This Korean Bakes

Mochi Balls with Fermented Organic Blueberries from Chile

January 18, 2019 By stemsandforks 2 Comments

This post was sponsored by Fruits From Chile. All thoughts and opinions are my own

If you didn’t get it right with your new year’s resolutions this month, don’t worry. There’s another new year coming up on February 5th 2019 and you can start anew! With the Lunar new year just around the corner, I thought these Mochi Balls filled with lacto fermented organic Chilean Blueberries would be perfect to ring in the new year and provide a second opportunity to become healthier and kinder to one’s body and mind.

Lacto-Fermented Foods:

So we all know how naturally fermented foods provide healthy probiotic bacteria. Stuff that’s good for our gut. Studies have shown that the natural probiotics created from fermentation also increases vitamin content thereby boosting our immunity naturally which helps fend off the flu and cold. (source) Consuming fermented foods are also safer to consume than raw as the lactic acids essentially kill off the bad bacteria such as E-Coli. (Source) And it has been proven time and again that improving gut health aids digestion thereby helping promote healthy body weight. It doesn’t stop here. There are a plethora of reasons lacto fermented foods are good for us.

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Kimchi Walnut and Arugula Crostini with Campania Tomato Sauce

December 7, 2018 By stemsandforks 4 Comments

This post is a not for profit collaboration with Mealshare. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I could sit here and lecture you all about sharing, giving and ending youth hunger but lets be frank. The reality is most of us want to enjoy our first world lives…dinner out with friends and family. But I know We ALL Want to make a DIFFERENCE. Which is why the concept behind Mealshare is brilliant.

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Spiced Rum, Date, Walnut, Molasses Bundt Cake with Rum Caramel Drizzle

October 7, 2018 By stemsandforks 17 Comments

Koreans can’t bake.

That’s been my insecurity since starting this baking journey. That I’m Korean. And unlike my fellow caucasian friends, I have no family pie recipe or a mom that baked chocolate chip cookies with me on Saturday mornings. The only things I baked as a child were Pillsbury crescents from a tin or boxed Duncan Hines. Baking from scratch was never a part of my family growing up.

Instead, my Saturdays consisted of Korean language classes followed by math drills with Sargent Shin… and his chopstick wand. After math, my sisters and I would get to watch some TV whilst stuffing thousands of Korean dumplings called “mandu”. Okay. Maybe not thousands but god did it ever feel like thousands! Only after all the mandus were stuffed and our math drills were done correctly, were my sisters and I allowed to bake Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake. And if we were really lucky, my mom would have bought the chocolate icing in a carton for us to ice the yellow cake with. As a child, baking this cake and devouring it was my escape, my utopia, my moment of being unkorean.

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Earl Grey, Sesame and Cassonade Weave Bread

March 28, 2018 By stemsandforks 3 Comments

As I continue on my Stems & Forks journey, I’m learning that my recipes are truly about taking the ordinary and making them extraordinary. Such as this weave brioche. I’ve taken this classic weave bread and doubled up on the layers by having 4 tendrils of dough rather than 2 crisscrossing. In fact, altogether there are 8 tendrils weaving in and out, creating a kaleidoscope of sugar, dough and buttered sesame seeds. If you love a more “pillowy” bread, feel free to make this into a two-roll (but with 4 tendrils) bread. I just love having loads of buttery sesame seeds intertwined with the brioche.

I know you’re thinking, “This looks hard!” I assure you it’s not! If I had to compare it to another task that might seem initially difficult- it’s like sewing a button. Actually, I don’t know how to sew a button. Rewind. Erase. It’s like learning to tie a shoelace. It seems complicated at first, but once you get into it, you’ll find your groove and it’s a cinch. A kid could even weave this bread. It’s that simple. You just need to follow the steps. And the pictures below will make it a no-brainer. I promise.

I don’t say this often, but this has definitely become one of my favourite recipes. I made this on a Friday but photographed it the following day. It was still moist and wonderful. Now I say it’s enough for 5-6 people, and with that being said, my husband and I finished it with a pot of coffee in less than an hour. But I guess my husband and I don’t qualify as normal people. We have no self-discipline when it comes to deliciousness! Make 2 if you expect company.

Wishing you and your family a happy Easter, Passover, Spring.

Bon App!

2. Take about a quarter of the filling and spread leaving about half an inch on the edge

3. Roll up nice and tight

4.With a sharp serrated knife, cut the rolls down the centre middle in half lengthwise.

6.Overlap the tendril pairs so they are alternating with the overlaps

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Earl Grey, Sesame and Cassonade Weave Bread

Prep time: 5 hours

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 5 hours 30 mins

Ingredients

FOR THE BREAD:
2½ cups or 325 grams all purpose flour
¼ cup or 50 grams white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
1½ teaspoons traditional active dry yeast
1 cup milk (will be reduced to a little less than a cup of milk)
2 Earl Grey Tea bags
2 fresh eggs room temperature
6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
FOR THE FILLING:
½ cup or 113 grams softened unsalted butter
½ cup or 100 grams brown cassonade sugar
⅓ cup or 40 grams toasted sesame seeds
GLAZE:
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Instructions

In stand mixer bowl with hook attachment, sift flour, sugar and salt and give quick mix (with a whisk)
In small sauce pan, on medium low heat, scald the milk until it forms little bubbles on the side of pan or reaches a temperature of 180 F. Turn heat off and allow to cool to about 110 F or touch with hand. Should be very warm to the touch... but not too hot that it's unbearable to touch
Measure out ½ cup of the warm milk in a bowl and add the yeast and 1 teaspoon white sugar and give quick stir. Set aside and allow to poof (double its size)- about 10 minutes
Drop the 2 Earl Grey tea bags in the remaining warm milk in sauce pan and let steep for 4 minutes. Remove bags and squeeze excess milk
You should be left with about ⅓ cup of Earl Grey infused milk
In stand mixer, still with kneading hook, stir in the Earl Grey infused milk
Then add the milk with yeast and stir - Mixture will look shaggy and ragged. This is okay.
Add the eggs in one at a time while stirring on low- scrape sides and bottom with a spatula a couple times while kneading.
Add the butter in a table spoon at a time. waiting for butter to be incorporated fully before adding the next chunk in - dough will look sticky but keep kneading until the dough looks shiny and smooth
If still dry and not coming together after 2 or 3 minutes, add a teaspoon of water or milk until dough comes together. If opposite issue of too wet, add an extra flour, a tablespoon at a time. You don't want it too sticky like pizza dough nor too taut... refer to pic above.
Continue to knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, shiny and no longer sticky
Form the dough into a ball
Grease with vegetable oil a large bowl until it is lightly covered
Lightly roll the dough around in the greased bowl (Make sure bowl is large enough to accommodate the fact that dough will double in size)
Cover with plastic film and allow to rise in warm area of home for 3 hours.
In the meanwhile make the FILLING
Loosely crush the sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle or zip in blender for a few seconds or put in ziplock and crush with rolling pin. You want a few seeds crushed. Crushing it will release some lovely nutty flavour
Mix with spatula in bowl, the softened ½ cup butter and ½ cup brown cassonade until well blended- set aside
ASSEMBLING THE WEAVE:
*There are a series of pictures above which will help with the assembly
After the first rise, take dough and cut into 4 equal pieces
Roll each piece into flat oval shapes - about 12 inches in diameter
Take about a quarter of the filling and spread leaving about half an inch on the edge
Roll up all the way
Do this for the rest of the dough sections
Pop in refrigerator for 15 minutes on baking tray lined with parchment paper covered with plastic (Optional- I find this step helps keep the dough a bit firm when shaping)
With a sharp serrated knife, cut the rolls down the centre middle in half lengthwise.
Create a "tic tac toe" grid with the tendrils (refer to pic)
Overlap the tendril pairs so they are alternating with the overlaps (see pic)
Take all the tendril pairs that are on the underneath another tendril pair to overlap the pair that is clockwise to it. (refer to pic)
Carefully tuck the tendril ends under the loaf
Put on a large baking tray lined with parchment with at least 4 inches on all sides (to allow for the second rise and the spread during bake)
Cover with a damp tea towel for second rise, place in warm part of house- about 1½ hours
BAKING THE WEAVE:
Preheat oven to 375 F
Remove tea towel and bake for 20 minutes or until somewhat browned on the top
Remove from oven and cover loosely with sheet of foil and bake for another 15-18 minutes
Test bread by pressing close to centre...should be firm
Immediately brush maple syrup all over bread
NOTES:
*When yeast doesn't poof, it usually means the milk was too warm or too cold. If you don't have a food thermometer, test by touching water. It should be very warm but not so hot that your fingers can't take it.
Another issue could be the yeast has expired or simply died.
If you only have raw sesame seeds, toast on pan over medium high heat for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally.
This weave bread is best consumed within a couple days, however can be kept up to 5 days at room temperature wrapped with plastic
Can also be frozen for about a month

Matcha and Black Sesame Crêpes

November 2, 2017 By stemsandforks Leave a Comment

My mother in law would probably pucker her lips till they turned white and wrinkled much like her backside exit if I ever told her what I did to the base of her crêpe recipe. I asianized it.

For the old school Belgian or Frenchie, crêpes are a kind of sacred dish. My mother in law has never deviated from the simple recipe of just flour, eggs, milk, sugar. She normally serves it with some cassonade (brown sugar), nutella or some jam on the table. I remember once serving crêpes for lunch with sour cream, bacon and chives…and yup the puckered backside lips appeared. “Quelle horreur” she exclaimed. Awww…. Always love her candour! She skipped the bacon and cheese and went straight to the cupboards to grab the brown sugar. She refused to even try! Old school and I forgot to mention, stubborn.

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Kimchi & Egg Galettes

October 26, 2017 By stemsandforks 1 Comment

Kimchi, kale, spinach and chèvre in a crusty, flaky buttery pastry topped with an egg – who can resist such a plethora of flavours? This delightful dance of sweet/savoury, rich/acidic, chewy/flaky and hearty galette is my interpretation of Omurice. I was inspired by this childhood favourite comfort dish originally from Japan. Omurice is essentially fried rice crowned with a paper thin omelette, with ketchup slathered atop. Koreans have adapted it by adding kimchi (of course), along with a mish-mash of proteins, seafood or veggies in the rice. Omurice can really be made of anything. So long as it’s fried rice blanketed by an omelette. Its name is a quintessential example of Gairaigo which basically means a transvocalization. ‘Omu’ for omelette, and ‘raisu’ for rice.

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Cardamom Cake with Matcha and White Chocolate Icing

March 24, 2017 By stemsandforks 4 Comments

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Golden Beet Cake with Brown Butter Sage Frosting

February 9, 2017 By stemsandforks 1 Comment

Every now and then, I whip up gnocchi with brown butter and fresh sage drizzle. Add a bit of fresh parmesan and cracked black pepper and my mouth is singing. Or I’ll roast beets and toss with some goats cheese and walnuts. Often I’ve wondered if I could translate the sage/butter/cheese/beets/walnuts into a cake and finally I did. I know what you’re thinking. Betty’s finally lost her marbles. She’s trying to make cake from a salad.

Well, I did and it was sublime. The golden colour from the beets gave the cake a beautiful soft golden hue. The taste was sweet yet subtly earthy, crunchy yet creamy. The closest thing I can compare this to is carrot cake but less sweet with loads more elegance.

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Korean Pear Galette

January 12, 2017 By stemsandforks 2 Comments

With in-laws living in Waterloo, Belgium we usually spend a couple weeks in the summer to visit so my husband Pierre can get his fix of Belgian cuisine whilst the in-laws enjoy their grandkids. Pierre has now been living in Toronto for 12 years and gets home-sick every now and then. Well, its mainly the food he misses. As do I. Once there, he easily eats the tomate aux crevettes grises (small, grey, flavour-packed shrimps prepared in a hollowed tomato), or Américain préparé (Belgian version of steak tartare) daily for lunch. Then of course there’s Belgian street food – frites with so many different sauces (Samurai and Américaine sauce are our faves), Mitraillette (a baguette with meat or sausage, topped with, grated carrots, lettuce and French fries smothered with Andalouse sauce) and my daughter’s favourite, Belgian waffles.

For those of you who haven’t been to Belgium, its one of those countries where the majority of the restaurants and street foods are consistently excellent. There are way more hits than misses. After personally experiencing the food and culture, its easy to understand why a Belgian expat would become home sick. I often find myself craving certain restaurants or dishes from Belgium. Not to mention even basic groceries such as their high fat butter and fresh eggs with sunset hued yolks.

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Earl Grey and Orange Ganache Chocolate Macarons

January 9, 2017 By stemsandforks 1 Comment

I have this recurring nightmare that’s been haunting me for decades. I’m in a bakery surrounded by delectable and mouthwatering mounds of pastries. Croissants, cakes, pies, macarons and muffins piled high in baskets and platters in varying hues of browns and beiges. I can see steam wafting from the butter croissants and fresh icing still runny, dripping off the danishes. It’s one of the most beautiful and delicious sights ever. I’m overwhelmed by the wondrous selection and I can’t decide which to eat first. Chocolate torte first? Then I won’t have space for the tarts. I’m so torn. This indecisiveness goes on and on and feels as if the entire night of dreaming is spent trying to decide which pastry to taste first. Then the dream becomes a nightmare. I awake without having made a choice. My indecisiveness leaves me empty handed. As I’d slowly awake to reality, I’d be filled with regret for not having sunk my teeth into one of those heavenly pastries.

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