Yujacha and cinnamon are a marriage made in heaven. (Photo by Tammy Quackenbush) Writing recently for Plate magazine about Korean breakfast culture inspired me to try mixing traditional Korean ingredients with traditional western breakfast items in unconventional ways. For some time my palate has been passionate about 유자차 yujacha, a hot tea made from Asian…
Review: Tov Tofu, Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa’s newest Korean restaurant opened late last year a few doors down from Whole Foods Market. (Jeff Quackenbush photo) Tov Tofu in Santa Rosa opened in late 2010 and is the latest Korean restaurant to open in Sonoma County, a winegrowing region about an hour north of San Francisco. Bear Korean in Cotati opened…
Keywords weave an interesting web leading to Koreafornian Cooking
I sometimes wonder how readers find this blog. But thanks to Google Stats, I don’t have to wonder for long. No doubt there’s lots of buzz about Korean tacos, based on the Google search terms. (Tammy Quackenbush photo) Recent popular search topics have been korean taco recipe, bulgogi taco recipe and kogi taco recipe. Notice a theme…
Last-minute Super Bowl party ideas
Super Bowl XLV is coming this Sunday, Feb. 6. You may still have no clue what to serve to the guests who are coming to watch the big game on your big screen TV. No need for panic. I have some ideas that will heat up your taste buds and warm you stomachs. 1 Curry…
Video: Restaurant reveals secret to ‘killer nakji bokkeum’ (spicy stir-fried octopus)
Joe McPherson of ZenKimchi Food Journal and Stafford Lumsdsen of Chosun Bimbo sink their teeth into some “killer nakji bokkeum” (낙지 볶음, spicy stir-fried octopus) at a restaurant located in Seoul’s Myeong-dong shopping district. The restaurant allowed Joe to film the making of nakji bokkeum and give away the trade secret: “Their secret is ginger…
Koreamerican creation: Kimchi buffalo hot dog
Napa Valley chef Hector Marroquin topped his buffalo hot dog with his “kimchi 3.0,” on a whole wheat bun slathered with Dijon mustard. I included sweet potato fries to complement the spicy kimchi. (Photo by Tammy Quackenbush) There’s arguably no food more recognizably Korean than spicy cabbage kimchi. But what is quintessentially American? Few meats…
Science backs health boasts about Korean bamboo salt
Korean bamboo salt (죽염 jukyeom) has been part of Korea’s culinary and medicinal tradition for more than 1,000 years. It’s commonly used in facial cleansers, acne treatments and toothpastes as well as consumed in health tonics and sprinkled on food. Scientists recently confirmed the health benefits of what’s commonly called purple bamboo salt, named for…
Watch out for sweet potatoes in 2011
Fox News reported on “Top 10 Foods to Watch in 2011.” No. 7 on the list is the sweet potato. Try the following Korean recipes to enrich your diet with this tasty tuber packed with beta-carotene and vitamins C and B6. Breakfast: Korean Sweet Potato Muffins 고구마 머픈 by Misty Yoon Side dish or appetizer:…
How water can be hard on your culinary masterpieces
Different sources of water have tortured the tongues of tea lovers for centuries and proved problematic for my late grandmother’s pickles. But health experts increasingly are realizing the subtle substances that distinguish one locale’s water from another — and consequently, a local specialty dish from a the same dish made elsewhere — can be essential…
Life in South Korea: Being Vegetarian (Vlog by Jiffmartin)
Check out Jeff Martinez’s tutorial on how to survive as a vegetarian in South Korea, including tips on how to explain your cuisine preferences to restaurant staff and pronunciation of basic Korean phrases to help keep the gogi (meat) out of your bibimbap (mixed up vegetables and rice).