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!

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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)

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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.

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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.

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Kimchi bokkeumbap (김치볶음밥) is one of the most popular Korean dishes, and it’s super easy and fast to make it. It’s also easy to create your own version of special kimchi bokkeumbap because you can add pretty much anything including various kinds of vegetables, meat, cheeses or seasonings.

* Bokkeumbap means fried rice and some of popular Bokkeumbaps are kimchi bokkeumbap, seawoo(shrimp) bokkeumbap, and heamul(seefood) bokkeumbap.

Many Koreans prefer to use over-ripened (well-fermented) kimchi when they make kimchi bokkeumbap because it generates much richer flavor than fresh kimchi. But it might be a little too sour or strong for non-Koreans, and you can try this dish with relatively fresh kimchi.

The best rice for kimchi bokkeumbap is Korean sticky rice, but long grain rice should work, too. To make this dish healthier, you can use brown rice or brown rice mixed with white rice. It looks prettier and certainly tastes more delicious if you cook kimchi bokkeumbap with white rice only, but I usually use brown rice mixed with white rice and beans just to feel better about my health.

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