Miso Glazed Salmon Filet

 I got some news last week. My back is in shambles. I have a protruding disc and I have degenerative disc disease. I also am in need of both hips being replaced because of osteonecrosis. So, not only am I trying to bounce back from that toxic mattress, I have to deal with these other issues, as well.
It was suggested that I make an appointment with a health coach and talk to them about gastric bypass. I'm really not interested in that. I'm not saying that it won't happen, but I'd like to try to take the weight off myself, first.
I started by eating salads with a couple of boiled eggs on them for dinner for the past 2 or 3 nights. It got old rather quickly. I opted to go with a lean protein, salmon, for tonight.

First, though, I needed to make a side dish to go with the salmon. This is a recipe from Maangchi called Signumchi Namul. Click on the name to view the recipe. It's a super simple spinach recipe that takes, literally, just a few minutes to prepare.

It's a delicious addition to any Asian meal.

Now, onto the Miso Glazed Salmon.

Miso Glazed Salmon
makes 1 serving

1 4-oz. salmon filet
2 teaspoons white miso paste
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon coconut palm sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Chopped scallion and toasted sesame seeds for garnish

In a small bowl, combine miso paste, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and sesame oil to make marinade. Whisk to combine. Reserve 1 teaspoon of marinade.
In a small bowl, add salmon filet. Pour over marinade. Cover and refrigerate 1-3 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a cast iron skillet with avocado oil. Put salmon in skillet, skin side down, discard marinade. Bake 12-14 minutes or until not quite done. Pour reserved marinade over the salmon, put under broiler and broil for 1-2 minutes.
Garnish with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Maangchi's Galbi Grilled Ribs With Green Onion Salad Side Dish

 I'm hoping that Maangchi will like another one of my posts on Twitter. It makes my entire day when she does. I can't help it, though. She has so many great recipes that just appeal to me.

Last night, I made 2 of Maangchi's recipes. Bob was not able to partake of kimchi or the green onion salad, so I eyeballed the onion salad to make enough for just one person. It was spicy and delicious and it completely hit the spot with me. I plan on using the superfluous kimchi in another Maangchi recipe. I haven't made kimchi yet because I have very limited refrigerator space and, living in a fifth wheel, I just really don't want either my indoor, or my outdoor kitchens smelling like it. So, I simply had Bob pick up a jar that was alive with all the good stuff that kimchi has in it. I plan on using the rest of the kimchi to make another Maangchi recipe and then I think I'll move onto a different type of cuisine for a while.
I'm just trying to use stuff up. 

I grow green onions out in my raised beds. I did quite the thinning on them. They are huge! I planted over 300 and I've been able to share with a few of the neighbors, which is cool. I've even shared onions with Ginger (you'll see her commenting every now and then on here...she's my younger sister). Anyhow, you can't have a green onion salad side dish without green onions.
Both recipes have scallions in them.

The Galbi Ribs start out with short ribs. You do not want the flanken style for this, you want the meatiest short ribs you can find. Unfortunately, these were the best that the store had and, at $7.99 per pound, I feel we paid for bones. You can't win them all. Soak these in cold water and pat dry. 

Next, you cut the meat out, so that it makes as long of a strip as you possibly can. These get sprinkled with sesame oil, sugar, salt, scallion and chopped garlic.
Here's where I make a confession. I forgot to add the garlic until just before I cooked these. It happens. You'll want to pat/smack all these ingredients into the meat and then roll them back up...

like this.
Put them in the fridge for a couple of hours to marinate.
In the meantime, make the Green Onion Salad side dish. 

This salad usually gets put into the lettuce/perilla leaf bundles along with the Galbi. Click here and scroll down for the recipe.
I could eat this salad every single day. I'm not thinking that my stomach will thank me, but my taste buds sure would!

These ribs are best cooked over charcoal, but I used my grill pan. You unroll them and start searing. 

Let them get some crispy edges. Just keep turning them back and forth. 

Then use scissors to cut up into bite-sized pieces. Let those cook until there's no longer any pink on the outside of the meat. After this is when you, traditionally, set out a plate of lettuce or perilla (or both) leaves, some ssamjang, slices of raw garlic and some Green Onion Salad.
Bob is going to be starting to get some extensive dental work done, so, hopefully, when that is all over, he will be able to eat one of these bundles. 

So, this is how we enjoyed these delicious Maangchi recipes last night.

Thanks, Maangchi!

Maangchi's Korean Honey Butter Fried Chicken

Those of you who know me already know that I have cooked my way around the world. Doing that project comes along with some perks, such as knowing what cuisines are freaking tasty! I think that one of both my husband and my favorite countries is Korea. I'm talking particularly about Korean street food. I have a Korean food guru. Sure, there's many great YouTube channels out there. Off the top of my head, I can think of Asian At Home with Seonkyoung Longest. This evening, however, I'm going to feature my Korean cooking guru's recipe of Honey Butter Fried Chicken. To get a better idea of how to do this recipe, simply watch Maangchi's video on YouTube.

I refuse to fry inside of the fifth wheel. I do not want to clean that up...ever. Ever. EVER! I like to set everything up, in an order that makes sense to me, on our gas grill. I also use my only cast iron skillet that I have in the trailer. It's a pretty small one, but it works fine for the two of us.

I use wings that I cut down. These are what Maangchi suggests and that's what I did. There is a reason that I do not deviate from this magnificent recipe and I'll tell you all why that is further down in this post.

I don't use a thermometer. I use a wooden chopstick to test to see how hot my oil is. The side burner of our gas grill can get really hot, so once I get my first batch of breaded wings in to fry, I cut that heat back to a bit less than halfway. You'll have to figure out how your stove/burner works.

I fried up this chicken in 2 batches. Each piece of chicken will be fried for 5 minutes TWICE on each side. You cook for 5 minutes, flip over, cook for 5 minutes, flip back over, cook for 5 minutes and then flip over for the final 5 minutes. Do not deviate from this. This is the third time I've made this recipe. The first time, I cooked everything precisely as Maangchi said to. The second time, I thought I knew better and I screwed the whole thing up. The third time, I went back to exactly how Maangchi said to do it and they were just as delicious as the first time. Make sure to follow the recipe and the cooking times.

This is the final fry before removing to a metal strainer to drain over a stainless bowl.

Let them drain just like this. Eventually, all your pieces of chicken should wind up in the strainer. That's when you let the oil heat for a minute and you put everyone back into the hot tub for their second fry. These are double fried and that is why they are so extremely crunchy!

This is the honey butter sauce that the wings will be tossed in.

These are finished wings. Let me know if you make these! I totally fan girl on Maangchi because she liked one of my Tweets that I mentioned her in before. Thank you, Maangchi!