Mixed Rice2, Dolsot Bibimbap (돌솥 비빔밥)

Sizzling Stone Pot Rice, A Multi-Grain Mix of Rice Mixed with Seasoned Vegetables & Meat

This Sizzling Stone Pot Mixed Rice, Dolsot Bibimbap*, should be called Dolsot Bibim Ogokbap (돌솥 비빔 오곡밥) because not only is the rice physically mixed with all the vegetables, meat, and rice as in traditional bibimbap, but the grains themselves are composed of a mix, hence Mixed Rice².

My blend of grains diverges from the traditional ogokbap^† five-grains^± of sweet rice, foxtail millet, red beans, black beans, and sorghum. And, unlike ogokbap, which is traditionally served on the day of Jeongwol Daeboreum, the first full moon of the new lunar year, my grain mix has been modified for daily consumption. While health-conscious Koreans are increasingly consuming multi-grain rice nowadays, I find pre-packaged blends of mixed grains to not be quite to my liking. I don’t like the taste of beans in rice that I plan to eat with kimchi, unless they are buttery Peruvian lima beans or quick-to-cook lentils. Nor do I like wild black rice mixed with sticky rice. Wild black rice tastes better, in my opinion, with fragrant, long grain rice, like jasmine rice. Some varieties of black rice not only poke at your throat but also bleed into the rice, coloring the rice a dark purple. Grains and beans also have different soaking times, and the pre-packaged multi-grain rice does not allow you to adjust for the different soaking times.

In my everyday version of ogokbap, I blend short grain brown rice, sweet brown rice, foxtail millet, wheat berry, oat groats, green lentils, and peas to create a golden brown rice mix with flecks of yellow and green. Combine this rice with a medley of delicately seasoned summer vegetables, earthy shitake mushrooms and burdock, and well-marbled bulgogi-style flank meat and you have a well-balanced meal all in one bowl! Crack in an egg, drop a dollop of kochujang or samjang^‡, mix the mix up, and your dolsot bibimbap will be ready to eat!

Cooked in a granite stone pot, even the leftover roasted rice stuck to the bottom of the pot, nurungi, is delicious and is, in fact, a favorite Korean snack now sold in grocery stores. After you scoop out the rice, pour water into the stone pot for a toasty, after-meal palette cleanser.
^* Also spelled tolsot pibimbap.
^† Ogokbap, also called chapgokbap, is served on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar year.
^± The exact grain blend varies, depending on which region you examine. Sometimes, for instance, black soybeans are included. Generally, the grains used in ogokbap are those they plan to plant in the coming year.
^‡Samjang, also spelled ssamjang, is a combination of kochujang, fermented hot pepper paste, and doenjang, fermented soybean paste. Although kochujang is more commonly used in bibimbap, samjang may also be used.

Dolsot Bibimbap Recipe

~ Serves 2 people

Soaking and Cooking the Mixed Grains
Peruvian lima beans require a longer soaking time of 4-6 hours and at least three water changes (in hot weather, soaking time is less than in cold weather). Otherwise, most of the grains here are relatively quick-to-soak-and-cook.

1 cup short grain brown rice
½ cup sweet brown rice
2 tbs split peas
2 tbs wheat berry
2 tbs foxtail millet
1 tbs lentils
1 tbs oat groats
¼ tsp salt

1. Soak the short grain brown rice, sweet brown rice and wheat berry together for 1 ½ - 2 hours and separately, the lentils for the same time, rinsing the lentils thoroughly and changing the water at least once.
2. Soak the millet for one hour, rubbing the grains and changing the water at least once.
3. Drain the millet and set aside.
4. Mix together the short grain brown rice, sweet brown rice, split peas, wheat berry, lentils, and oat groats and rinse once more. Drain and set aside.
5. Make sure your stone pot has been properly cleaned. See below for Dolsot Cleaning Instructions.
6. Put all of the grains except the millet in the pot with three cups of water.

7. Bring the water to a boil with the lid off. Dissolve salt into the boiling water.
8. After boiling gently for 15 minutes, add the millet in, decrease the heat to low, and cover the pot, leaving a crack of an opening.
9. Cook for another 15 minutes and then seal the opening shut with the lid.
10. Cook for another 15 minutes on very low, and then turn off and let sit for 5 minutes.
11. Fluff the rice with a fork and immediately seal to preserve the heat.

Preparing the Vegetables
Some people feel that bibimbap has a very labor-intensive process for preparing and seasoning vegetables, but actually, you can use whatever seasonal vegetables you like, including fresh sprouts and purple cabbage, both of which involve no preparation other than washing and chopping! Alternatively, you can cheat and go to the Korean grocery store and pick up prepared banchans such as doraji saengchae (marinated bellflower root) and pre-packed bibimbap seasoned vegetables. In general, the best short cut is using the right equipment. A mandolin slicer, as featured in Ratatouille and my cucumber salad recipe, is indispensable in any recipe that calls for slicing vegetables into thin disks or matchsticks.

3 medium carrots, sliced into matchsticks
2 Italian squash, sliced into matchsticks, leaving out the seed middle
1 lb chrysanthemum, leaves separated from stalks, stalks chopped in 1” pieces
2 tbs distilled white vinegar
½ tsp salt
2 tsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp sesame oil
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

1. Boil 6 cups of water with vinegar and salt.
2. Using a metal sieve, douse the carrots in the boiling water for 1 minute and then immerse in a bowl of icy water. Drain and set aside.
3. Douse the Italian squash for 45 seconds, immerse in icy water, drain and set aside.
4. Douse chrysanthemum leaves for 30 seconds, immerse in icy water, squeeze dry, and set aside.
5. Douse chrysanthemum stalks for 2 minutes, immerse in icy water, drain, and combine with wilted chrysanthemum leaves.
6. Coat the wilted chrysanthemum leaves and stalks with the soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, salt, and black pepper.

Soybean sprouts- Mung bean spouts may also be used as a substitute for soybean sprouts. Although they are not as wide available, I do think they have a better flavor than soybean sprouts. You can also sprout your own, but it takes a few days.

1 ½ cups soybean sprouts
1 cup water

7. Place soybean spouts and water in a covered pot.
8. Boil for three minutes and then drain and set aside.

Ginkgo nuts- These healthy nuts are a beautiful addition to bibimbap, adding a wonderful chewiness and nutty flavor.

1 cup gingko nuts
2 tsp of vegetable oil

9. In a non-stick pan with oil, roast shelled ginkgo nuts over medium heat.
10. Transfer to a brown paper bag and rub between hands to remove the shell. Set aside.

Burdock & Shitake Mushrooms- The burdock root, which resembles a parsnip once peeled, adds a deep, earthy flavor. Similarly, shitake mushrooms add earthy and rustic undertones to this bibimbap.

1 burdock root, approximately 2 ½ ft, cut into matchsticks
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp honey

4-5 shitake mushrooms, fresh or thoroughly soaked and sliced
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp honey

11. Over medium heat, pour the oil in the pan, then add the crushed garlic, sliced burdock, and roast for five minutes.
12. Add the soy sauce and honey, stirring often to make sure the burdock is well-coated. Cook until the burdock is browned on the edges, approximately 10 minutes.
13. Repeat these steps for the sliced shitake mushrooms.

Bulgogi
Literally translated, fired-meat adds a punch of protein to this otherwise vegetable-intense dish.

10 ounces of well-marbled rib-eye or tenderloin, thinly sliced
1 tbs + 1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbs vermouth
2 tbs maesil ju, green plum wine
1 tsp sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ onion, sliced
¼ cup pineapple juice
½ tsp black pepper, ground
2 tsp red pepper threads, cut in 1” pieces

1. Put all the ingredients in a small pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 15 minutes.
3. Remove cover and on medium heat, cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and turned into a thicker sauce, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Set aside.

Dolsot Bibimbap
All of the prepared toppings won’t fit on the top of the rice in the dolsot, so arrange a bit of each for the purposes of presentation on top. You can then allow your guests to add more vegetables and meat to each of their dishes.

Ssamjang or kochujang
1 tbs toasted sesame seeds for garnish
1 sheet gim, seasoned, roasted pressed laver, shredded for garnish

1. First, crack the eggs on the piping hot rice.
2. Arrange the vegetables and meat on top of the rice in the pot.
3. Serve with more vegetables, meat, and a dollop of either kochujang or samjang.
4. Garnish with seaweed and sesame seeds.

Instructions on How To Clean Your New Dolsot, Chiseled Granite Stone Pot

You may notice that dolsots are traditionally a shiny jet black color, reminiscent more of cast iron than chiseled granite. Dolsots become this way over time after repeated seasonings with oil and salt. Chonju, a Korean city, is famous for serving delicious bibimbap in these striking jet black granite bowls. My dolsot has not gone through enough seasonings to get this color, but I am noticing it steadily getting darker with each serving of bibimbap.

There are two different ways to wash your new granite stone pot. Regardless of which method you choose, you must never wash your dolsot with soap. The granite surface of stone pots is very porous and will absorb the soap and emit a very-difficult-to-rid-of-soapy-flavor.

The First Method

1. Rinse your pot very well.
2. Wearing rubber gloves to prevent your hands from chafing and becoming dried from the salt, pour a generous amount of salt into bowl and rub the salt around the sides and bottom. You will notice the salt pick up the dirt and become grey in color.
3. Rinse the bowl well.
4. Fill the bowl with water and at least ¼ cup of salt and bring to a boil.

The Second Method

1. Rinse your pot very well.
2. Place your stone pot in a large pot filled with salted water.
3. Bring the large pot of water to a boil.
4. Boil for an hour.
5. Remove the pot once the water is cooled.
6. For good measure, rub salt in the inside of the bowl to remove any sanded stone residue.

Dolsot Maintenance
After each use, use only salt and water to clean your dolsot. If you wear rubber gloves, you can either rub the salt into the dolsot to clean it well or just boil the whole thing to remove large residual rice grains and etc. Once your dolsot has dried, rub a little oil all around it and inside it. Keep it away from dust.

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Southwestern Style Korean Kimchi Pancake (김치전)

East meets Southwest in this sizzling hot dish

This Korean kimchi pancake, Kimchijeon*, adopts the okonomiyaki free spirit of mix-in-whatever-you-like while loosely following a Korean-Mexican fusion theme. Made with organic sweet brown rice flour, tangy sliced kimchi, spicy chicken chorizo sausage, fresh-cut Korean watercress, chopped red onions, hot chili peppers, and chewy Korean corn, the outside of this pancake is crisp while the inside is chewy like mochi. It’s the ultimate savory pancake, bursting with heat and intense flavor. Incarnated, this Southwestern Style Kimchi Pancake might be a Korean cowboy living in New Mexico. Ssssssss hot!

Not only encompassing fried savory pancakes but also other fried dishes, including egg-dipped vegetables and meats, 전 or chŏn/jŏn/jeons are often served as appetizers or side dishes. The batter is generally composed of wheat flour, ice cold water, and egg, although variations include pure or blends of ground skinned-mung beans, soybeans, corn starch, and sometimes, rice flour. I always prefer the non-wheat flour versions of pancakes because they have more character. The flavor and texture of nokdujeon (mung bean pancake), also called bindaetteok or bindaedduk, for instance, is very distinct, and when properly executed, the light golden bits of mung bean melt in your mouth. For today’s recipe, however, I selected a pure sweet brown rice flour base because I have a penchant for that sticky, satiating combo of meat and sweet glutinous rice. At dim sum, for example, one of my favorites is Hahm Sui Gock, a deep-fried, crispy glutinous rice flour dumpling stuffed with ground pork, Chinese chives, Shitaki mushrooms, and dried shrimp that resembles a miniature golden football you just want to punt into your mouth. You can think of my Southwestern Style Kimchi Pancake as being the healthier fusion, pancake version of Hahm Suey Gock. It’s also a delicious solution to the problem of leftover kimchi in your fridge.

Southwestern Style Korean Kimchi Pancake Recipe

~ Makes roughly a dozen 6-inch pancakes

Sweet brown rice batter
I bought a whole bag of organic sweet brown rice mochi gome from my local Nijiya market, but you can just purchase regular sweet rice flour at your local store. I recommend using a Pyrex 2-Quart Measuring Cup when measuring the water, mixing up and microwaving the mochi.

1 ¾ cups sweet brown rice, finely ground into flour
2 cups boiling water

1. Sift the sweet brown rice flour into the boiling water.
2. Mix well, breaking up any clumps, and microwave for 1 minute.
3. Mix well, breaking any clumps, and microwave for 40 seconds at a time. Repeat 5 times.

Southwestern Style Korean Kimchi Batter
Make sure to remove the excess liquid from the kimchi and washed watercress. You don’t want the batter to be too runny.

¾ cup ripe kimchi, squeezed to remove excess liquid
1 lb chicken chorizo sausage
1 Korean corn cut from the cob
2 bunches Korean watercress (minari), washed and pat or spun dried
1 small red onion, chopped
2 Korean hot red peppers, sliced
2 tablespoons red pepper threads (sil kochu), cut

1. Mix the ingredients listed above into the sweet brown rice batter.
2. Microwave another minute and mix well. Set aside to cool.
3. Cover and refrigerate the batter. Chilling the batter before frying it will create more crispy pancakes.

Frying the Southwestern Style Kimchi Pancakes
I recommend using either peanut, grape seed, or canola oil, but not olive oil. Olive oil does not have a high burning point, and when raised to a temperature past that burning point, it becomes carcinogenic.

1. On a medium fire, heat up a cast-iron or non-stick skillet with just enough oil to cover the surface of the pan.
2. Pour the pancake batter in and wait about five - seven minutes, watching the bottom of the pancake to make sure it doesn’t burn.
3. Flip the pancake and cook the other side for about four minutes.
4. Transfer to a plate. Do not stack the pancakes or place them on paper towels or they will stick. Enjoy immediately.

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Bulgogi Buffalo Burger (불고기버거)

Bison burger meat fired with bulgogi flavor & nestled in a sticky brown rice bun

If there exists an edible that epitomizes the experience of being an American born Korean raised in Southern California, it is the Bulgogi Buffalo Burger. Imagine a 1/2 lb bulgogi-style seasoned slab of all-organic, grass-fed, free-range American buffalo meat topped with grilled onions, melted cheddar, crisp bean sprouts, crunchy purple cabbage, fragrant perilla leaves, pungent kimchi, and spicy jalapeños nestled between a roasted brown rice bun with a dollop of kochujang ketchup on the side. The bison burger meat is flavored with typical Asian seasonings of soy sauce and garlic but given an unconventional shot of Korean green plum wine, maesil ju. The Bulgogi Buffalo Burger also prominently features kochujang, fermented hot pepper paste and kimchi, spicy fermented napa cabbage- two national Korean foods, according to the Korean government. With your bulgogi, bap, and banchan in burger form, you can manhandle your meal and sink your teeth in the good old fashioned American way!

Buffalo (American Bison) meat is sweeter in flavor and leaner than beef. Bison meat is also healthier than skinless chicken, pork, lamb and even some fish, especially if you consider the mercury levels in fish nowadays. There is little shrinkage in bison meat, and because there is less fat to insulate the bison meat, it cooks faster than beef. Furthermore, in comparison to grain-fed beef, buffalo meat contains 69% more iron and higher levels of vitamins, minerals and omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, which help promote a healthy metabolism. So, send this buffalo home on the range and then, straight in your tummy

Bulgogi Buffalo Burger Recipe

~ Serves 4 people

Bulgogi-Style Marinated Bison Meat
If you are not eager to march off to a hunting range with a bow and arrow, check whether your local farmer's market carries bison meat or make the purchase online.

2 lbs ground buffalo (American bison) meat
4 large cloves of garlic
6 tsp soy sauce
4 tbs pineapple juice
3 tbs Korean green plum wine, maesil ju
2 tsp ginger juice
1/2 tsp pepper

1. Crush and roast the garlic. Let cool.
2. Force the ginger through the garlic crusher to obtain ginger juice. Mix the ginger juice with roasted garlic and other marinade ingredients.
3. Marinate the ground bison 2-3 hours or overnight.

Kochujang Ketchup
In lieu of ketchup, you can dab some fermented hot pepper paste on your burger. I recommend either O'Foods or Pulmone kochujang for the best quality results. Don’t slather on the kochujang like ketchup, however, because kochujang is much saltier than ketchup. O’Foods is less salty and much tastier than Pulmone but also twice as much in cost.

1/4 cup kochujang
2 tbs rice vinegar
2 tbs green plum wine, maesil ju
2 tsp sesame oil
1 clove garlic, crushed

1. Mix all the ingredients together well. Let everyone help themselves.

Mixed Brown Rice (Bap) Buns
The stickiness of the sweet brown rice helps hold the grains together. Inspired by a favorite Korean snack, nurungi, which is the scorched rice at the bottom of the pot, down-home Korean melds with backyard American cooking.

2/3 cup short grain brown rice
1/3 cup sweet brown rice
2 cups of water
4 tsp sesame oil

1. Mix 2/3 cup short grain brown rice with 1/3 cup sweet brown rice, rinse and drain.
2. Pour 2 cups of water and pressure cook rice. Let cool to a warm temperature.
3. Cut about 1 square foot of saran wrap. Place a little over 1/4 cup of rice in the center of the saran wrap, and flatten and compress the rice into the shape of patty. Make sure you pack the patty tight.
4. Pour 1/2 tsp of sesame oil per patty on the pan. You will have 8 rice patties.
5. Cook each patty for 5-7 minutes over medium heat on each side. Do not flip the patty unnecessarily. 7 minutes will produce a more scorched bun than 5 minutes.

Preparing Toppings
Make sure you purchase perilla (kenip) leaves from the Korean market and not shiso leaves from the Japanese market. Korean perilla leaves are larger, heartier, less furry, and gentler in flavor than their Japanese counterparts. Kimchi can be purchased almost anywhere nowadays, including Costco, but I like to go to the Galleria market in K-town and get the kimchi with the raw oysters, croaker, and beltfish.

12 perilla leaves
2 cups young soybean sprouts
2 cups purple cabbage, shredded
2 green jalapeño peppers, sliced
1/2 onion, grilled
2 cups kimchi, sliced
4 slices cheddar cheese

1. Wash, dry, and prepare all the fresh vegetables. Set aside.
2. Grill the onions on the pan with touch of olive oil. Set aside.

Cooking & Assembling the Burger
Bison meat cooks 1/3 faster than regular beef, so if you like your burger medium rare, keep a close watch on the time. As with any lean meat, bison burger meat tastes better not over-cooked to well-done because the meat may become chewy and dry. The basic cooking strategy is: sear on high, then low and slow. Make sure you use a pancake spatula or tongs to flip the meat. Do not agitate or poke the meat more than necessary because the delicious juices are more likely to escape.

Ground bison meat, marinated
2 tsp vegetable oil

1. Heat the pan or grill up on high. Use 1/2 tsp of oil per burger patty.
2. Divide the meat into four patties.
3. Sear each side for about 1-2 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook 3-4 minutes on each side.
5. Place the burger meat on top of the rice bun and pile on whatever toppings you desire.

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Bebop for Kimbap... California Style (닭고기김밥)

The healthy, organic version of Korean fast food sushi

Lucky the leprechaun just might forgo his Lucky Charms if he knew about kimbap*, Korean sushi, which is composed of a mishmash of colorful ingredients, thus capturing the rainbow in a roll instead of a bowl.

As an all-inclusive-meal-in-a-bite you can pop in your mouth, kimbap produces some odd bedfellows. Combinations in kimbap can range from your typical marriage of tuna and mayonnaise to the eye-brow raising duo of kimchi and cheese. Basically, it’s a free-for-all, so let loose your creative juices when choosing your kimbap fillings. Roll themes can range from all-organic, vegan and macrobiotic-friendly to rib-eye richness.

Although short grain white rice is the most commonly used grain for kimbap, I opt for a 1:2 grain ratio of organic sweet brown rice and organic short grain brown rice. Sweet brown rice is a glutinous, high-protein variety of rice, whose refined counterpart is commonly used in desserts such as mochi or dduk/tok. This grain mixture produces rice strongly characterized by a sticky, chewy and hearty goodness. Each grain seemingly pops with a sweet, nutty flavor under the grind of your molar. Adding sweet rice also increases the overall gluten, making it easier to use less rice and tightly roll the smorgasbord of meat and vegetables into the blanket of rice and seaweed.

Spinach may add a bold kick of green color to kimbap and remain a frequently favored darling among vegetables for Koreans, but I am not a fan of its flavor or texture in kimbap, so I gave it the boot. I prefer a combination of crunch and velvety richness balanced by enough vinegary acidity to make kimbap the way I imagine it should be: a-balanced-meal-in-a-bite, where every ingredient has its place and the addition of soy sauce becomes a travesty.

Kickin' Californian Kimbap Recipe

~ Yields 12 rolls,serves 3-5 people

To save time, consider preparing some of the kimbap materials the night before, such as the chicken and any of the vegetables, except the avocado.

Yummy Brown Rice Mix
I can always differentiate a good variety of organic short grain brown rice from inorganic rice by whether the eye of grain is intact. When organic rice is cooked, the light yellow eye should be staring at you from the tip of the grain.

1. Mix 1 1/3 cup short grain brown rice with 2/3 cup sweet brown rice.
2. Soak for an hour, drain, and add 2 2/3 cups water to pressure cook.
3. Melt 1/2 tsp honey into 1 tsp hot water, mix with 3 tsp rice vinegar and ¼ tsp salt.
4. Sprinkle this vinegar seasoning over the cooked rice while fanning the rice to make the grains shiny.

Kickin' Chicken
I know the health benefits of white meat outweigh the dark, but I prefer dark-meat. To compromise, I mixed chicken parts and then shredded everything together with a fork, but if you pick only breast meat for this recipe, I would advise that you purchase meat with some skin and bones because otherwise, there’s no flavor to savor! The marinade for this chicken is a healthier, sugar-free version of the standard Korean barbeque marinade. In lieu of maesil ju, Korean green plum wine, feel free to add mirin, grand marnier, or marsala wine. Each liqour imparts a different subtle flavor on the chicken and which you choose is a matter of personal preference.

2 ½ lb chicken parts
6 garlic cloves
½ onion
¼ cup ginger
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup maesil ju, Korean green plum wine

1. Slice the garlic cloves into 1/8 inch thick disks and set aside.
2. Slice the ginger into thick strips and set aside.
3. Soak and rinse the chicken in water to get rid of any debris or blood.
4. Place the chicken and other ingredients in a pot with a thick-bottom or copper coating.
5. Cover and cook on medium heat until it starts to boil, then quickly reduce to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Remove the cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes or until much of the liquid has evaporated and meat becomes shiny, falling off bone.
7. Wait until the meat cools a bit and then remove all the bones, ginger, and onion bits.
8. You can leave the meat in chunks or shred the meat slightly and pour the remaining
liquid back into the meat for extra seasoning. Set aside.

Crunchy Vegetables
Young carrots- the carrots should not be cooked too long or they will lack the firm, dense crunch.

1. Douse the carrots in boiling water for about five minutes to blanch.
2. Rinse carrots in cold water.
3. Slice each carrot length-wise into fourths and scatter ¼ tsp salt over carrots.
4. Pour just enough rice vinegar over to steep the carrots. I used shallow oval bowls, but you may also place them on a plate with high rim. Set aside.

Japanese cucumbers/kyuri- These cucumbers are similar to Persian cucumbers with a thinner middle and crunchier outside than English hot house cucumbers. Kyuri contribute a fresh, crisp crunch to the kimbap roll.

5. Slice each cucumber length-wise into sixths, trimming the seed middle a bit. Set aside.

Pickled radish/Daikon- I believe in making things from scratch for quality control, but pickling vegetables to crunchy perfection is an art of its own. The perfect daikon is wrinkly as the trunk of an elephant, about 1 ½ inches thick, and marked by a deep, edgy crunch.

6. Slice the daikon length-wise in halves. Slice that half into sixths. Set aside.

Pickled red radish/Fukujin zuke- this vibrant red pickled radish adds a subtle sweetness to the kimbap.

7. Drain the fukujin zuke and set aside in a small bowl.

Pickled eggplant & cucumber/shiba zuke- This pickled eggplant paints the kimbap with a beautiful purple, imbuing the roll with aromatic perilla flavor while adding a cushy crunch.

8. Drain the shiba zuke and set aside in a small bowl.

Avocado- Some people slather mayonnaise as a quick flavor fix or to offset the way their kimbap sticks in your throat, which is often caused by too much white rice and not enough filling. Slicing fresh avocados into your rolls, however, is a great, tasty alternative to mayonnaise. In this Kickin’ California Kimbap, avocados add a bit of creamy decadence and complement the nutty, chewy brown rice.

9. Peel and seed the avocado, then slice it length-wise in half.
10. Cut each halve into sixths and set aside.

Egg omelet/Gehran/Tamagoyaki
Usually, a little bit of sugar is added in the egg omelet, but I try to cut my use of refined, processed sugar wherever I can and instead, substituted a little bit of honey. The secret to making a good tamagoyaki is pouring just enough egg to cover the bottom of the pan and having the right pan. You need a heavy-bottomed, non-stick square pan.

1. Melt ½ tsp honey in 1 tbs of hot water, stirring in 1tsp mirin and ¼ tsp salt.
2. Beat this mixture into 8 eggs. You will cook omelette in two
batches. Heat up a square non-stick pan, lightly coated with olive oil on a low
fire.
3. Pour enough of the egg mixture to cover the pan.
4. Wait until the egg turns opaque and firm but not browned, then use a flexible pancake spatula to loosen the edges. Fold each end onto the middle in thirds, so 1/3of the egg remains as a bar in the middle of the pan.
5. Pour a little more of the egg mixture onto each empty 1/3 section of the pan. Wait until the egg turns opaque and solid, and then flip each end onto the third in the middle.
6. Repeat until half the egg mixture is gone. Set the egg aside to cool before cutting it into sixths. Repeat process so the next batch is cooked and cut. Set aside.

Easy Rolling Instructions
Select a roasted, unseasoned, thick, sushi-grade laver, and you will not encounter rolls that splinter before you can roll them.

1. Carefully spread ½ cup of rice onto 2/3 the laver sheet.
2. Position the chicken on the 1/3 line of the rice section.
3. Pile the egg and other ingredients on top of the chicken.
4. Tightly roll the fillings into the blanket of seaweed and rice, tucking them in if they fall out. Set each roll aside and pile them on a plate.
5. When you are finished rolling the kimbaps, slice each roll horizontally, about ¼-1/3 an inch thick. Wash your knife blade clean in a mixture of 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water when too much rice accumulates on the blade.

Variations
For smoked fish lovers out there, I also tried replacing the chicken with cold smoked white fish from my local Russian grocer and with great success. Cold smoked white fish is rich with natural oils, however, so watch how much avocado you put in your roll. Cold-smoked mackerel, although an acquired taste, also works beautifully.

Vegetarians should feel free to use smoked tofu. Smoked tofu, especially when combined with all the other ingredients in this roll, tastes delicious and has a texture a bit similar to some fish cakes. Vegans should also feel free to cut the egg out as well, although I really think the egg enhances the flavors of the roll.

*Kimbap is also sometimes spelled Kimbop, Gimbap, Gimbop, Kimbob, and Gimbob. The most common spelling, however, is kimbap.

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Super Natural Samgyetang (삼계탕)

A souped up Korean ginseng chicken soup dressed with the finest organic ingredients

Here is the Super Natural twist on an old Korean dish – Samgyetang, ginseng chicken soup. This bright coffee-colored consommé stands in stark contrast to the oatmeal opaque of standard ginseng chicken broths. Generous portions of jujubes, goji berries, and ginseng saturate this soup with the deep reddish gold and brown hues you see.

I encountered my first bowl of samgyetang a few years ago. Although Los Angeles is home to many different samgyetangs, each one fell short of the first one I dreamt of, as I waited, sick and eager, fingers tightly gripping my spoon. I imagined samgyetang fusing the crock pot of aromatics in my childhood memories to chicken matza ball soup—deliciously potent Korean penicillin. But, where ingredients were right, quantities and proportions were wrong, and vice versa, a milky broth bursting with rich flavor would only be spoiled by a bite into a bitter, gritty date. One restaurant boiled their tiny bird under such a fast, furious fire that I would have swore they served me the wrong order, Chicken with Water, were it not for my spoon stirring up a sliver of ginseng from the cast iron bottom. Leaving my bowl of Chicken with Water untouched, I vowed to create a Super Natural Samgyetang, a souped-up samgyetang dressed with the finest organic ingredients.

After several different attempts and learning through trial-by-fire, two of which included a crunchy rice filling, the following recipe is a richer, healthier, and more flavorful version of the traditional Korean chicken ginseng soup. The cooking method for this samgyetang differs dramatically from others in that a crock pot is used. The crockpot allows the herbs to soak and cook at a lower temperature, which preserves the goodness of the ginseng, gingko, and jujubes, rather than a quick, furious boil, which destroys the nutrients and scarcely provides time for the herbs to permeate the broth. The crockpot also allows for long cooking time without long watching time, hence it is often dubbed the Prep-It-and-Forget-It (PIFI) cooking method.

Super Natural Samgyetang Recipe

~ Serves 3-4 people

Starting Herbal Broth
Worry not if you exceed the cooking time on this herbal broth, or if the herbal broth simply sits around for a few hours longer because this will allow the herbs to thoroughly saturate the soup.

3 quarts of water
3 cups/15 large jujube dates
½ cup goji berries 3 large fresh ginseng roots/2 dried ginseng roots>5 years

1. Place all the ingredients in a 6-quart Rival crock pot and cook on low for ten hours.
2. Strain the herbal broth through a sieve.
3. Pour the herbal broth back into the crock pot and discard the scraps.

Sweet Rice Stuffing
When picking your chicken or hen, make sure the poultry's skin is pale, spot-free and resilient. What you stuff inside your bird may vary. Some recipes stuff ginseng directly into the chicken. If you are using fresh ginseng, you may add a bit of fresh ginseng in the stuffing mix; however, I believe the ginseng is most efficacious steeping in the broth. If you are using two birds, divide the stuffing materials accordingly.

1 organic young chicken (3-4 lbs), or 2 organic cornish hens
6 medium garlic cloves
3/4 cup organic sweet brown rice
¼ cup goji berries
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp cracked black pepper
½ tsp rock sea salt

1. Soak the sweet brown rice for 1-2 hours, drain, and set aside.
2. Wash and clean the inside of the chicken.
3. Sew-up the neck end of the chicken.
4. Stuff a clove of garlic into the neck end from the tail end.
5. Lightly salt the inside of chicken, reserving a tiny pinch of salt for the rice stuffing mix.
6. Line the rest of the garlic cloves against the ribs of the chicken.
7. Mix the sweet brown rice with goji berries, toasted sesame seeds, cracked black pepper, and pinch of salt. Stuff the rice mixture into the chicken.
8. Sew-up the chicken.

Ginseng Chicken Soup
Be very careful when peeling the chestnuts. I use a tool specially designed for peeling chestnuts, which can be found in the kitchen tool section of your local Korean grocery store.

Herbal Broth, prepared
1 organic chicken, stuffed
2 cups/10 raw chestnuts
2/3 cup gingko nuts
2 cups of jujube dates
2 tsp of rock sea salt

1. Peel the chestnuts.
2. Shell the gingko nuts.
3. Place the stuffed organic chicken, chestnuts, gingko nuts, dates, and salt into the prepared herbal broth.
4. Set the crock pot to cook on high for six hours. Your Supernatural Samgyetang is cooked and ready to serve!

Equipment for Super Natural Samgyetang

Cooking is always easier and more fun when you have the right tools. Starting from clockwise: Trussing Needle & Twine~ absolutely necessary for sewing poultry Chestnut peeler~ prevents fingers from getting cut Lime Squeezer~ can crush 5 gingko nuts at a time, in addition to squeezing limes Kitchen Shears~ A phat way of trimming poultry fat 6-quart Rival Crockpot or Luminarc glass casserole pot

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