「라면+떡볶이=라볶이」Spicy Korean Rice Cake & Ramen

i took friday off work & was craving some spicy food so i made 라볶이 (rabokki) aka 라면 (ramyon/ramen) with 떡볶이 (ddeokbokki): a very popular snack food served on the streets in Korea. i couldn't find a simple recipe online, so i made up my own using the usual ingredients - chili, sesame, soy sauce. some of the ones i came across required anchovy broth, etc.

i made it quick, snap'd a few shots, post'd it to facebook & enjoy'd the spicy kick'n chewiness while work'n on my resume. the next time i log'd back onto facebook, i received quite a few comments.

since i got so many people drool'n over it, i thot i'd share the recipe. like everyone i know who cooks, i do not measure when i cook, only when i bake. so this recipe gives approximate portions, but u can ALWAYS adjust to your taste. Enjoy!!!

라볶이 Spicy Korean Rice Cake & Ramen
serves 2-3?

1 bag of tube-shaped rice cakes - 떡 ddeok (refrigerated/frozen type, not the dry ones!)
1 bag of ramen - 라면 ramyon
3T fermented red chili pepper & soybean paste - 고추장 gochujang
2T red chili pepper flakes - 고추가루 gochugaru
1T sesame oil
1T soy sauce
1t sugar
veggies (cabbage, onion, carrot - chop'd)
enough water to cover the rice cakes
2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced/diced
hard-boil'd eggs

1. in a large pan, sauté the garlic in the sesame oil, add veggies, cook a minute or two.
2. add water to pan of sautéed veggies, boil, add rice cakes, ramen, chili paste, chili flakes, soy sauce, sugar.
3. boil until the rice cakes float to the top, then it's ready to eat. the liquid will absorb up so don't worry about it being too liquidy since the sauce is usually served thick.

Note: get the milk ready if u can't take that spicy kicks to your tongue. enjoy!

「ココナッツのマドレーヌ」Coconut Madeleines

finally got my lazy self to post something! plus i'm procrastinating...=P

the sister-in-law of my sister-in-law request'd a madeleine recipe after see'n my a pic of my 1st ever batch of madeleines on my fb wall from June & i was craving coconut so...

i baked coconut madeleines!

madeleines are simply small shell-shaped buttery cakes. they're not hard to make, but i can't get them to taste like those from starbucks. i used to buy a lot with 30% employee discount. pop'd them in the oven for 30 seconds & ate them warm with their crunchy edges & buttery cake-i-ness...MMM MMM MMM!!!! the ingredients are basic - egg, sugar, flour, vanilla, but beats me why the starbucks' ones taste SOOOOOOOOO much better.

anyways, mine's are pretty yummy too!!! especially fresh & hot straight outta the oven & into my mouth, just how i like it!!!

i even glazed some of them with a coconut milk powder/sugar mix, but made them very sticky & messy. gotta figure out why the lemon glazes aren't sticky...hmmm?

「ココナッツのマドレーヌ」Coconut Madeleines

recipe yields about 12 madeleines (depend'n on pan size)

2 eggs (medium)
60g sugar

60g cake flour
20g coconut milk powder (i used Chaokoh brand)
1/4 t baking powder

60g butter (melt'd)
1t vanilla (i used vanilla bean paste)

1. preheat oven to 360F.
2. butter the madeleine pan & coat with flour, tap off excess flour.
3. beat eggs with sugar over simmer'n water until mixture is pale & leaves ribbon trails.
4. sift together flour, coconut milk powder & baking powder; fold into the egg/sugar mixture.
5. combine melt'd butter & vanilla; mix into batter.
6. spoon into madeleine pan, leaving 1/8 inch of space at rim.
7. bake 12-15 minutes until edges are golden brown.

ENJOY!!!

intro

up until 5 months ago, i slept on a twin-size bed. when i moved, i bought a queen, to share with 1. my puppy tofu (he's still too small to make it up on his own & mommy won't approve of him get'n on it whatsoever, so we'll see, i'll wait...nobody can stop him then...hehehe), 2. my clothes - dirty and/or clean, 3. my laptops, 4. loads of dust-collect'n junk, etc., 5. my pillows & blankets, of course, and 6. MY DESSERT COOKBOOKS!!!!!

i have sooooo many books that i feel that they may weigh down the 86-yr old house & cause more disleveling. therefore, i sold a whole bunch online & put some in the basement. there are still wayyyyy more sit'n in my closet & in my bed drawer (i can get pretty obsessive with collect'n things. hoarder? me? maybe.). the books (cookbooks) i'm obsess'd with (pictured) stay in my bed drawer & sometimes spend night after night with me. all of them are Japanese, with exception of one in Korean & two in Chinese. geared with a few years of spending Sundays at Chinese school, a few months studying Korean in Seoul & a few months of studying Japanese in Tokyo, i half-cluelessly study the recipes day-in and day-out. i flip & flip through them a lot, but have only attempt'd a few recipes from them. with this blog, i hope to challenge myself to attempting & succeeding at more recipes. even when i follow recipes in plain English, things don't always turn out as expect'd, so it's even harder when the recipes are not in English, but i enjoy every aspect of the challenge.

i really look forward to sharing my 「スイーツの記憶」- "memories of sweets" - with everyone.

stay tuned. =D