Today I will show you how to make one of J’s favorite dishes: crabmeat pancakes!

This is actually a dish that my mother invented one day while goofing around in the kitchen…and it’s become quite popular in our family. It’s very simple but can take some time to make.

The three main ingredients are: artificial crabmeat (the kind you get at Asian markets), squash, and eggs. You can choose to add more veggies like peppers, onions, or scallions if you wish.

For this batch, I used 2 squashes, 15 crabmeat sticks, and 3 eggs.

First, cut up your squash very finely. I use a mandolin to speed up the process.

When you’re done slicing the squash, lightly sprinkle some salt on it and leave it in a strainer to drain. (The salt will help get rid of the excess water in the squash.)

Next, put on a pair of plastic gloves (or just use clean, bare hands) and shred the crabmeat.

This is the time-consuming part. I usually do this while watching TV.

By the time you’re done shredding the crabmeat, your squash should’ve had sufficient time to drain. For extra measure, squeeze out the excess water.

Combine the crabmeat and squash. If you plan on adding more veggies, this is where you would add them.

Add the eggs. Be careful not to add too much – I usually start with just two and add more only if needed. I mix this with my hands too so that you can really massage the eggs in with the other ingredients.

Notice the texture in the above photo – you want the mixture to be thick and not runny.

Now you’re ready to start cooking! Set your burner to medium heart, lightly drizzle some oil onto a pan and scoop on the mixture, making the pieces about 4″-6″ in diameter.

Two things of note during this step:

1. Do not over-cook! Once the egg portion looks done, it’s time to flip!
2. The mixture will start to separate while waiting in the bowl. I advise that you keep stirring/mixing while waiting for the pieces on the pan to cook.

That’s it! This dish can be served warm or cold, so if you have leftovers, just keep them in the fridge and munch on them later!

On a related note, I wanted to share with you an amazing Korean cooking website I found today: http://www.maangchi.com/! Not only does it have some amazing recipes, it also has a search-by-ingredient feature, videos, and forums! I’ve forwarded the link to all my girlfriends who like cooking and received many “thank you”s in response.

Over the weekend, J and I went to visit our friend who just had a baby. As she was talking about all the food she can have now, she mentioned that she was craving 회덮밥 (hwe dup bap, or rice with leafy veggies and sashimi) the most.

On our way home, J said, “Great, now I’m craving 회덮밥.”

So we decided to stop at the grocery store to get the ingredients!

First, wash and chop up your greens. You can use almost any leafy greens – it’s all up to you! That night, I just grabbed a salad pack:

I usually add some sesame leaves too, but I forgot to pick that up. I also added some radish sprouts:

Next up is the fish. Some people add several kinds of sashimi but I usually only go with fluke. Since fresh fish is key to this dish, I never get pre-packaged or frozen fluke. At grocery stores with large seafood departments, you can pick the fish you want and ask them to filet it for you.

Cut the fish into small pieces and set it aside.

Then take a bowl of cooked rice and drizzle some sesame oil on top. You may also choose to add some sesame seeds.

Place your greens on top of the rice, then add the fish.

Add red pepper sauce (the same used in my 돌솥비빔밥 recipe), mix it up, and enjoy!

I had a very busy but fabulous day today! For details, please check my private blog.

(For access to my private blog, please register – I promise I’ll never spam you or share your name/email…this is just to know who’s reading my personal posts. Be warned, though, that I periodically go through the list and delete accounts that look bogus. Once you log in, you’ll see a link to my private blog under the “Navigation” section of the sidebar.)

Today, I’ll teach you how to make 돌솥비빔밥 (dolsot bibimbap)…the easy way!

돌솥비빔밥 is one of my favorite dishes to order at Korean restaurants because it’s pretty difficult to screw up!

Now, you can be old-school and make all the different components from scratch, but I’ve seen first hand that this can take forever. The easiest thing to do is to purchase the ingredients pre-made at a Korean grocery store. You can buy them separately, or in a package especially made for 비빔밥 (bibimbap) like this:

As you can see, it even comes with small cups of beef and red pepper paste! Each package is good for about 3-4 servings so the $5.99 price tag isn’t too bad at all.

A key ingredient in 돌솥비빔밥 is the 돌솥 (dolsot), or stone pot. Most Korean grocery stores sell these in various sizes, and they’re not expensive…I think I got mine for under $10.

Drizzle some sesame seed oil to the bottom of the pot and fill it up with some pre-made rice:

My rice has some color because I put some extra grains in it. Obviously, plain white rice works too! Also, I should mention that older rice works a bit better than freshly cooked rice.

Place the ingredients on top and place on a stove. Soon, you will start hearing sizzling sounds as the oil starts to heat up the rice. If you’re like me like burnt rice, leave it on for a bit longer. You can check the progress by carefully lifting the bottom with a spoon.

That’s it! If you want to add an egg, fry one while the rice & veggies are cooking.

Although the pre-made package came with its own red pepper sauce, I used this instead:

There are many kinds of red pepper sauces available, and this one is specifically made with extra vinegar and corn syrup for that hot-sweet taste.

Mix up everything, and dig in!

I’ve been cooking a lot more in the past few months in order to save money.

Many women say that they do not have the time or energy to cook dinner after a hard day at the office, so I guess I’m lucky in the sense that I work for a non-profit and get to leave work at 5pm every day. I usually get home, have a bit of “me” time to relax, then start dinner. By the time the food is ready to be served, J comes home from work and we dig in.

갈비 (galbi, or Korean marinated ribs)

My famous linguini in in white clam sauce

된장찌게 (dwenjangjjigeh, or soy bean stew)

I have the best source for recipes: my mother. I know that everyone says their own mother is the best cook, but my mom really is a great cook. So good that her friends are always asking for recipes. So good that every Thanksgiving, she gets “orders” from various people for her famous turkey.

Beef 오무라이스 (rice omelette). The heart and smiley face are all messed up because J bought such a large bottle of ketchup that I had trouble controlling it. The smiley face looks a bit like Joker (why so serious?)

Digging into the Beef 오무라이스

I have posted pictures of some of my dishes on Facebook, and friends have been asking for recipes.

시금치국 (sigeumchigook, or spinach stew with clams and tofu)

감자탕 (gamjatang, or potato & pork stew)

게살전 (gehsaljun, or Korean style crab meat pancakes)

삼겹살 (samgyupsal, or sliced pork belly)

순두부찌개 (soondoobu jjigae, or silken tofu stew with seafood)

육개장 (yookgaejang, or spicy beef and vegetables soup)

Beef & vegetable curry over rice

돌솥비빔밥 (dolsot bibimbap, or rice cooked over a stone pot, mixed with veggies and beef, a fried egg, all mixed in a spicy pepper sauce)

So the question is: should I start posting some recipes on this blog? Is anyone interested? Perhaps I’ll create a “Recipes” section?

Whatever I decide, I know that I’ll never post the full recipe for my best dish, my famous 갈비찜 (galbijjim, or braised short ribs) – J has forbidden it. He says that only he has the privilege of being able to eat it whenever he pleases. So I guess if you want some, you’ll have to come over for dinner.