Dak-Galbi and Ttukbaegi gyeranjjim

Sharing the meal :)

  

Beautiful earthenware bowl

     Dak-Galbi is a spicy chicken dish with vegetables.  As I am beginning to feel more confident with the Korean style of cooking and the ingredients I am using I ventured off from following this recipe exactly.  It called for 1/4 carrot and 1/4 zuchinni.  As you can tell from the picture I was much more enthusiastic about my vegetables!  Sang Tae emphatically  stated that this was my best Korean dish yet!  Personally I favor the Japchae, but this was delicious!

    Making this dinner was quite a bit more laborious then the others I have done so far for a number of reasons.  The first being I was cooking two new dishes this evening, secondly the Ttukbaigi gyeranjjim was cooked using an earthenware pot.  Using a clay pot was a first for me and I underestimated how long the dish would take to took in it.  Thirdly, while the recipe for Dak-galbi called for boneless thigh and leg meat I had a whole uncooked chicken I had to debone, and finally both recipes called for chicken broth, which I was out of, so after deboning the chicken I also had to make a chicken broth with the carcass.  There was a lot going on just in meal preparation let alone Eli being quite demanding.  I solved that problem by setting him up at the sink to wash dishes for his first time.  He LOVED it!  Kept him quite occupied for the majority of the time.

Mama's helper!

Ttukbaigi Gyernajjim

    Ttukbaigi Gyeranjjim is a simple steamed egg dish with the ingredients of chicken broth, fish sauce, green onions, and eggs.  Ttukbaigi means "small earthen pot" and "Gyeranjjim" is translated to "steamed eggs".  Accordingly this dish is traditionally made in a earthenware pot or bowl.  I just happened to have the perfect thing, which we received as a Christmas gift from my cousin, Rose H. in 2013.  Thanks Rose!!  I didn't really know how to use this pot before seeing this recipe and subsequently learning how to treat it before use.   The dish turns out fluffy seasoned eggs which is served as a side.  I have to admit mine did not turn as well I would have hoped, but the flavor was correct.  I am including a picture anyway because I don't want you to think you have to get everything right the first time!  Just keep trying it out!  You have to be careful when using earthenware that you don't change the heat quickly on them as they are prone to cracking.  I may have erred to much on the side of caution though as it was supposed to cook in ten minutes and mine was still a bit watery after about 50 minutes!

  Overall I was pleased with the result of the meal.  It was served with the every present white rice and my newest batch of Kimchi.  The recipe for Dak-Galbi I got from the book "Discovering Korean Cuisine" and the Gyeranjjim was from Maangchi's website here.