Sesame Chicken

Today’s recipe is a guilty pleasure treat. Chinese food! I really enjoy getting sesame chicken when back home in Canada, but it’s a lot harder to find in Korea, although not impossible. There are a few places that have popped up this year in Seoul. Both Panda Express and P.F. Changs now have locations in the city if you’re looking for a quick fix. However, if you’ve got an oven or toaster oven then try out this delicious recipe below.

Sesame Chicken
Recipe adapted from The Recipe Critic

Ingredients
2 large chicken breasts
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
4 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 ̊F or 160 ̊C. Cut the chicken breasts into one inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add cornstarch to the chicken and stir until all the pieces are well coated. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs together with a fork. Dip the coated chicken pieces into the eggs. Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok, over medium high heat. Cook the chicken pieces until browned. Place the chicken in a greased baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine both vinegars, sugar, soy sauce, garlic powder and ketchup. Wisk until well mixed. Pour sauce over chicken and bake for 45 minutes. Stir the chicken every 15 minutes. Serve over white rice and broccoli. 

Fish Tacos

The Simmering Seoulmate and I have been eating a lot of Mexican food lately. We only have one month left in Korea and we are trying to hit up all of our favourite spots. We have been to Coreanos, Gusto Taco, and Vatos over the past couple of weeks.

Vatos was a big favourite of ours about three years ago when we first lived in Seoul, back when it was at its small back ally location. We enjoyed munching on Kimchi Carnitas Fries and sipping on margaritas, while hanging out with friends. Over these past three years, many Mexican fusion restaurants have popped up all over the city and we’ve sort of forgotten about Vatos because we’ve found a few other places we prefer. This past month, we ventured back to Vatos and it has become a new favourite again, so we’re glad we went back.

Fish tacos are something we’ve tried at several of the restaurants, but both of us enjoy the Vatos ones the best. The fish to taco ratio is perfect and the fish is moist with a crunchy batter. We decided to try and make our own fish tacos and they turned out fantastic! Check out the recipe below and enjoy!

Fish Tacos

Ingredients 8 tortilla shells cherry tomatoes purple cabbage red onion lettuce

Fish 2 tilapia fillets 1/2 cup flour 3/4 soda water 1/2 tbsp cornstarch salt to taste

Sauce 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt 1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp dried dill

Directions

For the slaw topping, chop about one cup of red cabbage and place in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and stir until well mixed. Spoon two tablespoons of the sauce into the cabbage and mix. (Keep the rest of your sauce for another dinner. It pairs well served over both chicken and fish.) Set slaw aside. Chop and prep the rest of your desired toppings and set aside, as these tacos should be served immediately. For the fish, cut each tilapia fillet into four equal strips. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Slowly pour the soda water into the dry ingredients and stir gently. Heat a large pan with an inch of canola oil, over medium high heat.  Dip your fish pieces into the batter and fry in pan, until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on a dish lined with paper towel. Build your tacos and serve immediately!

Makes 8 fish tacos.

Check out my chicken taco recipe here!

Potato Latkes

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. I spent my vacation in Phuket, Thailand and had a fantastic time. I’ve decided that I love Thai food and I’m going to attempt to make some of my own at home, using spice packets I picked up at the airport on my way back to Seoul.

I’ve only got a few months left in Korea before I move back to Canada for good and the week that followed Christmas was a whirlwind of craziness. I decided to relax this weekend, so I made something that I’d been craving; Potato latkes. These delightful fried potato pancakes have been a favourite side dish of mine since I was a young girl. I remember my mom making them for dinner and me eating several of them!

We ate them for lunch, but they make a great side dish to any main course. Give them a try or let me know below how you like to make these delicious potato treats!

Potato Latkes

Ingredients
4 medium potatoes peeled 1/2 onion fined diced
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper
vegetable oil

Directions
Heat a skillet over medium high heat and place about a tablespoon of oil in the pan and cook onions until soft and translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Grate the potatoes with a cheese grater into a medium bowl. Place the grated potatoes in a tea towel or cheese cloth and squeeze out as much water as possible. Place them back into the bowl and add in flour, onions, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the egg yolk and stir until all ingredients are combined.

In a large skillet, heat about an inch of vegetable oil over medium heat. Take about two tablespoons of the potato mixture and press flat into the hot skillet.  Cook for about two minutes or until they edges appear brown. Flip and cook for another two minutes. Place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Serve with sour cream or apple sauce.

Makes about 12 – 15 medium latkes.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

One last Christmas post before the big day! These cookies are a favourite of mine around this time of year. My mom always made some and we would spend an afternoon decorating them together. Although, I’m sure I complained quite a bit. These cookies are quite time consuming because of the decorating, but they are totally worth it in the end. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Cookies
200 g cream cheese softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter softened
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg yolk (you can save the white and make a DIY face mask)

Blend together cream cheese, sugar, butter, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and salt with an electric mixer.  Stir in flour with a wooden spoon, until well blended. Refrigerate dough for two hours.

Preheat oven to 375 ̊F or 190 ̊C. Working with about a third of the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 3-5 mm thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and place your cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Place in the oven for about 6-7 minutes. Make sure to keep a close eye. These cookies should be taken out as soon as any browning begins to happen. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack. Make sure that they are cooled completely before icing them. I waited until the next day. These cookies can also be kept in the freezer and take out about 30 minutes before eating.

Glaze
powdered sugar
food colouring
water or milk

For every one cup of powdered sugar you use add about a tablespoon of milk or water. You want the glaze to be thick enough that it won’t drip off the cookies, but thin enough to squeeze out of a bag. Add the liquid to the powdered sugar and stir until combined with a rubber spatula. Add in your desired amount of food coloring last and mix again. Spoon the icing into a ziplock bag and cut a small hole in tip. Instant piping bag!

Makes a ton of cookies!

Rein-Beers

A few years back, I made these wonderful rein-beers for the Simmering Seoulmate, and then a year later I made them again for his father. They absolutely loved them and they’re ridiculously easy to make, which makes this DIY perfect for any man on your list. All you need is a glue gun, some pipe cleaners, googly eyes, pom-poms and of course his favourite beer! You can also use non-alcoholic bottled drinks or a soda drink for kids at your next holiday party.

These are the ones I made for the Simmering Seoulmate's father a few years ago.

What you need:
6 bottled beers
12 googly eyes, any size
6 red pom-poms
40cm brown pipe cleaner per beer, so I used 240cm.
scissors
hot glue gun, extra glue

What to do:
Take a 40cm long piece of pipe cleaner and cut two 8 cm pieces off. Wrap the longest piece around the top of the bottle and bend the ends up. Then, take the two small pieces and tie each one around the bent ends creating an antler shape.



Next, use the hot glue gun to glue on the eyes and pom-poms below the antlers. That’s it! You’re finished. You can go the extra step and cover the beer case with wrapping paper.

Check out the rest of my holiday posts by clicking here.
Check out my other DIY post by clicking here.

White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

It’s Christmas baking season! With only a few weekends left before Christmas, there isn’t much time for baking. Today, I dedicated the afternoon to baking these yummy treats. Hopefully, I will have time to bake more cookies in the coming week. I originally wanted to make reverse chocolate chip cookies, but I only had about a half cup of white chocolate chips left. Oh no! Time to get creative! I decided to add some chopped up Hershey’s Cookies and Cream bar, some smashed up peppermint candies, and finally I topped the cookies with candy cane bits before placing them in the oven for a festive touch.

White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
2 eggs
1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
1tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup Hershey’s cookies and cream bar, chopped
4 mini candy canes, smashed
15 peppermint candies, smashed (If I had more candy canes, I would have used those)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 ̊F or 177 ̊C. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugars, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing completely. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon. Fold in chocolate chips, Hershey’s chocolate pieces, and peppermint bits. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Push the balls down slightly and sprinkle crushed candy canes on top of each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Polish Pierogi

Christmas is fast approaching and with the shopping, busy school schedule, and prepping for vacation, I am finding myself slightly overwhelmed. This will be my third Christmas away from my family back in Canada and it’s the one holiday I have the hardest time missing. Being in Korea hasn’t been all that difficult for me as far as adjusting to living in a different country and I haven’t had a difficult time with homesickness, but Christmas is my favourite holiday and there are so many things I miss. I miss our annual tree trimming party and helping prepare all the wonderful trays of food, the smell of a real tree filling our living room, the beautiful flower arrangements my dad makes every year, the decorations…so many decorations, my family, and last but not least, our traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner.

Our family Christmas Tree a few years ago.

Every year on Christmas Eve, my mother’s side of the family used to get together at my Babcia and Dziadzia’s house to celebrate. We would eat a feast of fish and at least four kinds of pierogi that my Babcia spent all day making. When I was younger I didn’t care for fish, so that meant my plate was filled with pierogi. In fact, my cousin and I used to compete to see who could eat the most. I’d like to think I won every year, but who knows. Now that my grandparents have passed away, and the children have grown, the tradition has lost some of its magic. My mom still makes pierogi and my cousin has made some too, but none will ever be as fantastic as my Babcia’s. Every year that I have been away from home that tradition is the one thing I miss the most.

This year, I will be in Korea on Christmas Eve, so the Simmering Seoulmate and I spend one afternoon making some pierogi, so that I can have a little piece of home this Christmas. We made the classic potato and cheese filled ones and saved some of the mashed potato and made some feta and spinach ones, too. Check out the recipe below to see how to make these polish delights! Merry Christmas.

Polish Pierogi

Ingredients

Dough 4 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup warm milk 3/4 cup warm water 2 egg yolks 3 tbsp melted butter 1 tsp salt

Potato and Cheese Filling 1 onion, finely chopped 1/4 cup butter 6-8 potatoes 1 cup grated cheddar cheese salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Dough: In a large bowl, combine egg yolks, milk, water, and butter mixing well. Stir in flour and salt. Knead for 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface or until ingredients are well combined and the dough is smooth and soft. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

Filling: Meanwhile, peel and cut potatoes into large pieces. Place potatoes in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes or until soft. Mash potatoes in the pot with a potato masher. Sauté onions in butter over medium heat until they are soft and clear. About 2-3 minutes. Add them to the mashed potatoes. Stir in cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let filling cool.

Once the dough has had time to rest, working with half the dough at a time roll it on a floured surface to about 3mm thick. Cut circles in the dough using a round cookie cutter (or if you don’t have one, use a cup like I did).  Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each circle. Fold over creating a half circle and pinch the edges closed. If eating right away, cook pierogi 10 at a time in a large pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes or less. You will know they are ready when they float to the top of the water. Stir a few times to prevent sticking. Serve with sautéed onions and sour cream. If you are freezing them like we did, place in a single layer on a parchment paper liner cookie sheet and freeze overnight. In the morning, move frozen pierogi to a zippered freezer bag. If cooking from frozen, they may need a few extra minutes in the boiling water. Enjoy!

Makes about 6 dozen.

Easy Egg White Face Mask

I have another food beauty DIY for you! This time it’s a speedy face mask. With only 3 ingredients and less than a minute to make, pampering just got a whole lot easier.

What you need:
1 egg white
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp honey

How to make your mask:
In a small bowl, whisk together egg white with lemon juice until frothy. Next, whisk in the honey until combined.

Directions for use:
First wash your face with warm water to open up your pores. Pat your face dry with a towel. Next, use your fingers to apply the mask to your face using circular motions. Be careful to avoid those sensitive areas around your eyes and lips. Now lie down and relax for 15 minutes, while the mask dries. Wash off using warm water.

Mask benefits:
Wow! My skin felt so nice after this mask. It felt so refreshing and my skin was soft and smooth. Egg whites have a ton of benefits for your skin, are great for tightening and toning your skin, and they help to shrink pores. I have combination skin, which means I have a very oily t-zone and dry patches on my checks. I love that the egg white has moisturizing properties, but also helps to remove grease.

As the holiday season approaches, make some time for you and try this mask out yourself. Also, don’t forget to check out my other beauty DIY post here. 

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Muffins, muffins, muffins! It’s time for another marvelous muffin recipe. Last week, I had a bunch of bananas that were going brown and was thinking about making some lovely banana bread, but the Simmering Seoulmate had a hankering for muffins. So, we decided to make oatmeal banana muffins. I’ve got quite a sweet tooth, so I incorporated some chocolate chips. You can customized this recipe to suit your preferences by omitting the chocolate or by adding add other types of chocolate chips, such as peanut butter chips, or even add some nuts or berries. These delightful treats make a great mid afternoon snack or a quick and easy breakfast. I like to eat them warmed up with a bit of butter on chilly mornings with a cup of coffee.

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 ̊ F or 190 ̊ C. In a large bowl stir together all of your dry ingredients, with the exception of the chocolate chips. In a smaller bowl, combine vanilla, butter, eggs, and bananas. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until all the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon the mixture into greased muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and removed clean. Let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 15 muffins.

Kitchen Tricks: Pomegranate Seeds

Oh boy, do I love eating pomegranate. However, it can be a super pain just thinking of how much effort goes into being able to eat these delicious seeds. I’m going to share with you how I remove those seeds quickly and easily.

Step 1: Score a line with a knife along the equator of the pomegranate, as if you were going to cut the fruit in half. 

Step 2: Use your fingers to pull the pomegranate in half, by placing them along the scored line and pulling in opposite directions.

Step 3: Loosen the seeds by gently pulling on the edges all the way around each half.

Step 4: Place one half of the fruit in your hand, with the seeds facing your palm. Hold your hand over a large bowl filled with water.

Step 5: Smack the outer skin of the fruit with a wooden spoon and watch as the seeds fall. If any of the pulp falls it will float to the top of the water so you can easily remove it.

Step 6: Drain your seeds and enjoy!

If you want to save some seeds for awhile you can freeze them, by placing them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, pour into a zippered freezer bag. I hope this post was helpful. If you have any tips about removing pomegranate seeds share them in the comment section below. If you missed my last kitchen trick check it out here.

Apple Cider Cocktails

In my last post, I wrote about my adventures in making homemade apple cider. If you haven’t read about it yet check it out here. Since I was only able to make about two cups of apple cider, I decided to make some cocktails, to warm anyone up on a cold day. These cocktails could be served up at your next holiday party and don’t require too many fancy alcohols or ingredients. Feel free to substitute store bought cider if you decide to try these out yourself.

The first cocktail was simple and made me feel quite classy. This cocktail only required two ingredients, hence it’s super thoughtful name.

Champagne Cider

What you need: Champagne glass, a dry brut champagne, one shot of apple cider, sprig of rosemary (optional).
What to do: Pour the shot of cider into the bottom of a champagne glass and top with champagne. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary for bonus class. (I didn't have any L)

Serves: 1
Taste: 3/5  I think I prefer my champagne solo.
Difficulty Level: 1/5
Classiness Factor: 5/5

The next cocktail was a bit manlier for those men out there who think cocktails are lame. This drink is a variation on a Shandy, which is a beer mixed drink that is mixed half and half with a carbonated beverage or juice. I really enjoyed the taste or this one, and again it’s super easy to make with only two ingredients.

Cider Spice Shandy

What you need: Glass beer mug, a pint of Lager beer (I used a Stella Artois) and 1/2 cup apple cider.
What to do: Fill your beer mug up to a little less than half with apple cider and top with your lager. Clink beer mugs with a friend. Enjoy!

Serves: 1
Taste: 4/5
Difficulty Level: 1/5
Classiness Factor: 3/5

The last cocktail is perfect for curling up next to a fire or, in my case, under my electric blanket and reading a book. It reminds me a lot of mulled wine, but the gin adds a different kick, with a slight warming sensation on the way down.

Cider Gin and Tea

What you need: Your favorite mug, a black tea bag, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 shots of gin, about 3/4 cup apple cider, and a lemon wedge for garnish.
What to do: Bring cider and vanilla to a boil in a small pot. Remove from heat, add tea bag and steep for 3 minutes. Add gin. Pour into mugs and add lemon wedge to the rim.

Serves: 2
Taste: 4/5
Difficulty Level: 3/5
Classiness Factor: 4/5

Cheers!