, onion and carrots to the soup.

- I didn’t have rice cake for tteok manduguk, so I’m slicing rice cake for tteokbokki.*

8. Add the soy sauce. If it’s not salty enough with 2 tsp soy sauce, add some salt, not soy sauce. Adding more soy sauce will turn the soup darker.

9. Boil the soup until the rice cake is cooked.

10. Add the spring onion and mandu. Boil it just for 1 or 2 minutes more.

11. Serve the manduguk with the toppings of the thinly-sliced egg and seaweed(gim).

* rice cake for tteok manduguk

Jajangmyeon (jajangmyun or jjajangmyeon) is a popular Korean noodle dish. It’s originated from the Chinese dish Zha jiang mian, and has developed its own unique taste over the years. The dish consists of thick wheat noodles and thick black bean sauce with lots of vegetables.

Instead of jajangmyeon, I made jajang bap one day. It’s the same black bean sauce, but you just add the sauce on top of rice, not noodles.

Ingredients for 2 ~ 3 servings
4~5 tablespoons chungjang (black bean sauce)
1 medium size onion
1 medium size potato
1/4 zucchini
1/2 carrot
1/4 head green cabbage
3~4 cloves of garlic
100g~150g pork
1 tablespoon sugar
1.5 tablespoons corn starchy
cooked rice (cooked noodles of your choice)
water
1 spring onion (if you have)
1/4 cucumber (if you have)

- Chungjang (black bean sauce)

Directions

1. Dice the onion, potato, zucchini, carrot, cabbage and pork.

2. Mince the garlic.

3. Heat the wok with high heat and drizzle some olive oil.

4. Stir fry the diced pork with the minced garlic, salt and pepper. When the pork starts to cook, add the diced potatoes and carrots. When they are somewhat cooked, add the diced zucchini, cabbage, and onions.

5. Add the black bean sauce, chungjang and sugar. If you like it less salty, add less chungjang. Mix them well. You can add some red pepper flakes to make it spicy.

6. Add 1.5 cup of water and boil.

7. Mix the corn starchy with 1/4 cup of water. Pour it into the wok and stir well until it thickens.

8. Serve over hot rice or noodles. Garnish with shredded cucumber or chopped spring onions.

Is losing weight your top new year’s resolution? Specifically, getting rid of your belly fat and furthermore, having dreamy six-pack abs? Obviously, it’s not an easy task at all to love love handles – so many people tried and failed so many times, but at least it’s a good time to start. There are at least five to seven months until the beach season starts, and it will work better when your goal is losing them within six months than within two or three months.

It’s important to remember that there is no magic formula to lose your excess belly fat. It won’t be easy and it won’t be instantaneous either. But there is still good news. When you lose overall weight, the belly fat is generally what you lose first.

Another thing to remember in losing your love handles is that a life-style change is a must. You don’t want them to return back and haunt you again only in several months. Change your body’s set-point where your metabolism will adjust itself and maintain an appropriate weight that you feel comfortable with.

Here are some essential tips to have a new set-point for your body, lose excess weight and finally say good-bye to your love handles:

Don’t skip meals, and eat less at every meal: One of the biggest causes that human body’s weight control system becomes messed up is not eating regularly. When you skip a meal, you’re more likely to overeat at the next meal and more likely to eat junk food. If you’re used to eat two meals a day, change it three meals a day with two thirds or three quarters of your regular portion. Don’t reduce the amount of the food too much.

What to eat and what not to eat: Replace white bread/pasta/rice with whole wheat, whole grain bread/pasta and brown rice. Have more vegetables. Limit high calorie foods such as saturated fat, red meat, or starchy carbohydrates. Have more vegetables. Seaweeds are great source of fiber and minerals, and will keep you full longer. Have more chicken breasts, fish and beans.

Afternoon snack: When you feel hungry in the late afternoon, have nuts such as walnuts or almonds instead of snickers, a can of coke or chips. These are tasty, crunchy and great sources of good fats and other nutrients.

Do aerobic exercise at least 4 or 5 times a week. The best exercise to start with is to walk fast - 30 to 45 minute fast-walk is great. Twice a week, include weight training. This will develop muscle tone, and increase your metabolism.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day. It keeps you hydrated as well as helps you to feel full for longer time.

Alcoholic drinks: If you’re going to have some alcoholic drinks, eat less that day. Drink them slowly and drink them with lots of water. This will slow down alcohol absorption.

Sangchu Geotjeori - Korean Lettuce Salad - is a fresh leaf lettuce salad with sesame oil and soy sauce dressing. It’s served at many Korean BBQ /galbi restaurants. Because of its savory taste, the salad is very popular even among non-Koreans.

Here is a quick recipe for sangchu geotjeori - Korean Baby Lettuce Salad with sesame oil and soy sauce dressing.

Ingredients
1 head lettuce
1 green onion
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 or 2 tablespoons sugar or Korean melted syrup (mulyeot)
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/4 tablespoon Korean hot red pepper powder(gochugaru) or red pepper flakes
* The amount of each ingredient is subject to personal taste.

Directions
1. Prepare dressing
Fine chop the green onion and mince the garlic. Mix the chopped green onion and minced garlic with soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar (or mulyeot), vinegar. Whisk them. Add red pepper flakes or gochugaru.

2. Wash the lettuce. Cut or tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces. Place the lettuce pieces into a salad bowl.

3. Immediately before serving, drizzle the dressing over the lettuce. Gently but thoroughly toss. Garnish it with sesame seeds and serve.

* If the dressing is too salty, add some water.