Uhmook bokkeum ~ Stir Fried Fish Cakes

I have been experimenting with Korean food again!  I've been on a spicy kick I guess.  Once again I used a recipe I found at Maangchi.com.  Tonight we make Uhmook bokkeum or Stir fried Fish Cakes.  If you click on the link you can see the recipe.  I did change it a bit.

First, I used Fish Cakes that were a mix of fish and pork.  Why? Because I really like pork and only kind of like fish.  Unfortunately I was also out of green onions. :( so I added more garlic :) this seemed to work.  I also excluded the green chili peppers as I don't like them.  I did use the corn syrup and extra chili paste.

In the end what I made looks a lot like Maangchi's pictures. \(^_^)/

The color is best in this one!

Here you can see there is a nice sticky sauce!

As what I made had absolutely no veggies in it, I also made cucumber salad.  I didn't have time to pickle anything so I went with a mayo and vinegar based salad I found at Allrecipes.com, the Creamed Cucumber Slices by GEEKSWIFE1. The recipe is as follows :

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup milk 1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar 1 large cucumber, sliced salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.	In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, milk, sugar, and vinegar until smooth. Place cucumber slices in the bowl, and toss to coat with the dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Chill 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.

Once again I did change the recipe a bit. First I used Japanese mayo and a whole tsp of vinegar (and I used sushi vinegar . . . its what I had on hand).  This means my was a bit zippier than what is written here.  I also used way less milk (just put in a splash at a time till it looks good).  The rest I did the same.

The Japanese mayo makes it!

As you can see I made a 1/2 batch . . . I used the other 1/2 a cucumber for sushi earlier this weekend . . .

So, I made myself up some brown rice and had dinner.  Uhmook Bokkeum, rice, and Creamed Cucumber Slices.  All parts were delicious!  I really liked the Uhmook Bokkeum and will probably make it again, though I think Thai Eggplant will still be my go to dish.  I would make the Creamed Cucumber if I had a cucumber laying around as it was pretty good as well.

Yum!

Close up of Uhmook bokkeum!

I also made myself a bento for tomorrow! I'm sure both will be even better tomorrow after they've had a change to settle.

Clickety Click Monkey approved!

Experiment success!

Heritage Festival

I went to the heritage festival in Edmonton this weekend.  It was really fun.  There were booths from all over and lots of music and dancing (folk dancing from the different countries). It was huge.  We were there 4 hours walking around and didn't really exhaust or options.

I had delicious Takoyaki otherwise known as octopus balls.  They were pretty good.  Not quite what I was expecting as they do not taste fishy at all.

I also had a bit of camel from the Somalie place (the flavor was great, I wish I knew what spices were used, but it was a bit tough . . . tastes a bit like goat). I had a orange mango shake.  A Bangladeshi samosa. I had some sort of bad pineapple drink from Guatemala. Really good bannock (an aboriginal Canadian specialty).

I also had some Kvas - a Russian drink that is fermented (though non-alcoholic) something.  The initial taste is fairly unpleasant, but the aftertaste is actually kind of nice.

After the fair we went to the T&T (my favorite Asian grocery story ever).  While there I got a steamed mochi cake (in rainbow colors!).

I know its blurry but you get the idea!

I don't know Mary, but she makes good mochi!  It has a real gentle sweet flavor with a hint of coconut. It is very very soft and rich. Not for eating in one sitting though its only about 4in around and 1/2 inch thick.  I may have to buy another then I get back to the T&T!

In keeping with talking about food.  I also made myself a pretty delicious lunch.

I have a cut up plum (I don't like to bit fruit with pits). Black bean salad and cucumber salad.
Both of those are easy to make.

For the Black bean salad I used 1 can of black beans, 2 small tomatos chopped, one avocado chopped, and the juice of one lime.  I then salted to taste and added a bit of Mexican hot sauce for spice.

Cucumber salad is just as easy.  Take 1/2 and english cucumber.  Cut in half the long way and remove seeds.  Peel a bit of the peel off to make a nice pattern and slice thinly.  Make dressing by combining 1/8 cup rice wine vinegar (white vinegar will work if that's what you have or another form of wine vinegar), 1/2 tsp sugar, and 1/8 tsp salt (or to taste). Stir together until dissolved.  Add cucumber and 1tbs toasted sesame seeds.