Post-Workout Ramen and Lunch Bento

 

After a post-work trot on the treadmill, I came back to a nice surprise.  My boyfriend brought back some spinach and dumplings from his work dinner for me.  With some miso ramen, a boiled egg and  leftover beansprouts, it was lovely. 

Afterwards I made jap-chae for his lunch bento.  Bok choy, carrot, mushroom, onion, leek, garlic, zucchini and a bit of sliced beef with the dangmyun noodles.  The sauce is soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and water.  This could easily be made with tofu or only vegetables.  With a side of green grapes and celery sticks for a snack, he was all set for the day.

"It's the Super Bowl, we can't eat salad..."

According to my boyfriend, the Super Bowl is no time for dieting.  We decided to recreate the Korean fried chicken recipe again from Saveur magazine.  This time I added a little more red chili pepper powder to the sauce.  Yum!  The combination of corn starch-flour-water and double-frying technique creates a special crunch missing from regular Buffalo wings.  We picked up 1.8 lbs of chicken wings from Lotte for under $12.  The only downside was having to separate and cut the wings into pieces, but it meant I had plenty of wing tips to roast and make a nice broth with.

 After the first 6 minutes of frying.

 After the second 6 minutes of frying, the wings turn a lovely brown color.

 Toss the wings in the sauce (I should have made much more).

 I also prepared a small roasted potato with roasted garlic and scallions, some carrot and celery sticks, a chunk of blue cheese and roasted garlic cloves.

 Fresh kimchee.

Korean-style bean sprouts.

***

It's a really good thing we went to the gym earlier in the day.  We didn't really care which team won, but it was fun to watch and eat some football food with a twist.  I think I liked the commercials the best.

Honeypig Annandale

I loved Honeypig for many reasons, but never for its service.  For a brief period, it felt like the waitresses were trying a bit harder with the non-Korean speaking clientele.  For the last few visits, there have been more non-Asians dining there, and the service has been returning to the semi-uninterested state from two years ago.  Sigh.

 My boyfriend loves the galbi.  It's a pricier option at $24.99 per order but we were planning to cook spicy pork belly at home soon.

 Grilling the jalapeno slices and garlic on the pan adds nice flavor.

 The waitress came by to turn the meat.

 She returned to use her cooking scissors to cut the meat off the bone.

 Delicious soon dubu with seafood.

Mandu.

Jjambbong at Home

We picked up a frozen jjambbong kit on the last trip to Super H Mart.  It's great to have in the freezer for those cold winter nights when I'm home hours before my boyfriend.  With the addition of some frozen vegetables and shrimp, and some fresh red pepper, I had a fast meal that was easy to put together again later when the hardworking boy finally made it home.

 You can find this in the freezer section of Super H in Fairfax.  At $7.99 for 2 servings it's fine as is, or you can add whatever vegetables you have on hand to make a more robust bowl.

 The noodle package with frozen seafood, mushrooms and chili peppers.  A sauce packet is also included.

 We also had a some frozen mixed vegetables and shrimp in the freezer. 

 Bring 2 cups of water to boil, add the frozen vegetables and noodles.  Stir in the sauce packet.

Enjoy.

Cooking Korean at Home

I'm an adopted Korean.  Cooking a mushroom lasagne with bechamel? No problem.  Cooking Korean foods? erm...  Luckily Annandale is close by with a lot of tasty, affordable and authentic Korean restaurants.  After trying out a good variety of dishes, I've become more familiar with the flavors and decided to tackle cooking a Korean meal.  I made bibimbap and gochujeon.

 Bibimbap Assembly.  You can use any vegetables you have on hand, the key is hot rice and kochujang (spicy red chili paste).

 Look how pretty.  Bean sprouts, marinated ground beef, mushrooms, bok choy and carrots.

 Top the bowl with a fried egg.  When you're ready to eat, mix everything up together.

GoChujeon - stuffed green peppers.

I picked up a bag of green peppers at Super H.  They looked like the spicy ones my boyfriend likes.  These were sweet though.  One day I'll read labels.  I found a recipe online for Korean stuffed peppers.  I slit the peppers, cleaned out the seeds, then put cooked spicy ground beef inside.  Dusted in flour, the peppers were cooked on a layer of egg, and steamed a bit like pan-fried dumplings.  The dipping sauce was soy with some rayu (chili sesame oil). 

My boyfriend loved it, and there was enough leftover to make 2 lunch bentos.  Since the Florida cookies and restaurant bonanza, we've been trying to eat lighter and more economically.  This was both. 

Pocky vs Peppero

 Side by side, they really do look nearly identical. 

 Pocky is a Japanese snack that Glico first sold in 1966.  http://pocky.jp/ Pocky are stick-shaped biscuits covered in chocolate cream.

 Pepero is a South Korean treat made by Lotte since 1983.  http://www.pepero.co.kr/ Pepero Day is 11/11, when South Koreans give Pepero to their friends and family.

Maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I prefer Pocky to it's imitator, Pepero.  Mmm. Almond Crush Pocky.

 eww..Strawberry cream covered Pocky.

 Mild Chocolate on Chocolate Pocky.

Chocolate on Chocolate Pocky.

Super H Mart's Food Court

Super H Mart 10780 Lee Hwy, Fairfax, VA 22030.  If you've never ventured out to the Super H Mart in Fairfax, it's worth a trip.  The produce is varied and inexpensive.  They have fresh curry leaves and lemongrass stalks, boxes of mangos, and hard-to-find ingredients for Indian curries, Japanese nabe, and Latin American recipes.  The fish area is very good.  Look at the whole fish, and you'll see clear, glassy eyes, signifying freshness.  I love it.  I also love their food court area to the right of the entrance. 

 Late Saturday night, this was the only food counter still open.  The sushi and Korean fried chicken stalls had already closed for the evening.  You place your order and pay at the counter.  Our 3 items totaled ~ $23.  When the order is ready, they'll call out your number.  Hot tea and water are available at the counter next to the utensils.

 Seolleong-tang (ox-tail bone marrow soup) soup with radish kimchee, cabbage kimchee and rice.

Yukgae-jang (hot and spicy stew with shredded beef) with kimchee and rice.

Haemul-Soondoobu (spicy seafood soft tofu stew) with kimchee and rice.

Choong Hwa Won in Annandale

My boyfriend and I have been eating our way through Annandale lately.  It's hard to think of another area with so many interesting and affordable options.  Last night we tried out a Korean-Chinese place recommended by his coworker.  Choong Hwa Won is on John Marr Drive, right behind the Popeye's and near Il Mee and Shilla Bakery on Little River Turnpike.  It's super casual and open until midnight.

 The English explanations for each menu item are ok, although it helps to know a little about Korean dishes.

We were there for the jjambong, spicy red pepper soup with noodles.

 The service was fast, efficient and nice.  The kimchee was good, and I liked the pickled daikon. Never figured out what the dark paste in the middle was.  They serve a warm barley tea when you arrive which helps on cold November nights.

 Large fried dumplings ($7.99).  They were not panfried, but deep-fried with a taste that reminded me of egg rolls.  Inside was a mixture of bitter greens.  Good.

 #31 Sam Sun Go Chu Jham Bbong ($9.99)

This is a fiery red hot pepper soup with shrimp, squid, scallops, mussels, vegetables and noodles.  The server will cut the noodles with a pair of scissors if you'd like.  Excellent and spicy.

#28 Sam Woo Gan Jha Jang ($8.99)

Shrimp and onions in a black bean sauce

 The noodles come on the side with cucumber, and the server will cut them for you with scissors.

All mixed together.  It tastes better than it looks. I wanted it to be spicy, it was not. 

***

I heard about jjanjangmen from my Korean friend who told me about Samos in Baltimore.  I trust his judgement and had wanted to try jjanjanmen for awhile.  Online reviews about Choong Hwa Won rave about the jjangjanmen and jjambbong.  Maybe I'm just a spicy gal, but I liked the jjambbong a lot more than the jjanjanmen. 

The portions are huge.  They provided smaller bowls and my boyfriend and I shared our respective choices with each other.  I would skip the mandu the next time and order a steaming, spicy bowl of #32 next time.  Even without anything else, I doubt I could finish the whole bowl by myself. But I would have a good time trying. 

Shilla Bakery in Annandale

Shilla Bakery is located at 7039 Little River Turnpike in Annandale.  http://www.menusarang.com/xe/397  When we parked, we noticed some damage to the storefront that looked like a car had tried to make a new entrance way to the bakery.  Maybe they couldn't wait to eat some lovely desserts and breads?

 They make a wide variety of cakes.

 They also have individual-sized desserts in a variety of chocolate and fruit flavors.  My boyfriend picked up a green tea mousse cake that had a layer of adzuki (sweet beans).  It was light, delicate and delicious.

 The Speciality Coffee Cake and the Pig and Bear were very cute.

They also had anpan, breads and sho-cream or mini cream puffs.  Really a lovely destination for people with a sweet tooth or two.

Vit Goel Tofu (Lighthouse Tofu) in Annandale

While DC lacks a Japan Town, Annandale is a mini-Korea Town with a plethora of restaurants specializing in different dishes.  The hardest part is learning where to go and what to order, but if you're adventurous it's full of delicious and affordable surprises.  Honey Pig is great for Korean bbq  but some times the wait is too long.  Saturday night our HP plans were dashed when we drove through the full parking lot and saw many people waiting.  Instead, we headed down the road to Vit Goel Tofu Restaurant at 4121 Chatelain Road. http://www.menusarang.com/xe/293

 It's a brief menu, and specializes in soon dubu.

 The panfried mandu were flavorful and better than at Honey Pig. ($5.99 small)

 The pan chan are much nicer too.  Water kimchee, fresh kimchee, cucumbers in kochujang, steamed beansprouts in sesame oil.

Large (seafood pancake) hamul pajeon ($12.99).  Baby oysters, crab, shrimp and baby squid studded  pancake with scallions.  A bit greasy but delicious.  We should have ordered a small.

 Soon dubu #3 (tofu stew) with clam, shrimp and oyster ordered spicy. ($9.50)

My boyfriend ordered his #2 (clam, shrimp, oyster, beef) spicy spicy, and it was hot enough to make sweat drip from his brow. 

***

Lighthouse is great in the colder months when you need a hot bowl of bubbling soft tofu stew to warm you up.  Cracking the raw egg into the stew is optional, but the stew is so hot, it will cook the egg quickly.  The seafood noodles (jukumi bokuem) looked good too, fat udon noodles mixed with squid, vegetables and a special sauce.  They serve the rice out of a hot stone bowl, and pour a barley tea into it after serving the rice.  You put the rice with tea into a small bowl and it reminded my boyfriend of ocha-zuke, the Japanese dish of green tea poured ontop of rice.