The white noodles symbolize happiness and longevity in Korean culture. And janchi (잔치) means celebration. Therefore, this is a dish usually served on special occasions like weddings or birthdays in the olden days. Most Koreans grew up enjoying Janchi Guksu made by their grandma and is a classic, sentimental food that reminds them of their childhood.

For me, Janchi Guksu is comfort food that reminds me of winter, road trips and highway rest stops (Hyugeso 휴게소) in Korea. You can always find them at highway rest stops, and somehow the noodles just tasted better on the colder days. The thin wheat noodles pair well with the clean, umami-tasting soup, and is warmly comforting — Literally soul food for winter road trips!

You can use any preferred clear broth to make this dish. Personally, I find anchovy broth works best for this dish. I use dried anchovies, kelp, and dried oyster (totally optional) to make the broth. Ultimately, you may simply drop one Dashi Pack from Souperstar to make the broth. Daily and Light soup packs works the best for this dish.

For the toppings, you can use any combination you fancy. The classic toppings include zucchini, carrot, shredded seaweed, fry eggs and kimchi. I added a piece of SPAM as I was clearing the left over in the fridge!

Ingredients:

Broth

• Anchovies     6-8 big anchivies
• Yellow Onion     Half
• Leek     2 stalks, cut into 5cm long
• Kelp      2 pieces, around 5 cm long

Sauce

• Soy sauce      4tbsp
• Korean Chilli Flakes     1tsp
• Plum Juice     1 tsp
• Sesame Oil     1tsp
• Sesame powder     1tsp
• Garlic     half tsp, finely chopped 
• Onion      1tsp, finely chopped 

Garnish

• Zucchini      half, julienned
• Carrot      half, julienned
• Egg       2-3  
• Aged Kimchi     2 cabbage leaves, finely chopped

Method:

1. Make the broth by putting all of the ingredients for broth into a pot of water (1400ml), and boil for 10-15 minutes. Remove the anchovies or the soup pack if you are using a soup pack.

2. Pour 1 tbsp of low sodium soy sauce into the broth, turn the heat to low and continue to simmer for another 5-20 minutes.

3. Pan fry the julienned zucchini. You may add a little bit of salt to the veggies to taste. Set aside. Repeat for carrots.

4. Fry the eggs. You may make it to Gyeran Jidan (thin egg sheets), and set it aside.

5. Warm the pan, put in some olive oil and fry the finely chopped kimchi until moist and soft. Add just a few drops of sesame oil into the kimchi and turn off the heat immediately. Mix well and set aside.

6. Mix all the ingredients in the sauce category into a bowl. Set aside.

7. Follow the instructions on the Korean Somyeon or Somen packaging and cook the noodles in another pot until al-dente (or any softness you like).

8. Arrange the cooked noodles into a bowl, pour in the broth and fill the bowl with zucchini, carrots, fried kimchi and egg.

9. Lastly, put 1-2 tsp of sauce into the noodle bowl. Serve with shredded seaweed.

I like my kimchi fried rice with Spam, but you may remove it for a meatless option, or swap it with beef brisket, pork, or canned tuna chunks (just remember to remove the water in the can thoroughly). The recipe I am sharing today is a hybrid version, combining a home recipe by my dear friend Su-hyeon’s mom with some techniques from the Korean celebrity chef Baek Jong-won.

Here are the tips to make a flavourful bowl of Kimchi Fried Rice:

Tip #1: Use Korean Chili Flakes 

Korean chilli flakes (gochugaru 고춧가루) is important to this dish for that mild spicy kick. I'll suggest you purchase yours from the nearest Korean mart. They may be slightly more expensive than local chilli flakes, but they make the dish taste a lot better! I personally do not recommend substituting the Korean chilli flakes with something else. Do note that some Korean mart carries two versions of gochugaru - normal or spicy (매운맛). I got the normal version as I can't take anything too spicy. So trust me, if I can take the spiciness from the normal Korean chilli flakes, you can take it too! Choose the spicy version if you like to fire up the dish.

Tip #2: Use Aged Kimchi Brine 

Aged Kimchi brine gives off a nice acidity to your fried rice. However, pouring too much of the brine will make your fried rice soggy. So you may need to add them in small batches to hit that perfect balance. Remember to balance the sourness with some brown sugar too.

Tip #3: Bring Your Soy Sauce To its Boiling Point

We all know that a little bit of soy sauce goes a long way in Asian cuisine. Here at this recipe, we are bringing the soy sauce to a boil to give that fragrance and umami to your kimchi fried rice. You won't regret this extra step!

Personally, I like to dress the dish up by throwing a mozzarella cheese egg roll around the fried rice when we are having guests over. You may fry some eggs as a simpler topping. Make sure to keep the yolk runny. I like to break the yolk, letting it drip right into the fried rice, as it moistens and mellows the spiciness and heat down. Enjoy!

It pairs really well with wine too! Our friend brought over a 2018 Little Giant Barossa Shiraz from Australia. The dark berries hint, boldness from the spices and sweetness from the wine makes a perfect pairing to this dish. The ingenious balance of sweet, sour, umami and spicy makes every bite so incredible, you’ll crave for more!

Ingredients (Make 3 Servings)

• Kimchi                            1 rice bowl, finely chopped
• Kimchi Brine                 3 tbsp
• Rice                                 3-4 rice bowls
• SPAM                              1/2 can, sliced and cubed
• Onion                              1/2 an onion, thinly sliced
• Garlic                              2 big cloves, finely chopped
• Green Onion                 0.5-1 stem, chopped
• Eggs                                2-3 eggs
• Korean Chili Flakes     2-3 tbsp
• Sugar                              2 tsp
• Soy Sauce                      2 tbsp
• Sesame Oil                    to taste
• Korean Seaweed          to garnish
• Mozzarella Cheese      optional
• Olive Oil                        1 tbsp

Method 

1. Use about 1 tbsp of oil to fry the green onions & garlic. Once fragrant, throw in the sliced onions, fry the onion until translucent.

2. Then, throw in the cubed SPAM and continue to fry them until the cubes are perfectly browned.

3. Pour the finely chopped kimchi into the pan, continue to fry until the kimchi becomes soft.

4. Add in the Korean chilli flakes & sugar, mix well.

5. Gather your kimchi mixture to one side of the pan. Keep your pan slightly slanted, and pour the soy sauce into the pan. Once the soy sauce starts bubbling, mix the Kimchi and the soy sauce together.

6. Add cooked rice into the pan, mix well. Add the kimchi brine and continue to stir well.

7. Lastly, pour the sesame oil into the kimchi fried rice and switch off the fire immediately. Continue to stir until fragrant.

8. Top it with the eggs and serve with the Korean seaweed. For a better presentation, you can make a mozzarella cheese egg roll around the fried rice, just like what I did!

South Korea is a mountainous country. The arable lands including lowlands constitute only 30% of the total land area. While it is difficult to develop a wide floral resource for huge honey produce, some of the local bee farms managed to harvest honey with regional charm and characteristics. One of those honey includes this Jeju Tangerine Honey, which is painstakingly curated from a bee farm on Jeju Island.

Jeju Island is a volcanic island rich in stone and strong gusty wind. Boasting in clear water, clean air and a pollution-free environment, Jeju produce the country’s favourite winter fruits: Tangerine, Mil-gam (밀감) or Gam-gyul (감귤) and Hallabong Orange (한라봉). While visiting the island in late spring- early summer (May to June), you’ll find snow-white tangerine blossoms covering the entire island, providing the honey bees with an ideal environment to create these slightly citrusy, refreshing tangerine honey.

So I use this tangerine honey to make one of my favourite Korean snacks – Pan-fried Rice Cake with Honey (꿀 떡볶이). This artisan honey fine-tuned the humble South Korean snack that is well loved by kids.

I love how the refreshing tangerine honey compliments the chewy-yet-crispy rice cake! More importantly, it is a super simple dish to make on a busy day. You just need about 5 minutes to whip up the dish. A good choice to impress your family on a weekend afternoon without sweating out miserably in the kitchen. The lesser time you spend in the kitchen, the more time you get to bond with the family.

Thank you MYBEES for sending these lovely Jeju local honey! Now please excuse me as I enjoy my ddeokbokki while it is hot!

Pan-Fried Korean Rice Cake with Jeju Tangerine Honey Recipe 제주 밀감 꿀 떡볶이

Ingredients:

• Ddeokbokki ddeok or Rice Cake: 200g (about 20 sticks)
• Salted Butter: 1/2 tablespoon
• Soy Sauce: 1/2 tablespoon
• MYBEES Jeju Tangerine Honey: 1.5-2 tablespoons
• Dried walnuts, dried red dates and goji berries: for garnish 

Directions:

1.Soak the rice cakes in water for about 20-30 minutes, and then gently wiping it dry with kitchen towel. Please make sure the surface of the rice cakes is dry. Set aside. Skip this step if you are using fresh rice cakes.

2.Put the honey and the soy sauce in a small bowl, mix well. Set aside.

3.Melt the butter in the non-stick surfaced skillet over medium heat. Add the rice cakes to the skillet when the butter melts down completely. Fry the rice cakes over light heat until it is lightly browned, with little dots emitting from the surface of the rice cake. Remove from heat. Do not overcook the rice cakes, or it’ll burst or burnt.

4.Pour the honey soy sauce over the rice cakes and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle walnuts, goji berries and decorate with dried dates. Serve immediately.

Writer’s Note: The simple twist of butter and the tangerine honey worked well perfectly. I think the mild tangerine scent makes the dish a perfect fall/winter snack. The honey is a versatile keeper too. It makes a delicious spread on your daily toast, over the fluffy cream cheese on your bagel, a swirl into your afternoon tea and even a perfect glaze for any savoury evening dishes like grilled chicken wings.

Their elegant packaging also makes them the perfect souvenir from Korea for your friends and family. It is perfect as a housewarming gift; a souvenir for your mother, your in-laws, or a friend who loves baking. You can even purchase them online from home and collect it at Myeongdong when you arrive in Seoul! Please look out for more information on their website listed below.

By the way, you can get a USD 3 discount when you purchase any MYBEES artisan raw honey! Enter the code “pheurontay” at www.mybees.co.kr. They ship worldwide!

Disclaimer: This post is presented by MYBEES. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.