are you afraid of spending a lot of time with one person? ie, if you hang out with them too much, you od on them, and you will never be as good of friends as you once were. because no matter how close you are, you over saturate yourself with that person. it's why i'm afraid of living with friends (in none of my 5 living situations during college have i lived with friends). but maybe that's just my introvert coming out? idk.
one thing i don't ever get sick of is korean. i overate at a korean restaurant on a friday night and didn't want it the next day, but by the next thursday, i was craving it again. i'm in love with banchan, okay?
but sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach, and sometimes i get the costco sized jar of kimchi. and i can't finish it all before it gets way too sour. this kimchi soup with seaweed and fresh mochi is perfect for using up that elderly kimchi.
(if you also have a too large jar of kimchi, then i like these roasted brussels sprouts with kimchi and ginger and kimchi cucumber naengmyeon to switch it up rather than having it as a side dish for endless meals).
there was a ton of pulled pork in my fridge (think the leftovers of two stuffed pressure cookers' worth, fed to a crowd of 30, who already had enough to eat pre-pork), and i was tired of the bbq sauce + pork routine. (steph of i am a food blog, the author of this recipe, says she likes doing this when she has a ton of pulled pork on hand, too).
this kimchi soup with seaweed and fresh mochi isn't the kind of soup that's super smooth and creamy (those bore me anyways).
there's plenty of crunchy kimchi and green onion, chewy and crispy mochi (i used fresh mochi leftover from mochitsuki. it keeps really well in the freezer), hearty pork, a hint of sesame from the crackly seaweed and the sesame oil.
adaptions wise, i used mushrooms and bean sprouts here for a little more veg, and you could add a poached egg if you want to make this soup a little richer (or ignore it if you're lazy like me).
the soup is a little spicy, but nothing horribly so (nothing like tteokbokki, which i usually have to end up rinsing off bc i am in too much pain to finish all the sauce). just the thing for the last bit of cold before warmer weather visits.
- 2 onions thinly sliced
- 4 cups kimchi chopped into bite size pieces
- 3-4 cups pulled pork or other protein
- 8 cups dashi
- 6 tablespoons mirin or to taste
- 4 tablespoons gochujang or to taste
- fresh mochi
- sliced green onions poached eggs, roasted seaweed and sesame oil for serving
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In a large pot, heat some oil over medium heat. Cook the onions until brown and caramelized, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Stir in the kimchi and pork. Add the dashi, mirin and gochujang; bring to a gentle simmer. Turn the heat down to low and let simmer. Steph says 1 hour, but if you're short on time, 20-30 minutes is fine. Season with salt and pepper.
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In a small skillet, heat some oil. Add the mochi (don’t crowd it!), and cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and let crisp on the other side.
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To serve, scoop the soup into a bowl and top with the mochi, a slow poached egg, sliced green onions, and seaweed. Serve hot.
From I Am a Food Blog.
You can use whatever kind of broth you'd like if you don't have dashi. I've done water with dried mushrooms and a splash of fish sauce, and that works well.
Shauna | Linden & Lavender says
It's so hard to know whether it will work to live with friends. In my experience, living with my best friends made us even closer. Fully realizing that you're also referring to food, I have to say that I am intrigued by your soup. I think I would have trouble sourcing some of the ingredients. In terms of kimchi- would you purchase a store brand (I think there would only be one option at my shop) or the homemade (a little pricey as well) kimchi at the farmer's market? Am I overthinking it??
Heather says
you could get kimchi from the grocery store or the farmers market (i've never seen it at the farmers market but now i'm curious!). it cooks down and mellows out, so it's less important here than say if you ate it plain with rice and seaweed. the main thing is finding one that tastes good to you. some of them are more fermented and bubbly and sour, and some are spicier, and some have different kinds of vegetables. it's a choose your own adventure type of thing! (:
Joyce says
I actually have that issue -_- and it's definitely the introvert in me. I can never spend too much time with anyone, I start to feel a bit suffocated and most of the time people really don't get it - I need my space and that it's nothing personal. I actually had a room mate at one point a few years back and I had to kick them out within 2 months max. I'm terrible lol! So I totally get you. Now this awesome food? I definitely can never get sick of! 🙂
Heather says
HAHAH same. tbh i was supposed to hang out with friends today but then decided i didn't want to, and am out by myself rn lol.