Life of a Paella...

Paella is a traditional Spanish family style or community style dish. Although it's traditionally cooked on an open fire outdoors, we don't always have that luxury or way of cooking it.

Every recipe or dish has certain components but I always like to encourage to cultivate it to make it your own by adding or substituting what you and your friends/family enjoy.

Ideally in a Paella pan OR you can use a cast iron skillet OR a dutch oven, just a sturdy heavier pan. 

Ingredients:
~ 1 pound shrimp (marinade with a seasoning oil - ideally olive oil & maybe a few crushed pepper flakes (about 1 TBSP))
~ a bag of mussels (1-2lbs or to your liking)
~ 1-2 links of chorizo
~ 1 diced onion
~ 1-2 peppers (bell Or hot peppers if you like it spicy)
~ 1 TBSP of smoked paprika
~ 1 TBSP of grated or minced garlic (about 2-3 cloves, or to your liking)
~ 1 teas of salt
~ 1 pinch of saffron (about a teaspoon)
~  1-2 citrus fruits cut into wedges for garnish and flavor.
~ 2 cups of rice (short grain, typically labeled as bomba or paella rice)
(double the amount of liquid per rice) we usually use 2 cups mussel or clam or chicken broth and 2 cups of chunky tomato sauce)  ie: you could do 3 cups broth and 1 cup tomato also.   (If you have 3 cups of rice, you want 6 cups of liquid, just double the amount of liquid, if that makes sense.)

Start by adding 2-3 TBSP of any neutral oil & then adding the garlic, all dry seasonings and the rice (dry) and begin 'toasting' the rice along with onions & chorizo. Once that is all stirred and mixed together, start layering the other liquid ingredients followed by the shrimp, the mussels (or clams if you chose clams) and then the citrus wedges.  Let everything simmer for about 30-40 minutes until the shrimp is cooked through and the rice is cooked all the way.  You will notice a crust on the bottom of your pan forming which is what you want, the 'socarrat' which is the essence of a Paella. That almost burnt toasted crust of a bottom. YUM! The last thing you can add as a garnish if you wish is a handful of chopped parsley or chives or a mixture of both.

Kimchi Jjigae

Kimchi jjigae also known as Kimchi stew ("jjigae")

Although there are many varieties of kimchi jjigae, I often do the one
that has tofu and some pork belly (aka bacon before it's smoked or cured)
for the flavor.

Ingredients:

1-1.5 cups of chopped kimchi (into bite size)
1 cup (optional or to your liking) of pork belly
        (bacon before it's smoked r cured)
1/2 a block (package) of firm tofu if you want to slice into strips or cubes
        (soft or silken) if you want to add the tofu without cutting
2-3 stalk of scallion sliced  (leave about 1/3 as fresh garnishing)
1 small onion diced
2-3 cloves of garlic minced or grated or sliced (to your liking)
small handful of seaweed or kelp (optional)
about 2.5 cups of water to start (you can add 1 more cup if you wish)
1 TBSP of Korean red pepper paste (gochujang)
1 TBSP of soy sauce or 1 teas of salt
1 TBSP of sugar
1 TBSP of toasted sesame oil

add everything into a pot except for the kimchi & tofu
once everything starts to simmer - add the kimchi & tofu

total cook time (about 20-30 minutes) depending on how much
you prefer the kimchi to be cooked (soft or super soft)

we always enjoy kimchi stew with a side of steamed white rice
(optional ingredients that you can also add: an egg, ramen noodles,
sausage instead of pork belly, mushrooms or zucchini)

Zestfully, Let's Cultivate Foode Cooking Class Philadelphia        Birthday gift present activity cooking class

Drunken Thai Noodles

Drunken Thai Noodles - often referred to eating as a hangover noodle dish or simply the idea of the rice noodles being cooked 'drunken' in the sauce

Ingredients:
~ 1 pack of flat wide rice noodles.  (bags come in 1 lb bags typically)
(soak the noodles for 20-30 minutes in warm water prior to cooking)
~ 2 TBSP of oyster sauce (2 drizzles across)
~ 2 TBSP of soy sauce (2 drizzles across)
~ 1 TBSP of fish sauce
~ 1 TBSP of rice vinegar
~ 1 TBSP of sugar
~  1-2 teaspoon of chili paste (or to your liking of spice level)
~ 1 teaspoon of grated ginger 
~ 2-3 cloves of grated or minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder) 
~ 1-2 eggs  
~ veggies can be whatever left over veggies you have 
(some common ones are carrots, broccoli, spinach, kale, chives, cabbage, swiss chard, bell peppers, bok choy, scallions etc...)(I typically mix 2-3 veggies)
~ optional to use beef, shrimp or chicken as protein, (if using a protein, add the protein when you're adding your veggies.


Procedure:
Once you have all your ingredients out and ready;
1. use a neutral oil to add to your pan
2. add your veggies, garlic and ginger; toss around to mix
3. after the veggies have sauteed for about 2-3 minutes, add the noodles
4. add the oyster, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and chili paste on top of the noodles to season  (add more soy sauce if the noodles are coated in seasoning after initial toss/mix)
5. once noodles have been mixed with the veggies/herbs and have started to cook down
(about 3-4 minutes)  create a 'well' in the center and add about a TBSP more of oil and crack 1-2 eggs in the center; let it cook for about a minute until it starts to coagulate and look like the start of scrambled eggs. 
6. Give a final mix with the egg

Plate and enjoy! 

Vegetable Dumplings

Ingredients:
1/2 of a head of cabbage (Savoy is often preferred) 
3-4 carrots shredded
1 large onion diced
1 medium zucchini (optional)
1 eggs separated
salt, pepper & garlic powder (to your liking, optional)
wonton or dumpling wrappers

Procedure:
1. saute the vegetables, add salt/pepper/garlic powder to season to your liking
2. separate egg & place egg white in a separate bowl
mix the raw egg yolks into veggie filling mixture to help bind
3. dip 1/2 of wrapper in egg white bowl (gluing agent)
4. add spoonful of mix into wrapper (not too much, do not overstuff)
fold in 1/2 leaving no openings
5. fry in a deep fryer or with some neutral oil in a small sauce pan or deep fryer   

Pull Apart Bread

Pull apart bread. So easy. So cheesy. So delicious.

There are many combinations or things that you can stuff in bread.
You can take the savory route or the sweet dessert route.

You want to start with a loaf bread that is not sliced but the whole loaf.
You can bake the loaf of bread yourself or purchase already made.
(Whatever fits your time and life style will determine that)

Here are the most relished combinations that you can stuff your pull apart bread.

~ Buffalo chicken
~ Philly cheesesteak style
~ Spinach and artichoke
~ Roasted garlic and mixed cheeses
~ Mixed mushroom and provolone
~ Scrambled eggs and bacon or sausage
~ Eggs, peppers and onions
~ Mashed bananas and diced sauteed apples + nutella
~ Mac and cheese stuffed pull apart bread
~ French onion style (a play of french onion soup)
~ Roasted veggies diced small with desired herbs
~ Strawberry basil and balsamic vinegrette
~ Brie cheese and cranberry

Below are some pictures of different types.
Cut the bread into cube pieces (without going all the way down)
You want the loaf bread to have cubed pieces that eventually pull apart
once it is ready to eat.  Drizzle a little olive, grape seed or veggie oil
on the bread and crevices, stuff your bread along with any cheese/s
and then bake in the oven on 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes.
(until the cheese melts and top of the bread is toasted to your preference.

Zestfully,  private party chef Yoon

Sashimi Salad

Sashimi Salad with salmon or tuna is our go-to for cooking classes
because salmon and tuna are the most accessible for the general public
to purchase. You can always cultivate a dish and create it to your liking.

Below is a common base that you can start with.
I typically will start with some type of green whether it be red leaf lettuce,
romaine lettuce, cabbage (green or purple) mustard greens, baby spinach,
watercress or an organic spring mix for mini lettuces and greens.

Add other veggies such as sliced or shredded carrots, pickled radish,
or plain radish, cucumbers slices or shredded, a smaller type of
mushrooms (eg: enoki), a bell pepper for color...

and then to the Salmon or Tuna - make sure that you are purchasing
"Sashimi" grade or "Sushi" grade fish because you want it to be the
freshest but more importantly because you are consuming it in raw form.

A great marinade for the fish and then to ultimately add to the
other veggies will be: 
~ juice of 2 limes (for acidity)
~ 1-2 TBSP of sugar (for sweetness)
~ sriracha mayo (mix sriracha & mayo together) if you enjoy things spicy,
   use extra plain sriracha at the end as well (to you liking)
~ 2 TBSP of soy sauce (for the salt aspect & flavor)
~ 1 TBSP of fish sauce (extract of anchovies) not oyster sauce
~ 1 TBSP of sesame oil (or a little more to your liking)
~ sprinkle of sesame seeds (to your desired amount) (start with 1 teaspoon)

Once your fish is marinating for about 15 minutes you can assemble all
your veggies and then lay the fish on top and mix everything or plate
it to look layered and then mix once you/your guests are ready to eat.

Zestfully,  private party chef Yoon

Stuffed Mushrooms

White button mushrooms are great to stuff.
I love to stuff them with vegetables and cheese!

You can take large white mushrooms, twist and pop the stems off.
and stuff them with spinach and artichoke, a caprese style stuffing,
Italian sausage, pepperoni and cheese, etc... cultivate it to make it your own.

Once you decide what to stuff the mushrooms with, simply add a little olive oil

or grape seed or avocado oil and drizzle over all the mushrooms. This will not

only give it flavor but will allow for the mushrooms to bake better.

Add your preferred cheese (shredded off the block if you can) and then

simply bake for 10 minutes on 375 degrees.

You can always garnish with a sprinkle of herbs or a veggie puree or cream sauce.

I love to add pea sauce or carrot puree. The purees can be easily made

by chopping the desired veggie into small pieces and simply simmer for about

10 minutes with choice of stock or water. (the liquid will cook down)

Then blend to your desired thickness. I put them into squeeze bottles for easy use.

Zestfully,  private party chef Yoon