Korean Ramen - Nagasaki Jjamppong

In my presvious posting, I wrote a review on KKo KKo Myeon which is a Korean instant noodle.


After it became a trendy new product as one of the biggest seller among clear broth based instant noodle, other leading Korean Ramen companies started to come after their own version of clear broth based ones. (You can click the image link below to buy it at Amazon)

To benchmark against KKo KKo Myeon, one of the companies came with a product called Nagasiki Jjamppong. Jjamppong is a kind of noodle soup which is Chinese in its origin. Chinese food in Korea is very unique in many ways compared to any other Chinese restaurants in other countries. In Korea, Chinese food has evolved around to suit Koreans taste buds. Koreans don�t like too much oily food. Koreans also love spicy food. If you love Chinese food, you know that not many dishes in the Chinese restaurants are actually as spicy as Korean food. Although in some districts of China the food is famous for the spicy heat, e.g. Sichuan food. That�s why at least Koreans would like Sichuan chilli and its food.For this reason, many Chinese Koreans who run Chinese restaurants in Korea came up with their own version of Korean Chinese style food. Two most representative ones are JJa Jang Myeon (This is a Korean Chinese style black bean soy sauce noodle.) and JJam Ppong.

You will see, when you go to a Chinese restaurant in Korea, people commonly finish their meal by having either JJa Jang Myeon or Jjam Ppong. To help relieving the stress of choosing between the two, many restaurants also offer half half in their menu so the customers can eat both without having to choose between the two. That�s why a lot of Korea ramen companies have their own version of JJa jang myeon or jjam ppoing.

The name, Nagasaki, is a district in Japan. Japanese food is not commonly spicy. Their noodles in particular are almost always clear broth based. I guess that�s why they launched their new ramen product name as Nagasaki Jjamppong. This is only my personal guess.





Back to the story, the aim to benchmark against the rival product, KKo KKo Myeon , was a big success. Because now this new product is also selling very fast and it�s already selling more than KKo KKo myeon amongst young customers. I know there is another political reason behind this too but it�s not really relevant to food topic at all. It�s just that a judge in Korea used its product name, Nagasaki Jjam Ppong as a cynical synonym in political term and tweeted this on his personal tweet and became a Hot Potato issue. Nevertheless, the side effect also resulted in promoting the product name too.










I tasted it too myself. Whatever the reason behind its selling success, the taste of the ramen itself is the best amongst many Jjamppong category in instant noodles, I think. I personally like Kko Kko myeon better only because I like chicken soup based noodle. But many of my friends who also used to love Kko Kko Myeon prefer Nagasaki Jjamppong now and say it�s spicier. See it for yourself and tell me which one you like better 





If you like to try both you can lick the image below to buy 5pack each combo at Amazon.

Korean Ramen - Nagasaki Jjamppong Link Free Download

Cooking Apps 1234

Cooking apps are very handy when it comes to find recipes today. 


I have many hard copy cookbooks since I love to look at the pictures of lots of dishes that I can get inspired, especially the pictures give an idea on the presentation of the finished meal. But when I actually try to cook the actual recipe, printing out that page is difficult unless you have a photo copier. I don't have enough space to lay my book in the kitchen and flipping the page through is awkward with wet hand whilst cooking.
It's when cooking app comes handy. Today I would like to review some of the cooking apps that people recommend and I personally use.







Jamie's 20 Minute Meals 



I am sure this app is already in your device. As a Jamie Oliver fan, I ought to get one.

All my friends know I love cook books so a lot of them buy me cook books for my birthday present. I came across Jamie Oliver cook book as a gift from a friend. Of course, I knew him on TV but I never thought to buy his book myself because I found that his cooking involved lots use of fresh herbs. I like herbs now in my cooking but back then, I didn't want to buy a bunch of herb just to use a little bit for a particular dish and the remaining went straight into the bin since I had no other use. When I got the book from my friend, I went on reading it for the whole day. My friend commented that he never saw anyone reading a cook book like me as if reading a novel. Yes, it was that good. His tips were great and his philosophy about cooking was easily seen through every page. Now you can even enjoy his tips on videos, which I enjoy watching. Great tips of quick meal ideas - I rather like inspired by his ideas.

Woman's Day Cooking Assistant

Australian's #1 weekly magazine features lots of practical cooking ideas.

 I love to watch the TV show as well. I find the cooking recipe they give are very practical and easy to follow. They publish a little handy cook book series which cost around A$5.00  Personally, I trust their recipe because I know they are tested so even if you are not into cooking, the outcome may not be much different than what it's suppose to come out. I tested some myself and the result was very very promising. If you have a party, and you need a quick party meal ideas, I recommend their recipe. As I said, their recipes are very practical so if you use imagination for the finished touch on the presentation, I am sure, your guests will be fascinated by your cooking skill. Their Asian food recipe is also very practical. They do not require too much foreign ingredients and yet, the outcome will be satisfactory.

Mangaeyi-recipe





Here is what I recommend if you can read Korean. In this app you can view 10,000 recipes with pictures, mostly Korean food. There are many secret recipes on authentic Korean food but at least, the recipes here will enable you to cook Korean food on a basic level. It's also helpful with pictures if you are not very familiar with a particular ingredient.


Korean Video Cuisine How to


If you can't read Korean, don't worry. Here's another app on Korean cooking recipes. One thing good about this app is that there are video clips on cooking instruction.











Ddeog Bog Gi Jjang!


If you like Dduk Bbok I, and can read Korea, here's all related recipe on dduk bbok i. Fos those who don't know what it is, it's spicy rice cake stir fry.

Cooking Apps 1234 Link Free Download

Korean Ramen

Today, I am introducing a special Koran Ramen (instant noodle) to you.

There is a story behind the birth of this special ramen. There is a TV comedy program called, Nam Jae Ja Gyuk in Korea. It is a group of TV entertainers, all men mainly comedians, who challenge many different things in the pursuit of becoming a worthy man. Of many series, they participated in a competition held by leading Korean Ramen companies. The Ramen companies held the competition in order to get an idea on a new products. No one actually expected any of the entertainers in this TV program might win because their cooking skill was way below the average compared to many other competitive participants. It was rather experimental for them to cook authentic ramen. Anyways, the rule was that all the participants could choose to begin their cooking with any of the ramen companies' products using their secret ingredients to enhance the outcome flavour. Many interesting skills and ingredients were introduced.

Of the least expected winner among the show hosts, Lee Kyung Gyu (very well known Korean comedian), came with an idea to make a spicy ramen with clear chicken broth. His idea was easy to adapt to make an instant ramen since he only used simple ingredients unlike many other participants. The flavour was also suitable for Korean ramen buyers who love spicy heat in the soup. There aren't many clear broth based ramen in Korea. His idea was a big hit amongst the TV program fans. Of course, he won the competition and his idea actually came reality when one of the ramen company bought his product idea.

Way before the product actually came out, people were eager to taste this new ramen. As soon as it became available on the market shelf, it was the biggest hit seller in ramen industry. I waited a long time before I could even taste this ramen because it was always ALWAYS SOLD OUT!!! I think I could try it about 3 months after it came out!!! Even Lee Kyung Gyu revealed in the interview that he had to order it online because it was hard to get it from a market as it was always first thing to go.

Here is a TV ad on the KKo KKo Myeon (Name of the ramen).




It says...to enjoy KKo KKo Myeon most deliciously, you add 500ml of water and boil just 4 minutes.

Yes, I liked it very much. Warning though, it is very spicy!!!

Korean Ramen Link Free Download

Lunch pack ideas for mums & kids

By Bellalean

   When there is vegetables in the fridge, perhaps the easiest, quick meal solution would be fried rice. You can add any veges of your own choice. For kids, it is great because you can feed them lots of veges. I often add veges that kids don't usually like to eat in the salads. This speedy lunch pack is also handy to make if you have frozen veges or frozen shrimp. Of course, it would be great if you can have fresh prawns   but I save my time by using frozen ones.









   For rice, you can also cook it and freeze them in advance so you can make fried rice in a short time. Here I make a link to the posting on how to prepare cooked rice and freeze them in advance.

http://bellalean11.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/freeze-cooked-rice-in-advance.html#more


Ingredients

1 cup frozen prawn or shrimp roughly diced. (Dice it while it's frozen. It's easier to cut)
1/2 cup bacon diced (This is optional. I like bacon in my fried rice)
4 button mushrooms roughly diced
1 small carrot chopped
1/2 brown onion chopped
1 capsicum chopped
2 ts finely chopped garlic
1 TBS oyster sauce
3 TBS chopped shallot
2 servings of boiled rice
salt and pepper
peanut oil

serves 2

By Bellalean

By Bellalean

1. Warm up the wok and put some peanut oil. Pour in the chopped garlic and stir fry for 2 minutes until fragrant.

2. Add chopped onion and stir fry 2 minutes and then add the chopped carrot. When the carrot is half cooked, add the capsicum and stir fry for another 2 minutes.






3. Lastly, add the shrimp and bacon together, stir fry them just for 2 minutes. Sprinkle salt and pepper.

4. Put aside the fried ingredients. Using the same wok, add 2 TBS of cooking oil and pour in the cooked rice. You can use defrosted cooked rice that you may have prepared in advance. When you defrost the rice, just leave it at room temperature 30 minutes before cooking. You don't want to use hot boiled rice that's straight from the rice cooker. If you are going to use warm rice, make sure you cool it before frying. Otherwise, it becomes too sticky and soggy.

5. Stir fry the rice for about 1minute and combine the fried ingredients in the wok. Keep stirring on high heat. Add the oyster sauce and mix well while frying. Throw in the chopped shallot in the last minute.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Lunch pack ideas for mums & kids Link Free Download

Freeze Cooked Rice in Advance

For many working mums, frozen food is a quick solution to save up time. If you cook rice in advance, instead of leaving it in the rice cooker, freeze them in portions so you can always have freshly cooked rice whenever you want. If you leave cooked rice in the rice cooker for long, it often gets dry and yellowish in discolouration.

By Bellalean

When you prepare rice in the rice cooker, add 1 TBS olive oil or cooking oil when you add the water. This will keep the rice moist if you are going to freeze them. 

You need to use freshly cooked rice. While it's still warm, put them in a zipper bag like shown in the picture and freeze them. I put 1 serving in each bag. 

When you need boiled rice, you just need to get it out of the zipper bag, put it in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap so it can keep the moist. Microwave it for 1-2 minutes. If you think if it becomes too dry when you microwave it, sprinkle 1TBS of water over the frozen rice before heating up in the microwave.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Freeze Cooked Rice in Advance Link Free Download

When you have hangover

   Many people have their own choice of food for relieving hangover. Some suggest honey, warm milk, and soups. The most common food for relieving hangover among Koreans is Dried Pollack Broth or Mung bean sprouts soup. Today, I am showing you how to make a quick Dried Pollack Broth.

By Bellalean

If you don't know what dried pollack is look at the picture below. You can buy it at a Korean Grocery shop.

By Bellalean

Ingredients

2 handful of dried pollack

1/2  julienne cut carrot

1/4  onion sliced

2     cloves of garlic finely chopped

20cm shallot cut diagnally

2 TBS sesame oil

1 TBS Mirim (optional)

salt and pepper

Preparation by Bellalean

1. Wash the dried pollack and squeeze out the excess water. Cut it roughly as shown below in the picture.

By Bellalean

2. Put sesame oil in a pot. Pour in the washed pollack and garlic. Keep stirring on medium heat for about 2 minutes.

By Bellalean

 

By Bellalean

3. Add 4-5 cups of water. Close the lid and bring it to boil. Add the carrot and onion.

4. Once it's boiling open the lid and put Mirim. Season with salt and pepper. Put in the shallot and simmer for 2 minutes before turn off the gas. 

By Bellalean

When you have hangover Link Free Download

Quick survival meal

I haven't had a time to do my grocery shopping so I searched the pantry to see what I could cook with. The time was already very late for dinner and my tummy was growling. Hey look what I found!

Found by Bellalean

Let me transform this into a quick meal.

All I had was some Kimchi in the fridge.

Ingredients

1 can boiled mackerel
1/2 cup Kimchi
200ml water
1 TBS light soy sauce
1/2 TBS Korean chili powder
pepper

Serves 2

By Bellalean

By Bellalean

1. Drain the oil out of the mackerel can. Put it into a pot and add water. Bring it to boil then throw in some kimchi.

2. Season with pepper, chili powder and light soy sauce

3. Simmer for 10 minutes.

You can surely make this better with onions, spring onions, garlic etc... But it was still quite good to eat with boiled rice and some nori. Here is my spoonful of the cooked Mackerel. Yum Yum...

Eaten by Bellalean

Some rice wrapped in nori too... Yum Yum...

Eaten by Bellalean

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Quick survival meal Link Free Download