Perfect Side Dish

Korean radish is used in so many Korean dishes. Check out a Korpino Feed favorite, My Mother’s Seogogi Muguk , where Korean Radish beef soup delicious! This particular side dish is staple at Korean restaurants and homes. It is super easy to make and pairs with literally everything. Kkakdugi paired with Jjajangmyeon (Korean-Chinese Black Bean Noodles) is one of my favorites! Here is a super easy Banchan (side dish) you can make in a matter of minutes. Although pickle you get maximum flavor, it can also be enjoyed fresh.

Ingredients

Korean Radish, Onion, Green Onion, Ginger, Garlic, Gochugaru (Korean pepper powder/flakes), Sugar, Fish Sauce, Salt.

Shopping tip: Be sure when shopping for Korean radish that you choose one that has smooth skin, otherwise the skin will be too tough to chew.

Instructions

Wash, peel radish and chopped into cubes. Put radish in a mixing bowl, add salt, mix well and set aside for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile slice onions and green onions, mince garlic and ginger.

After 30 minutes, drain brine from the radish.

Add green onions, onions, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, gochugaru, and sugar to radish.

Mix well by hand (gloves).

Pack radish into an airtight container and refrigerate. It is ready to eat fresh or for maximum flavor, leave out for 2 days before refrigerating. ENJOY!

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Kkakdugi Spicy Pickled Radish Korean Banchan (Side Dish)

This particular side dish is staple at Korean restaurants and homes. It is super easy to make and pairs with literally everything!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Korean

Keyword banchan, Easy Korean Recipe, Kimchi, Kkakdugi, Korean radish, Korean side dish

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Rest Time (optional) 2 days days

Equipment

• 1 Mixing bowl
• 1 Air tight container

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Korean Radish be sure to pick one that has smooth skin otherwise it will be too tough to eat.
• 3 stalks Green Onions chopped
• 2 Tbs Sugar *if you like it sweeter, add to taste
• 2 Tbs Salt
• ½ Onion sliced
• 3 Tbs Fish Sauce
• 1 Tbs Garlic (5-6 cloves) minced
• ½ Tbs Ginger minced
• 2 Tbs Gochugaru (Korean Pepper powder/flakes)

Instructions

• Wash, peel, chop radish into ½-1 inch cubes.
• Add chopped radish to mixing bowl.
• Add Salt to radish and allow to sit for 30 minutes, brine (salt water) will drain from radish.
• Meanwhile, wash green onions and chop, slice onions, mince garlic and ginger.
• After 30 minutes, drain brine from radish.
• Add green onions, onions, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, gochugaru, and sugar to the radish in the mixing bowl.
• Mix ingredients well, by hand (gloves) is recommended.
• Pack radish mix into an airtight container.
• This can be refrigerated and enjoyed fresh or left out for 2 days at room temperature for maximum flavor before refrigerating.

Notes

Enjoy!

I Corinthians 13:13

The post Kkakdugi Spicy Pickled Radish Korean Side Dish appeared first on Korpino Feed.

History

Jjajangmyeon is more than just a popular Korean noodle dish. It is a comfort food with a history of immigration. The dish has Chinese immigrant to Korea origins. Throughout the years it has been changed a here and there. But what has not changed is it is still very affordable to make, and a deeply loved comfort food. Many will say Jjajangmyeon was not a dish that was made at home, but instead a dish you looked forward to when eating out. A cheap, fast and delicious meal full of sweet, savory, umami flavors.

Pop Culture

Jjajangmyeon is not just a dish of history and childhood. There is an unofficial holiday called Black Day. On April 14th, Koreans “celebrate” Black Day as a day dedicated to Single people. The answer to Valentines Day or White Day (Valentine’s day part II, March 14th). Black bean noodles is the official dish of this unofficial holiday that is enjoyed in restaurants with fellow single friends. It is said that restaurants double sales on Jjajangmyeon on Black Day.

Ingredients

Pork Shoulder/Butt (or pork belly), Zucchini, Potatoes, Onions, Vegetable Oil, Black Bean Paste (Chunjang), Potato starch, Water, Sugar, Cucumber, Sugar.

The Black Bean Paste I used for this recipe is linked below. However, any Korean Black Bean Paste or Chunjang should work.

Instructions

Prep

Be sure to do all of your chopping before moving onto the cooking.

Chop potatoes, zucchini, onions to the same size (approx. 1/2 inch) cubes for even cooking. Chop pork to same size chunks for even cooking. Slice cucumbers to matchstick size, think a pretty garnish that goes on top, but adds a lot of flavor.

Cooking

Use a Wok or any large deep non-stick pan on medium/high heat.

Add oil

Add Chunjang (Korean Black bean paste)

Stir fry until the past starts to separate and harden a little

Set aside the stir fried black bean paste and oil in a separate bowl.

Add chopped pork to wok, stir.

Cook pork until golden brown

Add chopped potatoes, zucchini, onions to pork. Cook until potatoes are halfway translucent.

Add stir fried black bean paste and oil.

Mix well

Add water, cover and simmer until potatoes are cooked.

In a separate bowl add Potato Starch and water, mix until the starch dissolves and add to the wok.

Mix well. Sauce will thicken, turn off heat.

Cook noodles according to package instructions. I used knife cut noodles found in refrigerated sections of most Asian grocery stores. Or if you cannot find these, here is a dried option from Amazon. Also, feel free to use any noodles, even rice which this dish would then be called Jjajangbap, another delicious option!

Matchstick cucumbers to garnish on top

Enjoy!

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EASY! Jjajangmyeon Korean-Chinese Black Bean Noodles

An EASY Jjajangmyeon recipe packed with traditional flavor! Black bean noodles can be defined as one of the most popular Korean comfort foods. Savory, slightly sweet with tons of umami. Many Koreans can relate this dish to their childhood.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Korean

Keyword April 14, black bean noodles, Black day, comfort food, knife cut noodles, Korean, Korean-Chinese, pork, singles day, sweet savory, umami

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Equipment

• 1 wok Or any large deep non-stick pan

Ingredients

• 1 lb Pork Butt/Shoulder (or pork belly) chopped into cubes
• 1 cup Zucchini chopped small cubes
• 1 cup Potatoes chopped small cubes
• 1 ½ cup Onions chopped
• ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
• ½ cup Korean Black Bean Paste (Chunjang)
• 1 Tbs Sugar
• 3 cup Water
• ½ cup Cucumber Sliced into matchsticks

Slurry

• 2 Tbs Potato Starch
• ¼ cup Water

Noodles

• 2-3 bunches Fresh Knife-cut noodles Can be found in refrigerator section of most Asian markets. Feel free to use any type of noodles, or even rice!

Instructions

• Heat wok on medium/high heat.
• Add Vegetable Oil and Black Bean Paste and fry well. It is important to fry well for umami flavor. Cook and stir until the black bean paste starts to separate.
• Remove the fried black bean paste with the oil and set aside in a separate bowl.
• Add chopped pork to the wok and stir well until all sides are golden brown and fat is melting off.
• Add chopped Zucchini, Potatoes, and Onions. Stir well. Cook until the potatoes are almost translucent.
• Add the bowl of fried Black Bean Paste with the oil to the veggies and pork. Stir well.
• Add Sugar, stir.
• Add Water, stir well, and simmer (covered) to cook potatoes all the way through.
• Slurry: In a separate bowl add potato starch and ¼ cup water and mix well.
• Add Slurry to the wok once potatoes are cooked and stir to thicken.
• Cook noodles according to package instructions.
• Serve with sliced cucumbers as a garnish. ENJOY!

Notes

Pork belly is used traditionally, however we like using pork butt/shoulder because it is more accessible, a more affordable and meatier. 

Don't be afraid to fry the black bean paste well, fry until it separates, this is where the umami flavor comes from. 

Serve over any type of noodles you want and it's even delicious over rice (Jjajangbab!)

Numbers 6:22-26

The post EASY Jjajangmyeon Korean-Chinese Black Bean Noodles appeared first on Korpino Feed.

Popular Korean Banchan Eomuk Bokkeum Stir Fry Fishcake

Enter any Korean home or restaurant, you will find stir fried fishcake in the rotation of side dishes. Often times it is at Korean BBQ where you’ll have this as a side dish, but my kids will eat it as a main dish with just rice. It is already rich in umami flavor but when stir fried with sweet, savory and spicy ingredients, it is easy to see why it is a popular side dish, even for the most unadventurous eater. This banchan is super easy to make with some ingredients you may already have on hand. The main ingredients you need are fishcake, soy sauce, garlic, sugar, sesame oil, and gochugaru. Feel free to add whatever type of onions and peppers to your liking.

Easy Korean Fishcake Recipe

This recipe is the easiest version without missing all the umami, sweet and savory flavors. In other words, maximum flavors with minimal ingredients. And you can make it as spicy as you want just by adding more gochugaru and/or substituting with a spicier pepper.

Ingredients

Fishcake, cooking oil, gochugaru, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil, onions, green onions, Korean peppers, toasted sesame seeds.

Instructions

Prep

Slice onions, chop peppers, chop green onions, mince garlic.

In a separate bowl add sauce ingredients and mix: gochugaru, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and set aside.

Blanch fishcake in boiling water for about 30 seconds. This will soften the fishcake and remove oils.

Drain well and slice

Cook

Add cooking oil to pan on medium/high heat.

Add fishcake, sliced onions, chopped peppers, chopped green onions, and minced garlic. Stir until fishcake is slightly browned.

Add sauce mix to the stir fry, mix well and cook.

Add toasted sesame seeds and enjoy!

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Easy Korean Fishcake Stir Fry Side Dish

Eomuk Bokkeum. Easy Korean Stir Fry Fishcake, a popular versatile side dish, slightly sweet and savory bursting with umami. This recipe is mild but with a couple of changes can be made spicy. Perfect side dish to a fancy Korean BBQ dinner or have with just rice.

Course Banchan, Side Dish

Cuisine Korean

Keyword asian recipes, banchan, banchon, easy fishcake, Easy Korean Recipe, eomuk bokkeum, Fish cake, fish sauce, fishcake, korean peppers, mild, Purple sweet potato noodles, side dish, Soy sauce, Sweet and Savory, umami

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

• 8 sheets Fishcake
• 2 Tbsp Cooking Oil as needed
• 2 tsp Garlic minced
• 1/4 Onion sliced
• 2 Korean Peppers chopped
• 1 Green Onion chopped
• 2 tsp Toasted sesame seeds

Sauce

• 1/2 tsp Gochugaru
• 4 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 8 tsp Sugar
• 4 tsp Sesame oil

Instructions

• In a bowl add sauce ingredients: gochugaru, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and mix. Set aside.
• Boil water in a deep pan, blanch fishcake for 30 seconds to soften and remove oils.
• Drain fishcake well and slice.
• Add cooking oil to pan on medium high heat.
• Add fishcake, garlic, onions, peppers, and green onions to the hot oil and stir fry until fishcake are slightly browned.
• Add sauce to the stir fried fish cake and cook until sauce is well mixed.
• Remove from heat and add toasted sesame seeds and enjoy!

Notes

To make the recipe more spicy you can add more gochugaru and/or substitute jalapeno peppers or a spicier pepper of your choice. 

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What is Kutsinta?

Growing up, these delicious brownish/orange, sticky rice treats were always my favorite. It’s one of those treats that I could not eat with bites. Topped with shredded coconut, I had to eat it whole, in order to fully enjoy it. (Although, as a kid, that might have been everything that I ate.)

As mentioned, Kutsinta is another rice flour Filipino dessert. Not on the dry/breaded side, like puto, but more so a sticky gelatin texture. They are steamed, cooled and then typically topped with raw coconut shavings.

The distinct dark orange color comes from annatto powder. Some recipes call for extra food coloring but I find that it is an unnecessary addition.

The sticky rice cake gets its sweetness from brown sugar. To maintain more of an orangish color, I like using light brown sugar.

The magic of kutsinta comes from the rice flour and Lye water. As you would think, the rice flour gives kutsinta its form and rice cake texture, but the Lye water (Lihiya) is what gives it that yummy chewiness to each bite.

Other than that, flour and water (I like using coconut water) rounds off the recipe. See, this is an easier than you think kutsinta.

What is Lye Water?

Lye Water is high in alkalinity, sometimes also called Lime Water or Caustic Soda. Did that help? Probably not.

If you do a deep Google search on Lye Water, you may not want to eat kutsinta ever again. Although, if you make that choice then you would have to reconsider soft pretzels as well. But rest assured, Lye Water used in food is at a food grade, not at the strength of its potency in household cleaners or as an ingredient in soaps.

So being food grade, the concentration of what may seem disgusting for foods is at a very low amount. Just remember, yummy chewiness. Not too mention that the recipe calls for only a tablespoon of Lye Water.

I will include an easier than you think kutsinta without Lye Water version. Maybe you might not want to make it with Lye Water or perhaps Lye Water is not readily available where you are at. Just keep in mid that the recipe for kutsinta without Lye Water will be adding another flour ingredient (tapioca starch). It’ll slightly change the flavor and the chewiness. It will still taste like kutsinta and it will still be chewy but at a different level. Definitely less, in the stickiness rating.

Annatto Powder?

If you think that Lye Water is a bit of a weird ingredient, let’s not forget about the Annatto (Achuete/Achiote) Powder. Yes it will give it its distinct color that we all know of, but it is also the ingredient that is used to give that nice color to Tocino. It is a grinded up ingredient from the seeds of an achiote tree. It has a slight peppery taste but it is also widely used as a food coloring an dye for other products.

But let’s face it, if we really knew what went into some of our favorite dishes, we would reconsider many. Although, we might be onto a new and effective diet plan.

Possible Game Changer?

There is one ingredient that I use that I will have to continue to experiment with, and it may turn out to be something special. In replace of water, I use unsweetened coconut water and it turns out fine. I honestly cannot say for sure if there is an added taste difference from plain water. My use of coconut water is purely for the opportunity to possibly add some nutrients (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium) in this delicious treat. I do want to explore the recipe with sweetened coconut water and then at some point even try it with some of the coconut pulp. I will certainly update this recipe, after I try it.

Easier Than You Think Kutsinta Process

If you live in n area where Asian Markets are in abundance, then you should not have any difficulties with finding the ingredients. Even if you live in an area where there are only a few, there is a good chance that they will have each ingredient.

Like many desserts I make, I typically mix together the wet ingredients with the sugar and then add it to the mixed dry ingredients. With this recipe it probably doesn’t really matter. It is important though that the rice flour and flour is thoroughly mixed in. A bite into dry clumps would not be too good. Also, if you ever work with rice flour or starches, the consistency of what you are making will drastically change if you do not mix them in well.

To ensure that you mix it well, opt for a high speed electric mixer, over hand mixing the ingredients. Just letting it go in a blender is perfect for a couple of reasons. Not only will it mix well but it will be hands free. I like using our NutriBullet, because it takes seconds to mix well and its flip top spout cover comes in handy when pouring into the molds. Allow some time for the bubbling to settle before pouring the mix into the molds.

Steaming

The molds that I use are the 12 cup mini muffin tin pans. I like the minis because they come out as nice bite size pieces. Unfortunately, the pans do not fit in my stack steamer, so I have to steam them one pan at a time in a larger pan. So keep in mind that the size of your steamer is going to dictate what you are going to use. I have made the mistake of buying cool silicone pans, only to find out that they don’t fit in my steamer. For kutsinta, I do recommend tin pans though. They are easier to remove from the steamer with tongs or gloves.

This is something to think about because it does take at least a 40 minute steam time. The more you can do during a steam session the better. At this size (minis), they are typically done within 40-45 minutes.

Many recipes recommend wrapping a towel or some type of cloth around the lid. This prevents dripping from getting into your molds while steaming. I have never done this but it might be something for you to consider if your lid is shaped in a way that emits drips from its center. I also carefully remove the lid, to prevent the heavy drips from rapid or unbalanced movements.

It is also smart to get your steam going while you are making your kutsinta mix. When I am ready to steam, I lower my temperature to get a nice steady steam versus the rapidness of a high heated one. This will also give you a smoother looking top.

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Gogi! Gogi!

There was a time when lumpia was the prized appetizer, snack, meal, breakfast, lunch, dinner or breath mint for Filipino parties and celebrations. Today, the deep fried, crispy treat is loved by many. It is amazing to hear people from other ethnic cultures rave about lumpia. Admittingly, lumpia is 100% better eating, than making. A labor of love, or a family bonding moment, is definitely required to make lumpia. Being a Korpino family, we enjoy lumpia fused with the delicious flavors of Korean cooking. This is how we came up with a Delicious Lumpiang Korpino Recipe.

Lumpiang Korpino

So what makes our lumpia recipe Korpino? In lumpia, along with the veggies, ground pork and chicken can be savored with each bite. For Lumpiang Korpino, we switched out the traditional meats and replaced it with the delicious Korean “fire meat”, bulgogi. The aromatic and scrumptious, thinly sliced meat is an awesome change up. Not to mention, making the bulgogi for Lumpiang Korpino is pretty easy. Really, the challenges are the veggie prepping and wrapping. On a positive note, those challenges can be seen as time challenges versus cooking challenges. Believe me, after one Lumpiang Korpino, you will be chanting, “Gogi, Gogi!”. As you probably have guessed, the bulgogi is the star of the show for the Delicious Lumpiang Korpino Recipe.

Lumpia Roots

Like many awesome Filipino dishes, the lumpia was inspired by the foods of the Chinese immigrants and traders. The Fujian spring roll, popiah, was introduced to the Filipinos as early as the 17th Century. Popiah is a fresh spring roll, serving as the model for the Filipino fresh lumpia. On the “flip” side, the worldwide popular lumpia is deep fired, like other similar spring or egg rolls that are more commonly served on a commercial basis.

Egg Versus Spring

Although similar looking, spring rolls and egg rolls are different. More than likely due to the commercial popularity of these delicious treats, both names have been used synonymously. At first sight and taste, the biggest difference is the texture of the two. Spring rolls are lighter, thinner and and are more on the smooth side versus the egg rolls. This is because of the fact that spring roll wrappers are made out of rice or flour. Conversely, egg roll wrappers are made of wheat flour and eggs, giving it a thicker and bubble texture. I actually like switching up to egg roll wrappers, every now and then, when making turon, banana lumpia. The biggest example of the difference between the two is that spring rolls can be served fresh, or uncooked (ie fresh lumpia and Vietnamese fresh spring roll).

Delicious Lumpiang Korpino Recipe Ingredients

I have found that it is hard to use the term “traditionally” when referring to some Filipino dishes. The archipelago country consists of so many culturally different culinary methodologies. So “traditionally”, in my family, lumpia consisted of cabbage, carrots, onions, green beans, garbanzo beans, water chestnuts, potato, and the meat. The meats typically were ground pork, shredded chicken or even better, both. Every now and then, I remember ground beef as well.

Think Safety

Preparing the veggies can be very time consuming. The easiest ingredient will be the frozen French Cut Green Beans. It will only need defrosting. The garbanzo beans will need deshelling or peeling. The cabbage will need shredding. Water chestnuts need to be cut. Potatoes and carrots peeled and cut. Using a Mandoline Slice saves so much time but it can be dangerous. To Be safe, don’t try to cut all the way down the vegetable when using the Mandoline. A good rule of thumb (first and foremost, try to keep your thumbs and fingers intact) is to cut through two veggies versus one. For example, if you need one full carrot cut, cut to the half point of two carrots instead of one.

What makes this a korpino dish is the substitution of bulgogi, as the meat. For lumpia, it is not necessary to spend a little more on the sliced rib eye. Because it is being mixed well with all of the veggies, thinly sliced, beef eye round works perfectly. This can usually be bought at Asian markets. Many times you can find it in the frozen meat section.

As a final side note, I know that this might upset some of my Filipino brothers and sisters, but I say “no” to the raisins as part of the lumpia filling.

To Cook or Not to Cook

As you can see, the filling gives you some wiggle room to get creative. Through my many trials of getting this recipe right, I considered ways to make lumpia a little more healthier. Many would think that “Healthy Filipino Food” is an oxymoron, especially when it comes to something that is deep fried.

When preparing the filling, you typically want to give it a quick cooking but not too much. If cooked too much then you will run a higher risk of your lumpia absorbing too much oil when cooking. On my last trial, other than the bulgogi, I decided not to cook the filling at all.

By not cooking it, my only worry was the possible added area of difficulty when wrapping. If not cooked, some of the veggies might protrude right through the wrappers. To mitigate this potential, I gave the filling (with the meat) a good mix and allowed it to sit in the refrigerator over night. This softened up the veggies enough for easy wrapping.

The final test was the oil retention, or hopefully the lack there of, after cooking. Sure enough, the oil was not too heavy with each bite and the texture and flavor of the veggies were actually better too.

From here on out “Not to Cook” is definitely the way to go.

Wrapping Tips

Through all of my experience with wrapping lumpia, I have found that success begins with the wrappers that you purchased. From observing as a kid to rolling myself, I only have experience with the Menlo wrappers. There might be other brands out there that are just as good, or maybe even better, but I tend to be a creature of habit when it comes to making safe choices. I must add though, that even when buying Menlo wrappers, be sure to choose packages that are free from snags or rips. Any air that may have gotten into the package, when the wrappers were not frozen, some or all of the wrappers may have gotten dried out. When grabbing your wrappers, select the ones that have the wrappers tightly frozen together. Bypass the ones that have edges separated or slightly flared.

When separating the wrappers, I find the harder they are to separate, the better they will be. When you are flying through the process of separating the wrappers, they might be a little on the dry side. They can still be used to wrap up some lumpia but they will be more sensitive to tearing.

Separate one package for each person rolling at a time. After separating the package into a stack of individual wrappers, be sure to keep them covered with a moistened towel or cloth table napkin. The key is to keep them from getting dried out while wrapping up your lumpia.

The Amount

Yes, lumpia is delicious and we would all love a burrito sized one to enjoy. Unfortunately, adding too much filling in the delicate spring roll wrappers doesn’t always work to our favor. If the wrap does not give when wrapping, it may burst when frying.

You also don’t want to put too much filling in a wrap because, once again, it can absorb too much oil. Not to mention, the Filipino in us is going to want to make as many as possible. I found that 2 tablespoons of filling works well. You can measure out 2 tablespoons for each roll, or you can “eyeball” it. Measuring each time will take longer but you can stretch out your filling a little further. For some, rolling lumpia can be on the therapeutic side, but for some it can be frustrating and time consuming. Do what you need to do, to make wrapping lumpia a positive experience.

A Wrapping Visual

I will go on the record by saying that this is just a suggestion. I know that there are many methods, techniques or tricks to wrapping but I want to help out those who are giving it a shot for the first time. By all means, if there is a family, traditional style of wrapping that you know of, “take it to the moon”!

The key is to practice making your rolls as tight as possible, without tearing the fragile wrappers. Here is a printable or downloadable instruction sheet as reference. You can use it as base knowledge and make any adjustments to suit your talents.

Set those aside (maybe all) that you will cook immediately. Lumpia is also great to store in the freezer, to later accompany other great Filipino dishes, like Munggo with Pork and Shrimp. I like freezing them in gallon size Ziploc bags. To make future meals easier, I bag them in equal shares, maybe twelve a bag. You can separate rows in a bag with parchment/wax paper.

Cooking Tips

Cooking is the easy part, but it can be dangerous if you are not accustomed to deep frying. I have heard of ideas of putting them in the oven or air fryer, but I have yet to try it. As healthy as we would want them to be, biting into something deep fried is part of the yumminess. When they are nice and golden, carefully shake off as much oil as possible and then let them cool off on a plate or cooling rack. Place them on a paper towel, as they cool off, to get even more oil soaked up.

Before you get to that point, you have to brave the hot oil. You can get a more of an even cooking if your oil is deep enough to completely submerge them. Be sure that your oil temperature is at least 350℉ before cooking. If it is too low, your lumpia will soak up too much oil. Keep in mind, that when you are frying them frozen, your oil temperature will decrease. Put in as many lumpia in the pan that you can handle. You don’t want to risk others from getting burned as you shake off the oil of another.

Don’t walk away while deep frying. Even when frozen, lumpia will take about five minutes to cook to a golden brown tone. Lumpia not frozen will be even faster. Flip with cooking tongs, if necessary.

There are many off the shelf sauces that you can purchase to go with your Delicious Lumpiang Korpino. By far, my favorite is a combination of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and pepper.

Yes, it will be a labor of love but you will enjoy this Delicious Lumpiang Korpino Recipe!

Kain na tayo!

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31

Don’t Forget Your Lumpia Wear!

Click the image below to see colors and sizes

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There are a few academic subjects that consistently challenge many of our kids today. Removing the disinterest factor (Science, History, Music, and Art), what’s left are the dreaded Mathematics and Writing classes, assessments, assignments and homework. I have addressed Mathematics in the past and it came down to rethinking conceptually, addressing our mindset, understanding critical thinking and problem solving, and learning and using metacognition (see links below). Like Math, Writing difficulties can be traced back to a “fixed mindset”. This can be mitigated by Rediscovering the Writing Process.

Both subject are so challenging with many because they both can have a lengthy process. Kids will endure this lengthy process, turn it in, to only have to do it again for corrections. There is nothing more disheartening. After weeks, semesters, and years of this, frustration sets in. A dislike for both soon follows. Lastly, a fixed mindset that they cannot do it.

The good thing is that a fixed mindset can be reversed. Unfortunately, our kids feel the pressure of getting the right answer or producing a polished finished product.

Growth Mindset

A fixed mindset tells us that something is to hard too even try. Or even if we try, we’ll still never understand how it works or how to do it. With a Growth Mindset, you see the difficulties and you may have met failure. Yet, you seek the means to achieve success or at the very least, an understanding. Read more about Growth Mindset

Someone with a Growth Mindset has more than a “Glass Half Full” perspective. He or she also has an applicative will for progression. The word “failure” is not an end point, rather a learning opportunity. People with Growth Mindsets love challenges and the effort that they put into these challenges eventually leads them to growth and success. Self pride is also not a factor with their forward progressions. They actively seek out feedback and learn from the experiences of other. With a Growth Mindset, these individuals will either achieve or gain priceless knowledge on a challenge that was new. Priceless because knowledge is transferrable. Either way, both paths are successful.

Imagine what we can do with this path of thinking through challenges or new experiences. It is clear to say that there are many benefits to having a Growth Mindset. Most prominent is the loss of negativity. The idea that you do not have the skills or character to accomplish something. With a fixed mindset, giving up is a common and comfortable decision.

So how can we take this and help our kids become more comfortable or even excel with writing? We have to get them thinking about their manners when writing. We have to give them an opportunity to Rediscover the Writing Process.

Minding Your Ps and Q’s

We mind our manners in social settings not only out of respect for those around us but also for respect to ourselves. The same concept should go for writing. We should write with the utmost respect for our audience. At the same time, understanding that what we write, will be a reflection of us as a writer in addition to our thoughts and ideas. Minding our Ps and Qs (minding our manners) while writing can help us rediscover the writing process.

Process Over Product

A Growth Mindset is key for the first set of Ps. Writers have to have the ability to embrace the process of writing. During the process of writing there is so much discovery and learning available to any writer seeking to grow in writing, academics, and personal knowledge.

Focusing on the process over the product will utilize and develop every P listed below. As mentioned above, our kids (actually the majority of the human population) have so much focus on final products and want a quick path to achieve it. Unfortunately, it’s learned through the conveniences of today. The internet gives us information, videos, images with a simple click. Don’t blame current times though, because we can go back to the development and spread of “convenience” stores, ATM machines and microwave ovens. Many thing have been created or invented to save us time. For the most part, for tasks that we had no problems completing, without the advancement.

When we are so focused on the completion of that task or product, we are left to enjoy that one achievement. When focusing on the process, there is a treasury of achievements that we can shamelessly bathe in.

During the process of writing, victories are innumerable. There is vocabulary and spelling development. Discovery and growth with different sentence structures. Writers can reach new heights with imagery and descriptive writing. Learning new writing styles, genres and topics that are always revolving. Also, when generating supporting ideas, we learn so much about spiders, different animals, countries, history, science, people and cultures. Everything that we learn during the writing process is transferrable to other academic subjects or general life learning.

Teach your young writers (and maybe ourselves) how to slow down and enjoy the journey. There is too much knowledge and skill acquisition and development to go unnoticed and untouched through any process.

Patience

Like with anything, the knowledge and skills that are needed when writing develop over time. Allow time for this to happen. Patience is key. Every level, from novice to experienced writers, should show patience with their development and craft. Teach your writers to view every writing opportunity as a learning experience, or practice session.

You can then make it awkward by telling them that they were not created the day that they were born. Their beautiful selves took nine, long magical months.

Practice

Doing anything well, takes practice. This includes writing. We cannot let our kids determine what type of writer they are through a small sample size. They have to count every piece of writing, whether it is an assignment or a journal entry, as practice. So yes, we practice writing by writing.

If anyone has ever told you that “Practice makes perfect”? Don’t believe them. Rather, you should believe that “Practice makes permanence”. The more that we write, the more that we will become inclined to the different elements of writing. Multiple opportunities for experience allows those new skills to emerge and develop.

Encourage your kids to just simply write. They should write daily reflections or journal entries, where correct spelling conventions or grammar are not an area of focus. They can also be in charge of writing out the grocery lists. Have them start a pen pal or hand deliver letters to relatives, neighbors and friends. When our kids were toddlers, they always had whiteboards, pad of paper or Boogie Boards to write down words that the see during drives.

Try spending time writing with your kids as well. Not only will you be modeling the act of writing, you can also model the thinking when writing.

The Link Between Reading and Writing

Speaking of models, reading is actually a very good way to indirectly practice writing. Reading inspires readers to write. Books will expose children to a variety of words that they can use to expand their vocabulary and improve spelling. Point out certain words in their books and start a conversation about those words. The more ways a word is used (speaking, reading, writing, defining, illustrating, etc.) the likeliness of that word become part of their vocabulary.

Books also model many different types of sentence structures, grammar usage, and imagery. Having kids rewrite simple, compound and complex sentences, from books, is a great way to explore different sentence structures.

Pen/Pencil and Paper

Even though we are living in a digital age, it is good practice for kids to explore their writing through the “old fashion” means of pencil or pen and paper. Let’s face it, there are less distractions. As I wrote this up, I checked emails, read news feeds, did some research to only end up watching New Rockstar videos on YouTube.

Writing on paper is great because you can actively brainstorm and endlessly jot down, cross out, highlight and expand on ideas. Using paper also allows us to not be limited to writing. Ideas can emerge as illustrations. Ideas can also be organized with the use of webs, arrows, charts, etc. Best of all, a notebook dedicated to ideas can be carried around just about anywhere.

Get this habit of putting thoughts and ideas on paper instilled in our young writers. The more that gets brainstormed on paper, the likeliness of an interest or better understanding of the topic. There is nothing more dreadful, for our young writers, to go into a written assignment without an interest or an internal motivation.

Passion

An interest or internal motivation invokes emotions. Emotions translate into passion when writing. When we write without passion, it is more of a task. A task that we may resent, but complete just to get it over with or not complete it at all. If completed without passion, the quality of the writing will be compromised. Thinking about our kids, who struggle with writing, how much are they going to want to revise this assignment after getting corrected. Without passion, that is the last thing that they are going to want to do.

Teaching our young writers to write with a passion means that we are removing the idea that writing is a “task”. More so, we are getting them to write with enthusiasm, excitement and joy. The passion will be a sign of your “voice”. This is where vocabulary, emotions, and tone all come together in beautifully flowing sentences. We all have something to say and writing is a great way to communicate our thoughts. With passion, we go from “task” to “purpose”.

Purpose

Not only does writing give a writer the purpose of communicating passion, there is also a singular focus that written work aims to bring an understanding for the reader. Let’s face it, writing is a form of communication. There is nothing worse than bringing up an interesting conversation, with others, only for it to go in many different directions. Writing is not like that. It is up to the writer to keep the communication on a focused path.

To maintain this focus, writers always have to understand the topic, the genre, and the potential audience. Once understood, then all ideas, written statements and paragraphs should be written to fit that focus.

Platform

Again, written work is the writer’s time to be heard. Writers should enjoy and take favor to this platform. Take advantage of the opportunity to let your passion and purpose shine.

Pacing

Getting to that platform takes time. Remember, we write to be heard. Our writing is backed by a passion and a purpose. In order to convey it in a manner that can be understood, we have to take our time to do it. Remember, if quality becomes compromised without passion, we don’t want to let our passion go to waste be rushing through the writing process. As you would think, this also compromises the quality of the finished product.

Rather than producing a product all at once, schedule it out in manageable chunks. If it is due in a week, dedicate each day to a task. For example:

Monday – Brainstorm ideas and create a focus. Tuesday – Review focus and draft an Introductory paragraph. Wednesday – Review Introductory paragraph and start drafting supporting statements or paragraphs. Thursday – Review and edit supporting statements or paragraph. Friday – Review supporting statements or paragraph and draft a Concluding statement or paragraph. Saturday – Review draft and make necessary changes. Ask others to proof read and provide feedback. Sunday – Review feedback and make necessary changes.

The key is to find a schedule that works for the readiness level of your little writer. Doing it all at once, leads to frustration and a fixed mindset.

Proof Read

For struggling writers with a fixed mindset, proofreading is never fun. In their mind , they’re thinking, “Now I have to read what I wrote and fix errors?” Two minutes later, they’re done.

When the passion, the purpose and the gratitude for the platform are strong, the need to proof read follows suit. Proof reading is an opportunity for writers to make sure that what they want heard, will be heard. Proof reading can assess if sentence flow, grammar, or spelling are deterring readers from the writer’s passion, purpose or message.

Writers can take proof reading to the next level and ask others to proof read it as well. I would recommend a variety of readers, writers, ages, etc. to proof read, just to get multiple sources of feedback. Just be sure to ask those that are 100% willing to read and provide their honest, constructive feedback.

Good or bad, writers need to view feedback as constructive criticism that will help them with their current assignment, and for future ones. Learning never ends and can come from many sources. So much can be learned from the feedback of others.

Quality Over Quantity

It did not matter what grade I was teaching, it was inevitable for a student to ask how long written assignments had to be, seconds after being assigned. Young writers have to get away from the anxieties of writing according to a specific length. If they are to concerned with quantity, the quality becomes compromised. Thoughts either become repetitive or off topic. For many struggling writers, just knowing how much that they have to write automatically puts them in a position to fail. By rediscovering the writing process, writing will tend to naturally reach specified word counts (sometimes even more).

Rediscovering the Writing Process

I once heard a Pastor say that devotion does not start off as a devotion, it starts as a discipline. When we do something backed with discipline, we understand the importance or reason and purpose. When we start feeling the fruits of our labor, which may take time and plenty of learning, the passion begins to set in and you become devoted to what you are doing. You are so devoted that you begin to seek out like minded individuals or those with similar experiences. From them, we are able to assess our devotion and discover ways to grow even more. Writing fits right into this path. Comfort and confidence with writing begins with rediscovering the writing process.

Click HERE for Your Printable Copy

The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. – Psalm 32:8

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I will be the first to admit that when it comes to the world of cooking, the word “Easy” is very subjective. Although, just as a little word of advice, trying and learning brings you closer to your meaning of “Easy”. Unless there is a particular piece of equipment that you do not have or a certain key ingredient, nothing is impossible. I used to think that leche flan was one of those dishes. The steaming process could be mitigated by an oven technique. Whole eggs is an option versus going through the separation process. Creating the caramel topping is not as hard as you think. Once I tried it, I slowly became comfortable with the process. So comfortable that I began to play with the recipe. This is how I came up with an Easy Ube Flan Recipe.

Ube Flan?!

Yes you read it correctly, this is an Easy Ube Flan Recipe. I love leche flan alone, but I wanted to alter the Filipino favorite with a different, yet popular flavor. In addition, I wanted to keep that leche flan texture, but give it an eye popping color. Needless to say, I was very pleased with my results and I can’t wait for you to try this lovely Ube creation.

Ube’s popularity is steadily growing so I have been trying out many different creations highlighting the sweet, purple treat. I have been playing with a new recipe that I know that everyone is going to love (coming soon!!!) and I tried using the Ube Sweetened Condensed milk for it. Being sweetened condensed milk, it is of course very rich and now even more with ube flavoring. In addition, it is a deeper purple than what I was expecting. I hope that I can find smaller cans, when I have to buy it in the future.

Now one of the biggest differences between an authentic flan and leche flan is the addition of sweetened condensed milk. Milk, sweetened condensed milk and eggs are combined to give the Filipino leche flan that heavier richness, that is so hard to share.

Well, you all know the saying, “the rich get richer”. A perfect ratio between the two condensed milks will give us a nice purple tone and the delicious ube flavor. To even accentuate that flavor, I switched out the evaporated milk and replaced it with coconut milk. Lastly, just to make this dessert even easier to make, I use the whole egg, versus separating the whites and yolks. Now, all you have to do is get through the caramelization step.

Fire Up that Sugar!

There are a couple ways that you can create that caramel topping to your flan. There is a dry way and a wet way to do it. I think that the dry way is easier, but it can be more dangerous. If you are not quite comfortable with your craft in the kitchen, I would stick with the wet method.

Your objective with both methods is to cook granulated sugar to a liquid state. Caramelization occurs when that liquid state starts to yellow. In order for sugar to generate that type of reaction, it has to be heated. Sugar will start liquifying at a heat of 360℉. Over a stove generated heat is best. Sugar can melt in the oven but it will take quite some time for it to happen.

Caramelizing sugar can be quite an adventure if you have never tried it before. It is pretty much a race against time. After achieving a liquified state, the sugar can recrystallize fairly quickly, so there is no time to reach for better molds or llanera. Also for both the wet and dry methods, it is important to keep an eye on it and not let it burn. For this darker, ube flan, a light to medium caramel color is perfect. At the same time, a dark caramel color is not bad.

Here are some great resources if you want more info before trying it:

Caramelizing Sugar Recipe

How to Caramelize Sugar

The Wet

This method of caramelization is probably the safest but not necessarily the easiest. Yes, an Easy Ube Flan Recipe will have learning opportunities, for some. In a sauce pan, you are going to stir together sugar and water, at a medium heat. When you get used to this method, you can increase the heat in the future. At a medium heat, you have more time to prevent darker caramelization or even burning. Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. As soon as both ingredients are mixed as one, remove spoon or spatula and let the mixture heat up to its melting point.

You can occasionally swish it around by tilting the pan back and forth, but do not use a spoon or spatula. If you remove any of the mixture from the heat source, it will quickly want to recrystallize. As it heats and as you swirl it around it will become clear and then start to color. Stop at a yellowish/ golden hue (light to medium caramelization). If it gets too dark, your syrup will have a bitter taste. This process will take between 8 to 10 minutes.

As soon as you reach your desired color, pour the mixture into your steam or oven safe mold. Tilt the mold in the necessary directions to allow the mixture to fully cover the bottom. To keep the mixture fluid enough to spread, I like to keep the mold heated before pouring in the mixture. As it cools, it will crack. Don’t be worried by this, it is okay.

I have also seen people do this using the microwave. I have yet to try it but I would think that it would be the safest. Let me know if you try this.

How Much?

When making the caramel mixture, it is hard to say how much sugar and water that you will need. It really depends on the size of your mold. I made a small rectangle flan in a 5 x 7 Pyrex, that fit about 2 2/3 cups of flan mixture. For this mold, I used 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of water. It was just enough to adequately cover the bottom of the mold. You can use this breakdown to help you:

1 C of sugar = 2 tablespoons of water

1/2 C of sugar = 1 tablespoon of water

1/4 C of sugar = 1/2 tablespoon of water

The Dry

If you are thinking that this method does not consist of using water, you are correct. So again, this method might be quicker but certainly not the safest. It consists of placing your mold over the flame of your gas stove or portable butane burner. The use of all metal cooking tongs is a must and metal molds. I wouldn’t recommend this technique with bigger or heavy molds, like the ceramic ramekins. Lastly, have a cooling rack ready, right next to where you are working.

Because this method of caramelization is faster, burning will occur faster. This is definitely not a sit and watch method. Once the heat penetrates through the mold, it’s time for constant hand and wrist movement. The idea is to swirl the sugar around the mold for it to melt and evenly caramelize across the bottom of the mold, without burning. As soon as you reach a light to medium caramelization, place the mold on the cooling rack. When it cools, you’ll hear and see cracking. Don’t let that alarm you.

It takes practice. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it the first time. Biggest thing is safety with this method. Kids shouldn’t be running around when you do this. Stay calm and smart. This will prevent you from placing the mold on surfaces that can get damaged or from grabbing it with your bare hands.

How much?

For the stainless steel molds that I use, 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar is perfect. The molds have a diameter of 4 inches.

Now for the Easy Ube Flan Recipe

Yes, this is where the “Easy” in Easy Ube Flan Recipe comes in. Why? Because in this recipe, there’s no separating yolks from whites and we’re not worried about bubbling. We’re just going to go for it with this recipe. Take note that in the photos below, the recipe is doubled.

Ingredients

For this we are using the basic ingredients for Leche Flan: Eggs, milk, and sweetened condensed milk. Of course, I’m going to have to switch things up a bit for Ube Flan. As mentioned, with the eggs, we are going full egg. The milk is getting swapped out for coconut milk, to accentuate that ube flavor. Lastly we are adding some (1/4 cup) ube flavored sweetened condensed milk. Yes, only four ingredients.

Instructions

Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and mix until you generate a uniform mixture, scrambling in all of the thicker parts of the whites. I use a hand held electric whisk to get this done. With this recipe, I am not concerned with the bubbling. By mixing it well, we remove the need to pour the mixture through a sifter when filling the molds, and your flan will generate that smooth texture. (Note: Portions were doubled for pictures below)

Now add in the can of sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Add in the quarter cup of Ube condensed milk and mix well.

Pour in the coconut milk and continue to mix well. It is still okay to use the hand held electric whisk. Enjoy the psychedelic imagery.

At this point, cover the mixture with plastic wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator. This is when I caramelize the sugar. This allows time for the bubbles to pop off. You can also let the plastic wrap sit on the mixture to get rid of the rest of the bubbling.

Begin steaming your water at high temperature. Before pouring the mixture into the molds, give it a good, slow stir with a spatula or spoon. Fill molds and cover them with foil.

Steaming

Once the water begins to boil and steam, Add your steamer trays and let them steam off until done. For the stainless steel molds, check for doneness at 20-25 minutes. For the thicker ceramic molds, check at 30 minutes. Like cakes, simply stick a toothpick in the flan and pull it out. If it comes out clean, they’re done.

After steaming, let them sit and cool to room temp, then refrigerate them before serving. When nice and cool, you can cut around the edge of the flan with a thin butter knife. Flip the mold over your serving plate and let gravity take over.

I love serving with a latik (roasted coconut cream) topping. It gives a nice counter texture to the smooth ube flan. Click HERE for latik instructions.

Give it a shot and you will see that it is an Easy Ube Flan Recipe!

Kain na tayo!

Don’t Forget Your Ube Monster T-Shirt!!!

Click on Image for sizes and colors

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Ingredients

Not only do I love their flavors but fresh garlic, ginger and green onions have aromas that instantly makes me salivate. All three are ingredients that I use on a regular basis and I would recommend growing in your garden. Of the three, garlic would be the most difficult but certainly not impossible. Green onion would be the easiest. The best part is that all three can be rooted and grown from the produce that you buy at the grocery store. Highly recommended if you love cooking!

If you do Asian cooking on a regular basis, you probably already have soy sauce in your pantry. Although, you may have to visit the Asian market to pick up the secret ingredient of the recipe. I like adding a touch of fine Korean Gochugaru for a nice spice to it. Nothing to take away from the taste, but just a little to add another element to each bite. By all means, if you want to add more of a kick, then add a bit more. Stick with this ingredient too. Some may say that chipotle, cayenne or paprika are suitable substitutes but I disagree.

Also, grab some sesame seeds too. I like getting the packages that are cleaned and ready to go. This will save you some time before roasting them. Lastly, if you don’t have any sesame oil at home, grab a can or bottle.

To round off the ingredients, you more than likely have brown sugar and water at home. For brown sugar, light is fine to use. Dark brown sugar will give you a little more of a molasses flavor. Either light or dark will give you the sweetness that you want.

I mix everything together, except for the sesame seeds (which I use as topping) to create our tasty bulgogi flavor for the ground beef bowl.

Beauty of Ground Beef

When marinating other meats, there is a wait time that has to be considered. Not just a wait time but also a max time. With ground beef that wait time is no longer an issue. You can mix the ingredients into the ground beef and immediately cook it. Also, with the ratio of soy sauce and water that I have with this recipe, you don’t have to worry about over marinating your ground beef. This allows you the flexibility to get dinner ready for tonight or prepare for tomorrow.

Getting the Flavors Together

In a big enough bowl that will fit 2 lbs of ground beef, mix together brown sugar, gochugaru, soy sauce, sesame oil and water. Mix well enough to break apart brown sugar.

Next add smashed garlic, ginger slices and chopped green onions and mix well. If you want, save some green onions for topping it off before eating. I keep my ginger in slices because not everyone in the household likes to bite into ginger. This makes it easier to set aside, but feel free to mince your ginger.

Now take your ground beef and mix the ingredients into it well.

Cooking

You may notice that your ground beef is on the runny side. Once the heat penetrates through your pan, your ground beef will render even more liquid. No worries! This plays part in the way you are going to cook this dish.

You’re going to set your pan at a medium heat. I have my electric stove at 5, at most 6. Cooking oil is not needed, due to the fat content of the ground beef. Once set and heated, place your ground beef in the pan. Spread it out evenly but don’t chop or stir it up like the regular browning process. Your going to let the bottom cook up a bit as the meat sits in the rendering fat and marinade. In essence, you are doing a bit of a braising process with your ground beef. This will tenderize your ground beef a little, taking it away from that browning texture. Bites will resemble minced rib eye instead.

Allow the bottom to cook for about 5 – 10 minutes and then flip it over in sections, still refrain from mixing it up, as when browning. You want to flip it when the bottom gains some texture, not to the point of crusting. Keep that braising processes going. Your Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowl is almost ready. If you have yet to cook rice, go ahead and do that now.

Again, for the second side, just let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes, allowing it to slowly cook and soak up the flavor. Remember, just enough to get a texture on the bottom but not to the point of crusting.

Now that you have a more solid top and bottom, roughly break apart the ground beef. Do this by splitting the bottom half from the top half. Through the uncooked center. It’s better with a good mixture of bigger, bite sized pieces rather than small. Turn your heat down to 4 or 5 and let it let it soak up some goodness. At this low temp you can give it an occasional stir. There should be enough liquid in your pan to not let it burn or crust on the bottom.

Toasted Sesame Seeds

As the ground beef sits and simmers, now is a good time to toast some sesame seeds. I like toasting sesame seeds for this recipe because the give a nice little crunch to the tenderized ground beef. Along with chopped green onions, not only will they add another level of flavor and texture, these toppings will also make your bowl look like it was prepared by a pro.

Depending on how many bowls you are making or how many people like sesame seeds, it is good to just go with increments of 1 tablespoon. Remember, it is just a topping to accentuate the texture of the dish. Preheat a small frying pan at a medium heat. Once the surface of the an is nice and hot, pour in seeds. Toasting seeds will not take long (3-5 minutes). Stir with a bamboo spoon or swirl and toss, if the pan is small and light enough. You’ll know when they are toasted enough when you start smelling the nutty aroma of the seeds. Visually, they will be golden. Remove from heat as soon as they are done.

Serving

You can serve the ground beef bulgogi right from the pan with a slotted spoon or you can drain the remaining liquid/fat from the pan. I keep my ginger slices big to remove them before serving. As I mentioned before, you can mince your ginger if you want to keep it in the final dish.

Place one scoop of rice in a bowl and top it with a serving of the bulgogi. Top with a sprinkle of the toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onion. This is a good meal but to take it to the next level, place an over easy egg over the bulgogi and then top with the toasted seeds and green onion. This is the amazing Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowl.

Meokja!

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13

Print

Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowl

If you love the Bulgogi flavor and you want to cook an easy and inexpensive dish for dinner, then the Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowl is for you.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Korean

Keyword asian recipes, Bowl, Bulgogi, Korean Ground Beef Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 5 People

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Frying pan big enough for 2 lbs of ground beef
• Small frying pan
• Measuring Cups (½, ¾) and Spoons (tsp and Tbsp)
• Mixing spoon and cooking spatula

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef 80% or 85% is fine

Bulgogi Marinade

• ½ Cup Brown Sugar
• 5 Cloves Smashed Garlic
• 3 Stalks Chopped Green Onion
• 1 Thumb Sized Ginger Slices
• 1 tsp Gochugaru
• 4 Tbsp Sesame Oil
• ¾ Cup Soy Sauce
• ¾ Cup Water

Toppings

• 2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
• 2 Stalks Chopped Green Onion
• Over Easy Eggs *Optional

Instructions

• Place all ingredients of the marinade in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
• Thoroughly mix in ground beef. This can be done with a spoon but by hand is the best.
• Preheat a frying pan at a medium low heat.
• Add marinated ground beef once pan is heated to temp. and carefully spread over the surface, but do not stir or chop up, as when when browning.
• Allow bottom to cook (5 - 10 minutes) just until it forms some texture and not to the point of crusting.
• It is easier to flip ground beef over in three sections. Still refrain from stirring or chopping up the ground beef.
• Allow bottom to cook (5 - 10 minutes) just until it forms some texture and not to the point of crusting.
• Reduce heat to medium low. Now that you have a cooked top and bottom, break up the ground beef into chunks by splitting it down the uncooked center. Bigger bite sized chunks are better.
• Allow time to simmer to tenderize and soak up the flavor. Occasionally, gently stir until serving. (15-20 minutes)

Roasting Sesame Seeds

• Preheat a small frying pan at a medium heat.
• Place sesame seeds into the pan when pan is heated to temp.
• Either carefully toss and swirl seeds by using the pan handle or by using a wooden spoon (3-5 minutes). Remove from heat by placing the seeds in a small serving bowl.

Serving

• Either drain or serve ground beef using a slotted spoon. Place serving over a bowl of steamed rice. Topping this with an over easy egg is delicious but optional. Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds and chopped green onion and serve.

Notes

When mixing the ingredients for the marinade, the order of adding does not matter. Although adding the wet ingredients last gives you a cleaner opportunity to pick out any impurities of the other ingredients. 

Through the cooking process, I find that a bamboo spatula works great (for ground beef and sesame seeds).

You can drain before serving or serve with a slotted spoon.

3-5 minutes cook time is perfect for roasting the sesame seeds. A good stopping point is when you start smelling the nuttiness of the seeds.

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Self-Awareness

One of our first devotionals was dedicated to studying 2 Corinthians 3:18, “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.” We talked about ways that we shine for God and how He feels when we do. We also discussed how it makes them and other feel when they shine. Oddly enough, some of them had difficulties identifying good things that they genuinely and consistently do to shine and reflect God’s glory. They knew that they do good things, guided by the Spirit of the Lord but they were either unsure of what is “good” or too shy to say it. This prompted the Speak Life Positive Affirmations.

We grabbed a lock box that we had in the garage and made up Speak Life Affirmation slips. Throughout the week we would affirm each other’s actions when they shine for God. From the little things to the big, we try to point out as many actions as we could. We want our kids to become aware of their actions and how they reflect on God, themselves and onto others. This of course is reflected in 1 John 4:16, “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”

Speak Life

It has been ten years since Toby Mac’s album Eye On It was released. The album made a huge impact on us then and it remains to do so, till this day. Of the many inspiring and influential songs, one in particular has completely changed the way that we interact with others, whether they are known to us or strangers. The message, in the song Speak Life, is a lesson that everyone can learn from. When we interact with people, do the words we say speak hope or life into them? Do our words inspire and spread love like fire?

Every Person Has a Story

We learn so much through our Family Bible Study group, but one of the most awe inspiring is in regards to God’s love for us. God’s love is not just a sentiment but also an action. So if we are created by Him in His image, how do we love like Him? How do we follow the great commandments of loving God with all of our heart, soul and mind and love our neighbor, the same way we love ourselves? As a start, this is why our words are so important, especially to strangers?

Do you remember the Chick-fil-A commercial, Every Person Has a Story? We don’t know everyone’s story when we encounter someone. But just the recognition that everyone has a story, can help remind us to always inspire by speaking hope, speaking love and speaking Life. Can your love be a sentiment and an action?

Speak Life Positive Affirmations: The Printable Slips

Not only do we use these slip to encourage God’s love in our family, but we have also decided to carry them around with us when we go out. We have yet to do it but we plan to give them to waiters and waitresses, police officers, firemen, teachers, doctors, nurses, store greeters and even random strangers. Why? Because every person has a story.

We encourage everyone to utilize the printable resource below to use with your family at home. You do not need a special lock box. Attaching them to bathroom mirrors, first thing in the morning, would be a great way for anyone to start a day. You can put them on the steering wheel, next to a coffee mug, on a pillow, on a computer screen or even in a coat pocket. Think of the joy that they will feel when they find it. Think of the joy you will have when writing it. Most important think of the joy God will have, knowing that you are looking more and more like Him everyday.

Take that joy even further and take some slips out with you when you go out too. There’s no magic number or weekly quota, just do it. Just think, one week you might hand out one affirmation. But your words on that one slip could be the inspiration that someone needed at that exact moment. Every one has a story that can be affirmed or in need of hope, encouragement or inspiration.

Spread your words of love and inspiration like fire. Words can be a personal affirmation or compliment or a simple “Thank for all that you do. Have a Good Day!”. You can hand them to the recipients or just leave them anonymously. Whatever you are comfortable with. Also, don’t wait around expecting a “Thank you” or a hug. Simply just give and go. Your rewards are the joys in your heart, in God’s and hopefully in theirs’.

“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Mark 12:30-31

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As a former educator, my career began when I was able to accept the fact that despite my profession, I will always be a learner. It brought true meaning to the idea that students, “Don’t need a sage on the stage, rather, they need a guide on the side.” Many times, part of being that guide is to show transparency when you don’t know something. Then the true power of teaching and learning comes from guiding them on how to think and work through something unknown. It was learning over schooling. This is where the strengthening of students’ Emotional Intelligence, or EI, and their development of a Growth Mindset are paramount.

What are EI and a Growth Mindset?

Before proceeding forward with the importance of and how to develop a healthy EQ and a growth mindset, it would be beneficial for us to get on the same page with what each are. Many would argue that if not more, EI and a Growth Mindset are more valuable than cognitive or academic intelligence. It amazes me that terms like Emotional Intelligence, or EI, and Growth Mindset became “educational buzzwords” 21st Century.

Let’s put that amazing fact into perspective. From the 17th Century to the 21st Century we have had a “fixed mindset” that quantifiable data is the only indicator of educational success. Although, despite the push for both concepts in education today, it is still the quantifiable data that annually labels our students, teachers and schools.

Emotional Intelligence

During my Master’s program at Arizona State University, I fell in love with two psychological studies. One, the work of Martin Seligman and Positive Psychology. The second, Daniel Goleman and Emotional Intelligence. Both equally important and share overlapping concepts and results, in the world of learning and living a balanced life. For today, I will only focus on Emotional Intelligence.

First question can easily be, “What is EQ and why is it an initialism for Emotional Intelligence?” Quite often you will see or EQ used synonymously with EI. Other than the difference with a letter, one stands for Emotional Intelligence (EI) and the other stands for Emotional Quotient (EQ), they are different.

EI

In short, Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to be aware of and regulate emotions, to appropriately manage the ensuing actions. Ultimately, maneuvering through social situations with strategic thought. Think of a future, emotionally driven experience as if it was a multiple choice question on an exam. Take this scenario as an example:

After a long day in the backyard of planting new annuals in your garden bed, your puppy mistakes it for his new play area. Yes, total destruction. Do you:

a. After taking notice, you clench your fists, walk back inside the house and watch reruns of The Brady Bunch.

b. You realize that you should have known better and that you should have put in the time to either watch your puppy or installed a protective border.

c. You laugh and hug your puppy and post pictures of his deed on social media.

d. Check receipts for information on return policies (flowers and puppies).

Which one would you choose? For many of us, the question is, “Which one did you choose?” If you were able to genuinely choose a, b, c, or d, then you exhibit (or exhibited) an action based off of some knowledge of Emotional Intelligence.

Now you may think that two of the choices, showed some signs of negative or unpopular thoughts (a and d). Inevitably though, the actions never physically punished the puppy. EI is the awareness of emotions followed by an action that compliments your values or motivation.

Hmmm?

Now I know what you are thinking, “What if someone’s values or motivation are not altruistic in nature?” Well you are exactly right, Emotional Intelligence can work both ways. Think about the charismatic, yet narcissistic, company CEO who gets what he/she want out of the workforce. On the other hand, consider the selfless educator who did not have time for dinner after coaching basketball and tutoring. Not making any specific claim on either role, but you can easily chart out their possible goals and intentions.

Not to get off on a comic book tangent, but I suppose a suitable parallel would be Captain Steve Rogers. What made him best fit to be Captain America, leader of the Avengers and the ability to be as worthy as an Asgardian God of Thunder? Don’t be mistaken, it was not the super soldier serum. The serum was only a tool that helped him carry out his secret weapon: his genuine heart and pure intentions to do good. In short, the foundation of his goals and intentions was compassion.

This is the Emotional Intelligence that we need to build within ourselves and our children. The ability to be aware of and regulate our emotions. Regulate them in order to influence our decisions and actions. With the hope that those decisions and actions impact the greater good of those around us. I like to think of Emotional Intelligence as the process of developing our intrapersonal (self) relationship skills, to better our interpersonal (social) relationship skills.

EQ

It is important to point out that no one is perfect when it comes to making the best decisions or actions. It is also important to understand that even with a high level of EI, we can still make mistakes. This is of course due to the complex nature of emotions. An intelligence test is different because we are scored on definitive “right or wrong” answers, giving us an IQ score.

Emotional Intelligence assessments can give us a glimpse into how we can conceptually act, in response to given scenarios. These assessments give us an EQ score, paralleling the concept of an intelligence score (IQ). Unfortunately, this result could possibly be very different from what we would actually do when faced with challenges, once again due to the complex nature of emotions. .

The EI and Growth Mindset Tie In

The American Psychological Association (APA) Dictionary of Psychology defines “frustration” as the thwarting of impulses or actions that prevents individuals from obtaining something they have been led to expect based on past experience (APA). We experience the emotion of frustration when we feel that we cannot succeed at a task. The factors that prevent us from succeeding can be internal and/or external variables. The lack of knowledge or physical skills in a sport can prevent an athletic individual from succeeding, would be internal. External would be a storm coming in before someone can adequately protect their freshy painted deck. Both tasks are conceivably possible but not at those particular points in time.

When tasks are deemed impossible, due to frustration, many times giving up is an easier choice than working harder to succeed. When we give up, we are telling ourselves that no matter what we do and how hard we try, we will never succeed. A dislike for the task and an unwillingness to try anything further soon follows. At this point, we have developed a “fixed mindset” that we cannot do it.

Think about all of the tasks or ideas that you have a fixed mindset on. Think about the path you took that brought you to this mindset. That path was due to the missed opportunity to acknowledge and regulate your emotions, leading to the dismissal of your goal or intentions. Sound familiar?

Growth Mindset

Where there is a Will there is a Way!

This is not to say that having Emotional Intelligence guarantees successful experiences 100% of the time. EI enables the athlete to work on particular skills and knowledge of a particular sport to become better. EI will guide the weekend warrior to be upset but understand that he or she may need to apply another coat of paint after the storm passes through. Both will even be open to the option of might even consist of seeking out assistance from others. Whatever route they take, inevitably both individuals will move towards or find success.

The persistence and forward thinking, pulls them away from giving up. They both have their goals and they will figure out how to reach them, no matter the new learning or the time spent. “Where there is a will there is a way” is their mentality. This is what is referred to as a “Growth Mindset”.

My conclusion? EI and Growth Mindset go hand in hand. Emotional Intelligence is a precursor to a Growth Mindset. Trying to build a Growth Mindset without knowledge of your Emotional Intelligence is like thinking that a “Fad Diet” is a long term solution to good health. At some point the diet will fail.

Developing EI and a Growth Mindset

Take a minute to think about a professional athlete, musician, actor or actress, artist or even a skilled technician or practitioner in any field. It would come to no surprise that despite the possibilities of natural born talents, all of them can attest that their success comes from hours of practice, studying of their art, and experience. They know that perfection is unattainable and that they are all still capable of failure. Failures or setbacks are actually welcomed and seen as opportunities to learn even more about what they are already good at.

The common denominator with people that do things well is that they are emotionally driven to move forward, towards their goals. “Giving up” is the end game, which is synonymous with quitting. The emotions tied in with their goals is key. The attainment of those emotions, after achieving goals, is just as important as any monetary or physical reward.

When we successfully achieve any task, we are filled with positive emotions. As we experience this, any negative thought felt throughout the process becomes nullified. The book, ‘Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3 to 1 Ratio That Will Change Your Life’ (Fredrickson, 2009) recognizes the impact of positive emotions when striving through a goal oriented life. Inevitably, Positive Psychology would make its way into this, of course.

Fredrickson (2009) labels Joy, Pride, Inspiration, Gratitude, Hope, Serenity, Awe, Interest, Love and Amusement as the ten most common positive emotions. When we work towards a goal and then successfully accomplish it, you can easily feel most, if not all of these emotions. Keep in mind, from students to professional athletes, successfully achieving our goals is not possible 100% of the time. These emotions have to be acknowledged and celebrated at all times.

“P” Versus “P”

Happiness is associated with the production or obtainment of goals. From minor to major, achieving goals is what we naturally set out to do. In this day and age of technology, information, knowledge or even a meal can be achieved within minutes. As a result, an instant gratification mentality sets in. We live in a product driven society. Many, children through adults, have lost the ability to enjoy or even embark on processes that consists of time and effort. This is why we tend to give up on challenging tasks. This is why kids give up on Math, writing, science or even some PE activities. When the product is not produced immediately, the interest and effort go down. This brings us to our first step towards a growth mindset. Sometimes we need to focus more on the “process” versus the “product”.

Keeping your focus on the goal, or the product, is always important. Focusing on the process, is beneficial when we understand that our current knowledge and skill base do not meet the required standard for a quick and easy completion. For these challenges, we break the main goal into viable chunks of objectives. In order to reach these objectives we have to obtain, sometimes slowly, the skills and knowledge that we are lacking.

Motivate Motivation

With the importance of “process” in mind, keep your foot on the pedal. A Growth Mindset needs nurturing. A fixed mindset finds it difficult to stay motivated on a challenge that consists of extra time, earning and effort. A growth mindset understands that the time spent, the learning and the effort are key, not only to the task at hand, but also to future problem solving situations. To motivate that motivation, we have to learn how to celebrate and praise the big and small victories, to fuel and ignite those positive emotions. The more positive emotions that we get from praise, the more we continue to engage with work motivation.

Praise is just one way to receive feedback. We can also be motivated by constructive or deconstructive criticism. This, of course, is easier said than done but this is where the Emotional Intelligence comes into play. With a strong sense of self-awareness and regulation, criticism is welcomed and is recognized at part of the learning process.

Closing

Both EI and a growth mindset do not happen over night. They take time, application, and reflection. In addition, EI and a growth mind set does not translate into 100% success rates or easy living. Although, what they both have the potential of doing is mental and physical self-improvement, due to the commitment to positive emotions and forward momentum.

It is also not a secret that employers actively seek out individuals with EI and a growth mindset and that many companies implement trainings, programs or incentives to encourage the development of both. They covet employees who have the ability to be productive, just to learn more to continue to be productive.

In my opinion the ultimate payoff is empathy. This component of EI develops even more with a growth mindset. Not only do organizations want this but people, in general, gravitate towards those with empathy because of their ability to show genuine care and inspiration to have the courage to move forward. We all can say or feel empathy to others’ emotions, but when built upon a foundation of EI and applications of a growth mindset, there is power to make a difference. A difference at workplaces, social settings, at home, or for someone’s mental, physical or spiritual wellness.

As I conclude, I hope that it is clear that developing EI and a growth mindset are both challenging. Development does not happen over night, and may never come to full fruition, but the reward lies within the process of developing both. Most important, this is not just for students struggling with algebra or covalent bonds. Insert wink emoji.

Spiritual Bonus

It has sadly taken me a few weeks to complete this piece, due to the research and difficulties to write it out in a concise manner. As the thoughts and ideas exploded in my mind, the overwhelming feeling of information overload was taking me farther away from concluding my thoughts. I actually took a couple of days off from writing this. Then everything changed one Sunday, at service.

As a Christian, I try my best to align everything that I do with the righteousness and virtues taught and exhibited in the Holy Bible. On Father’s Day Sunday, we were blessed by one of our Assistant Pastors teaching the Word. There are no coincidences when it comes to the work of God, nor do I no longer believe that His work is mysterious. God’s work is timely and purposeful. The service below affirmed and solidified my learning and understanding of EI and Growth Mindset. Enjoy!!!

Reference:

Fredrickson, B. (2009). Positivity: Top-notch research reveals the 3-to-1 ratio that will change your life. Harmony.

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