Aeri's Kitchen

Red bean porridge is commonly eaten on the shortest day of the year in Korea. This warm and sweet porridge is a great meal for any winter day too. If you make your own red bean paste at home, or have canned red bean paste, it is a pretty easy recipe to make. The sweet and nutty flavors from the red bean paste, along with the chewy rice balls, taste great together.

Yield: 2 Servings

Short Korean Lesson: *^^*

• DongJi (동지) = Shortest Day
• HaJi (하지) = Longest Day

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Oyster juk is very popular in the winter because winter is the best season for good oysters. This is one of the many different kinds of porridge in Korean cuisine. For some good variations to this recipe, simply replace the oysters with some other seafood such as: clams, mussels, shrimp, scallops, etc. This tastes great with the mild flavor of white rice.

Yield: 3-4 Servings

Short Korean Lesson: *^^*

• SangJa (상자) = Box
• JaSeok (자석) = Magnet

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Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables in Korean cooking. I can fry, deep fry, or steam it, and I can add it to soup or other dishes. One day, I wanted to try something fun and simple using some zucchini in my refrigerator. I grabbed some other vegetables that I had such as sweet peppers and green onions. I did not want to make batter for the zucchini so that it would make a lighter dish. So I came up with this recipe from what I had, and I really enjoyed eating it for lunch. The fried zucchini without any seasoning or batter tasted great with the sauce. This can be a good appetizer for a party because it looks pretty and can work as a finger food. Of course, the taste is great too.

Yield: 35 Slices

Short Korean Lesson: *^^*

• IBul (이불) = Blanket
• ChimDae (침대) = Bed

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Salted shrimp, called “saewujeot” in Korean, is usually used in making kimchi. It can be used for flavoring in other dishes too. It is just salted and fermented small shrimp. You can buy them in a Korean or Asian grocery store.

Read more from Wikipedia…

• Use:
  Seasoning

• Storage:
  Keep in the refrigerator.

• Types:
  Liquid type
  Liquid with shrimp

Spaghetti is a popular Western food in Korea; many Western restaurants serve different kinds of spaghetti: seafood, cream, meatball, etc. Today, I will make my version of spaghetti using a cream sauce. Maybe you have a cream pasta dish in your country too. This pasta tastes very good with the bacon and broccoli. I made two servings, thinking that it would be enough for my husband and me, but our little son loved mommy’s pasta so much that we all were still hungry after it was gone. Next time, I definitely have to double the recipe.

Yield: 2 Servings

Short Korean Lesson: *^^*

• JangNanJam (장난감) = Toy
• InHyung (인형) = Doll

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