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[caption id="attachment_15136" align="aligncenter" width="757"] Acorn Jelly (Dotorimuk) served with sauce[/caption]

What is Acorn Jelly?

Acorn Jelly (Dotorimuk 도토리묵) is a jelly made from cooking dried acorn powder with water and then letting it cool to become like jello but firmer. Koreans slice this into thick squares and enjoy it drizzled with spicy soy sauce. The flavor of the jelly is quite mild with hints of nutty and earthy flavor with a very slight astringent taste at the end.

This wonderful Dotori (Acorn) Muk (Jelly) is a classic everyday Korean side dish and it is something I kind of re-discovered last winter during my visit to Korea. I have had it so many times at different restaurants or bought it from the stores and have just gotten used to the so-so taste of it. But it was the first time in a long time where I had one that was freshly made at home at my mother-in-law's.

Just like gochujang, I have almost forgotten how wonderful a freshly homemade muk tastes. And because you are using 100% acorn powder with no fillers like cornstarch, it was just really flavorful and yummy. The texture was a bit softer and creamier too which was a pleasant surprise.

Dotorimuk requires good Chopstick skills!

Acorn jelly is notoriously hard to pick up with your chopsticks - even among Koreans. I remember when I was little, adults would scare the kids by saying that either they learn to use the chopsticks the 'right' way and be able to eat things like noodles and muk without difficulty or that they would have to embarrass themselves and resort to using a spoon or maybe a spork (spoon + fork) even as an adult!!! 😵

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[caption id="attachment_14536" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Anchovy Broth Variations (From Left to Right -Cold Anchovy Broth, Simple Broth, Anchovy + Kelp Broth, Veg Anchovy Broth)[/caption]

Anchovy broth (stock) or Myeolchi Yuksu (멸치육수) is a very simple fish broth that adds a very clean and mild umami flavor to many Korean soup or stews. It may almost taste like nothing when you taste it by itself but it adds such a great depth of flavor to your dishes. Knowing how to make this broth was such a life changer for me as a newlywed cook because often times I didn't have time to make the richer beef broth for soups and stews - which usually takes hours.

As you can see simply from the colors, the differences in flavor between the 4 broths is that broth flavor gets more complex and strong as the color goes dark (from left to right). The number of ingredients added also increases with darker colors. Now you may wonder, why not just make and use the stronger tasting broth for everything??

Well.. you can but I'm sure you heard of the term 'less is more '... and I'm a firm believer that the same concept applies to cooking too. And because broth #4 has shrimps and shitake, they may add some unwanted flavor for some dishes. But you are welcome to try it and see how you like it.

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[caption id="attachment_12748" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Korean Multigrain Rice (Japgokbap or Ogokbap)[/caption]

Korean Multigrain Rice or Japgokbap 잡곡밥 is a very hearty and healthy rice that Koreans like to enjoy with their everyday meals or on special occasions. Ogokbap 오곡밥 or 5 grain rice is a special kind of Japgokbap that's traditionally enjoyed on the day of the first full moon. The first full moon or Jeongweol Daeboreum 정월대보름 is a traditional Korean holiday that is January 15th in the lunar calendar.

Korean Multigrain Rice or Ogokbap as Part of First Full Moon Festival

FYI, for 2019,  Jeongweol Daeboreum will be Februrary 19th. Every year, on this day or the night before, Koreans traditionally enjoy this healthy Korean multigrain rice or Ogokbap and various namuls. Koreans prepare a table of this special 5 grain rice and namuls as offering to the heavens to pray for good harvest that coming fall.

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[caption id="attachment_12590" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Korean Purple Rice (HeukmiBap) or Black Rice[/caption]

What is Korean purple rice?

Korean purple rice is when black rice (aka forbidden rice) is cooked with white rice which then results in a purple color overall and thus called "purple rice" by many. It is actually not a direct translation but is something that just caught on with people.

NOTE - people may also confuse purple rice with what Koreans call Japgokbap (잡곡밥) which is multi-grain rice. This rice also has similar purple color but includes not just the black rice but other grains and beans like red and black beans, sorghum, garbanzo beans and millet.

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How to Make Rice Flour (Maepssalgaru or tteok ssal garu or ssal garu) for Korean Rice Cakes (Tteok)

I was working on my post for Songypeon recipe yesterday and I realized that if you live outside of Korea, you may have a hard time finding the right kind of rice flour to make the Korean Chuseok Tteok called Songpyeon. Some big Korean stores may sell the special rice flour but that's not always easy to find. So I experimented at home to find the best recipe on how to make rice flour from short grain rice - Maepssalgaru 멥쌀가루 or Ssalgaru 쌀가루 for short. This Korean Rice Flour for Rice Cakes is also sometimes called Tteok Ssal Garu 떡쌀가루 for obvious reasons.

OH! OH! Before I forget, don't forget my Korean Language Book Giveaway! It ends next Monday 16th. Follow me to enter the giveaway - more details in the post.

I know it's kind of confusing but they all refer to the same thing; a rice flour or powder made from soaked short grain rice while it is still wet. NOTE, there's a really confusing thing here. Even I used to get confused before when I didn't know much about making Tteok.

The post How to Make Rice Flour for Rice Cakes (Maepssalgaru for Tteok) appeared first on Kimchimari.

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