In Korea, glutinous rice is called chapssal (찹쌀), and its characteristic stickiness is called chalgi (Hangul: 찰기). Cooked rice made of glutinous rice is called chalbap (찰밥) and rice cakes (떡=ddeok) are called chalddeok or chapssalddeok (찰떡, 찹쌀떡). Chalbap is used as stuffing in samgyetang.
Frying mix is one type of flour Korean people use for fried foods. As the name says, it’s already mixed with various ingredients for making frying batter. Simply mix this powder with some water. I usually use a mix of half frying mix and half normal flour for my frying since it tastes better that way.
To make GoChut GaRu (고춧가루), remove the stems of red hot peppers and open them to get rid of the seeds inside. Wipe them dry and then grind them to make powder. Depending on the purpose, the coarseness of the crushed flakes is different. You can use real fine hot pepper powder for a spice, or red pepper paste. Medium-fine powder can be used for napa kimchi or radish kimchi. Course powder is used for summer kimchi, 열무김치. Make sure the powder is well sealed to lock in the nutrients. Two big nutrients of hot peppers are vitamins A and B.
Korean pancake mix is a flour mix used to make Korean style pancakes, Jeaon. As the name says, it already has all of ingredients for making pancake batter except the water. Simply mix this powder with some water and add different kinds of vegetables or seafood in it. To make them taste better, I usually mix some normal flour with this, and sometimes add frying mix (when I want to make them more crispy.)
Dotorimuk, or acorn jelly, is a Korean jelly made from acorn starch. Although “muk” means “jelly”, when used without qualifiers, it usually refers to dotorimuk. The practice of making dotorimuk originated in mountainous areas of ancient Korea, when such regions were abundant with oak trees such that the amount of acorns produced each autumn were plentiful enough to become a source of food. Like other muk, dotorimuk is most commonly eaten in the form of dotorimuk muchim (도토리묵무침), a side dish in which small chunks of dotorimuk are seasoned and mixed with other ingredients such as slivered carrots and scallions, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, red chili pepper powder, and sesame seeds.
Dotorimuk was widely eaten in Korea during the Korean War, when millions of people were displaced and starving. It consequently became associated with poverty, and most people who could afford them ate memilmuk or other jellies instead. However, in recent years it has been rediscovered as a health food.
- Use:
Side dish, Salad- Storage:
Powder: Keep in the cabinet.
Cooked Dotorimuk: Keep in the refrigerator.- Types:
You can buy already made dotorimuk in the refrigerator section.
You can also buy a powder and make it by yourself.- Short Korean lesson: *^^*
Dotori (도토리)=Acorn
Muk (묵)=Jelly
Garu (가루)=Powder
