Kim Chee Patties

Last week was a difficult week.  We had some restoring to do at the hale (house).  The Help put back the gazebo cover.  He replaced the tarp on the tempermanent carport.  He also replaced the loose clamps on the pool heater.

He did a lot, and I'm grateful for his help, but I know there are families out there who still have it bad.  Some of my friends in Kapoho just got electricity restored this weekend.  Many had already capitulated and purchased generators.  I offered to do laundry for some of my work friends, but nobody took  me up on my offer.  I hope it wasn't because of my only stipulation, "no undies". . .didn't want uncomfortable smiles (or new good friends) at work.

This past weekend was a long weekend (unlike the long weekend created by the arrival of Iselle, this weekend was planned). . .Admissions Day holiday on Friday.  Since D2's birthday fell on Thursday, I threw her a slumber party on Thursday evening.  She had a few friends over for pizza (yes, she finally eats pizza) and swimming.  Although I kept an eye on them, its nice to know kids are able to swim on their own.  I wonder when they became "old". . .

Not sure why, but I started feeling really lousy on Friday.  I woke up with a headache right behind the eyes.  I think the Aleve upset my stomach because I had to go back to bed and rest.  It made me think that in spite of being with students all last year, I didn't take any sick leave.  The only time I called a substitute was to attend a workshop.  Amazing!  The previous year, when I was only with adults, I developed bronchitis.  I think the adults gave me more sickness germs than the kids.

Feeling under the weather, I asked The Help to get me some kim chee to eat with the taegu (seasoned codfish) I had.  My reasoning was that the chili pepper heat would kill the bad germs.  It must've worked because I felt fine by the time cake and ice cream time rolled around, and I was even able to keep my claws appointment.  I tried out a new salon since TK was on vacation. 

The next day, I felt fine so I accompanied The Help to a yearbook photo shoot in the morning.  I also managed to squeeze in a test drive of a cute car I've been thinking about for D1.  I'm still thinking. . .

I spent the entire afternoon at preseason football games with The Help.  My job was to sherpa photo equipment.  I think I went above and beyond the call because I actually shot some frames myself!  I have students on both the junior varsity and varsity teams, and it is always nice to see them in a non-classroom environment.  The 3rd quarter of the varsity game seemed endless!  I spent over five hours at the stadium and had no energy to come home and cook dinner.  We ate Korean food at Restaurant Osaka (yes, Restaurant Osaka serves Korean food). . .guess I was still ono for heat.

By Sunday evening, with my Korean food craving practically satiated, I decided to give it the one final hurrah.  I didn't want the jar of kim chee to be forgotten in the fridge, so I made kim chee patties with the rest of the kim chee (I didn't eat much of it when I was feeling under the weather).   Kim chee patties are easy to make because the patties fry up quickly.  Because they are rather thin, they make a whole lot which means there will be leftovers for lunch the next day (and maybe even the day after too)!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Kim Chee Patties

     1 jar (10-12 oz) kim chee
     1 lb ground beef
     2 tbsp sugar
     2 tbsp shoyu
     1 1/2 tsp salt
     5 eggs
     1/4 c flour
     3/4 c cornstarch

Drain kim chee, reserving 1/2 c liquid (if liquid is less than 1/2 c, use water to make up the difference).  Chop kim chee and combine with ground beef.  Combine remaining ingredients.  Add to kim chee/ground beef mixture.  Batter will be runny.  Heat oil in skillet.  Scoop 2 tbsp at a time and fry in skillet (flatten out a little) until brown on one side.  Turn over and fry other side.  Add oil as needed.  Skillet should not be dry.  Drain on paper towels.

Preseason football got underway this weekend.  Both the JV and varsity squads were victorious in their debut versus crosstown rival Waiakea.  Way to go VIKS!

making for the end zone

tough-as nails running back on the jv roster. . .she scored a rushing TD

senior running back weaving through Waiakea defenders

Bring back memories, eh, Matsu???

Almost 12th Avenue Grill: Kim Chee Steak

Last week was a really bad week as far as work was concerned.  Lotsa feathers ruffled, lotsa feelings hurt, and all started because two people made three poor decisions, and a flurry of bad behavior ensued.  I'm embarrassed for them (no, its not me, and I am not the receiver of the verbal venom  either), and I hope there will be some "coming-to-the-senses" coupled with some much-deserved apologies issued sometime this week.

What kicked all this shit off was frustration behaviors (eye-rolling, loud sighing, etc.), being perceived as disrespect.  I liken this to looking into the window of someone else's house and seeing a person with a cleaver raised in a position about to strike. . .without the peeping Tom knowing there is a cutting board with a Hong Kong style roast chicken in need of carving.  People who don't see the whole picture should keep their mouths shut!  The High Commander always preaches, "know the context."  She is so right!

The hotness flaring at work has quite possibly made me ono for Korean food.  Between us, the Help and I have eaten bi bim bap at 3 different places in the past 2 weeks.  All the banchan that gets served alongside the main dish just makes my mouth water.  I love cucumber kim chee. 
I was going to make chap chae, but I lacked the gumption to go digging in the freezer for thin-sliced rib eye (I know I have some from Costco).  I thought for a moment about making family-style bi bim bap, but I didn't wanna deal with preparing all the vegetables.  So I had to think hard for something Korean to make.  Then it hit me. . .kim chee steak.  Let me give you the background:

A few years ago, I went to 12th Avenue Grill on a hot date and ordered kim chee steak with a side of macaroni and cheese.  First of all, 12th Ave Grill has one of the best macaroni and cheese dishes I've ever tasted (tied with Kincaid's macaroni and cheese with lobster).  Studded with ali'i oyster mushrooms, the creamy sauce cradles every bit of pasta real estate. Yum.  But today's blog is not about macaroni and cheese.  Its about kim chee steak.

Not knowing what to expect, I ordered kim chee steak, thinking I'd see chunks of meat stir-fried with pieces of won bok kim chee.  What arrived at the table was far from that.  It appeared to be an unassuming grilled steak, but after the first bite, I realized this was no ordinary steak.  The flavor was like "kal bi on steroids".

12th Avenue Grill uses flank steak for their kim chee steak, so I knew I had to do the same.  In my best attempt to recreate the flavor, I started with a kal bi-ish marinade then used kim chee base to give the steak a Korean twist.  The final product tasted very much like the original.  As you can tell from the pics, I ate it with fried rice.  Macaroni and cheese research will be saved for a much later time.

Praying this will be a better week. . .

 click on recipe title for printable recipe
Kim Chee Steak

     1 flank steak, 1-2 lbs

     1/2 c shoyu

     2 tbsp brown sugar, packed

     1 tbsp honey

     1 tbsp sesame oil

     2 tbsp Momoya kim chee base

     1" piece ginger, grated

     2 stalks green onions, chopped

     dash of pepper

Combine all ingredients.  Marinate steak for at least 6 hours.  Grill steak on hibachi, reserving marinade.  Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain.  While steak is resting, boil marinade until reduced to half.  Use as sauce for steak slices.

Restaurant Chatter: Cham Cham is Back

Today is the first day of Fall Intersession, and unlike this time last year, I am going to try and be a couch potato instead of iron chef.  I've purchased all but season 5 of Criminal Minds (I have a bid on the season 5 dvd set) and my goal is to watch as many episodes of Criminal Minds as possible.  Cooking will likely interfere with my plans so I'll be doing a lot of takeout meals.

I'm really glad that my favorite Korean restaurant in Hilo is open again.  The Cham Cham Restaurant (421 Kalanikoa Street, Suite 102) serves the best Korean food in Hilo.  Some of you might be familiar with it as the old Snappy's Pizza location.  I like that the facilities are clean, there is ample parking for dinner, and the main waiter speaks English.  The little dishes of pickled vegetables are nice too.  But what I love most is the taste of the food.  Everything I have ever eaten at Cham Cham has been delicious.

Hilo almost lost Cham Cham.  In early June, I went to the Cham Cham for dinner and was shocked to see the place dark and a note on the door explaining that they were closed due to unforeseen circumstances beyond their control.  I thought perhaps someone was ill (turns out nobody was ill), so I went back the following week.  Same sign, same dark restaurant.  I was devastated.  It was back to XX for my bi bim bap fix.  Don't get me wrong. XX makes a decent bi bim bap, but unlike Cham Cham, XX is not the "total package".

A few weeks ago, I heard a rumor that Cham Cham was going to reopen.  I went to see for myself yesterday, and sure enough, it was open!  I had dinner there Friday night and Saturday night (yes, its THAT good. . . I couldn't stay away).  In case you're wondering, I didn't have dinner there last night; the Cham Cham is closed on Sundays.

I love the assortment of little dishes.

garlic shoots

 My all-time favorite dish there is the bi bim bap.  It comes in a classy brass bowl, and you can select either bbq beef or bbq chicken as a topping.

The Korean chicken is another favorite.  This is NOT the same kind of Korean chicken your mom made (if your mom made Korean chicken).  Homestyle, Hawaii-style Korean chicken is usually some wing part which has been fried then dipped into a slightly-sweet soy, green onion & sesame oil sauce.  I enjoy Mom's Korean chicken, but Cham Cham Korean chicken is an entirely different dish altogether.  Instead of a teriyaki-like sauce, the sauce is clear with a definite vinegar taste.  It is neither overpowering nor cloying, but it takes the crispy chicken to a new level.

 If spice is your passion, try the Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup.  Laden with calamari pieces, shrimp, and a mussel, the hearty broth will definitely warm you to the bone on a cold, wet Hilo night.

This is a dish which competes with bi bim bap as my all-time favorite.  Its a seafood pancake that is as large as the size of a dinner plate.  Its served with a sesame dipping sauce.  Ask for the pancake to be cooked extra crispy.

 

If you don't mind the heat and are looking for a very filling meal, consider the kim chee fried rice.  You get a choice of meat (bbq chicken or some other kind of bbq meat), and it comes with a nicely fried egg sitting on top.

Cham Cham also does takeout plates and bentos (currently $6 for a combination bento).  Call (808-961-4741) at least 15 minutes in advance.  I took out a kal bi & mean juhn combination.  It came with 2 mandoo, a generous bed of rice and 4 different sides:  taegu, daikon kim chee, won bok kim chee, and namul.

chicken katsu & spicy pork bento

Kal bi & meat juhn combination plate (take out)

Kim Chee Burgers

When its baseball season, teams/leagues often have fundraisers, selling everything from cookies to laulau.  One league is known for their kim chee burger fundraisers.  For years, The Help was on the "call list", receiving calls from excited mothers about the upcoming fundraising event.  The Help was infamous for buying a half-dozen of the burgers and polishing them off in a single sitting.  Most normal people can't eat a half-dozen burgers at one time, and most normal people likely don't want to limit consumption of these fantastic gems to baseball season, especially when grilling weather is year-round.

Kim chee burgers are unique in that kim chee, Korean pickled vegetables (nappa cabbage, in this case), represents the vegetable component of a typical burger.  The burger mix is a teriyaki-based conglomeration with sesame oil and ground sesame seeds giving it a Korean twist.   The burger mix is smeared very thinly onto the cut surface of a hamburger bun.  Because smearing the meat can be time-consuming, this is definitely something that can and should be made a few days before they are to be eaten.  The process begins by smearing the  buns with a thin layer of the burger mix.  Contrary to what some may think, the purpose of the thin layer is not to stretch pennies.  But I'm getting there.  The bun halves are frozen in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

When frozen (at least 2 hours), the buns are re-stacked into sets with a piece of parchment paper between meat layers and placed back into the bun bag.  These burgers cook quickly so they can be kept frozen up until 10 minutes before chow time.  When ready to serve, the burgers are cooked by grilling only the meat-side of the bun (hence the thin layer of burger mix).  A generous mound of kim chee is sandwiched between both bun halves before being devoured by hungry monsters.

click on recipe title for printable recipe 
Kim Chee Burgers

     1 lb lean ground beef

     2 tsp sugar

     2 tbsp shoyu

     1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted and ground

     2 tbsp sesame oil

     1 clove garlic, minced

     1" piece ginger, grated

     2 tbsp green onions, minced

     16 hamburger buns

Combine all ingredients except hamburger buns.  Spread about 2 teaspoons of beef mix onto each bun half, spreading all the way to the edges in a very thin, even layer.  Freeze in a single layer.  When frozen, stack with parchment paper between meat layers.  Cook each bun half meat-side down only on a hot grill. Meat should be cooked when bun is no longer cold.  Serve with slices of kim chee between halves.