It’s Saturday and it’s time to get the party started. Although summer is pretty much at an end season wise, it’s actually the ideal time time to get outside. Plus with the sun beating down in the late 20s it sure as hell feels like summer, thus the summer sangria was born. I am usually a red sangria drinker myself, but was in the mood for something blanco this time. I’ve been drinking it for 5 days straight over Chuseok so it must be pretty damn good, that or I’m just not that fussy when drunk. The lovely people at Berentzen  sent me over a bottle of their apple liquor as thanks for creating a few cocktails with the blackcurrant one. There’s only one thing I love more than booze and that’s free booze, so I used it to jazz up this classic drink. It really hits the spot and goes down a storm. Add any fruit you like, I just used what I had. Happy drinking!

Ingredients

1 bottle of Prosecco (or and sweet sparkling white wine)

100mls of Berentzen apple

300mls of Sprite

1 orange

A handful of blueberries

A handful of strawberries

Ice to serve

Directions

1. Slice your orange and add the fruit to your jug.

2. Add the Berentzen and Prosecco.

3. Top up with ice and Sprite and give it a good old stir. Drink and enjoy. Repeat steps 2-3 until you run out of wine or you fall over. For me it’s generally falling over, I’d never be foolish enough to let myself run out of wine!

As part of my new, healthier lifestyle I am trying to embrace more produce in my life. Trying to keep things new and fresh isn’t always easy. When we make the same old things all the time, it’s easy to get bored with eating them. I also think far too often that we relegate great ingredients to fillers. I would rarely ever use carrots as a star ingredient but they are more than just a side dish. Here they take center stage in this glorious salad. The key here is slicing them with the vegetable peeler so they have a different texture. You can also use them this way as a substitute for pasta. dressed in this fabulous and tasty dressing, they really are lovely. We have had it twice this week alone. Any salty crumbly cheese will work here, but you could also skip it if you don’t have it.

Ingredients

1-2 carrots

4 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 lemon (juiced)

2 tablespoons of honey

2 tablespoons of sliced almonds

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon of salt

A handful of torn mint leaves

50g of feta cheese

Directions 

1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel your carrots into lovely long ribbons. This will get a tad trickier as you approach the middle, but you should be able to do most of the carrot.

2. To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt and cilantro. the pour over the carrots and mix. You may not need all the dressing depending on how large your carrots are. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.

3. When the carrots have marinated crumble in the feta, and sprinkle on the mint leaves and almonds. Give everything another tossing then serve. Voilà carrot salad.

I’ve been obsessed with making my own pizza all summer long. If you follow my instagram account you will have seen me devouring them. Homemade pizza is such a joy and puts a smile on the face of anyone that eats it. A thin crispy crust, covered with fresh vegetables and and cheese, and eaten outside. I decided to  switch it up a bit this time and go for a Thai style pizza. The sauce was made with coconut milk and peanut butter, then I layered it up with chicken and lovely Thai vegetables. Served with my tomato salad and a homemade Pimm’s it was perfection. An awesome, easy, and fresh dinner to share with your loved one or friends.

Ingredients (makes 3 large pizzas)

Dough 

500g flour (I used the one for dumplings and noodles.)

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of yeast (I used bobai brand that comes in 8g packages)

4 table spoons of olive oil

14 oz ice cold water

Sauce

1/2 a can of coconut milk

3 tablespoons of peanut butter

2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce.

Topping

1 chicken breast

1/2 an onion

1 egg plant

1-2 chillies

150g of grated cheese

A bunch of cilantro (고수)

A handful of basil leaves

Directions 

1. Make the pizza dough using my recipe here.

2. While the dough is resting, cook your chicken breasts with a little garlic and oil. I also added some Thai seasoning I bought on i-Herb. Then slice and roast your egg plants. Grate the cheese, and slice the onion and chillies. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.

3. Roll out the dough to the size of your pan, then sprinkle with flour before placing the dough on top. Cover the base with the sauce and bake in the oven for 10 minutes to cook the dough. If you don’t do this and you pile on everything on top first the dough will stay raw in the middle.

4. Once the base has cooked, layer it up with cheese and all your lovely vegetables apart from the basil leaves and cook for another 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is golden brown. Sprinkle the basil leaves on top then serve.

I’m keeping things nice and simple today, and not just because I am still suffering some ill effects from the weekend. A few nights ago I managed to get three kinds of different tomatoes for a mere 6,000 won. We are right in the midst of tomato season so they are all so cheap and plentiful. I’ve spend my summer practically living on salsa, panzanella, and gazpacho. Other than making some ketchup, I wondered what was left for me to do with the humble tomato. Korea’s rally upped its produce game in recent years and we are now getting a variety of different kinds. I didn’t want to overshadow these beauties by piling in everything and the kitchen sink. They are sweet and tasty all by themselves, so I wanted to get back to basics and eat them just with a few of the my home grown basil leaves from my terrace.

Ingredients

500g of tomatoes

A handful of basil leaves

A glug of olive oil

A small drizzle of balsamic vinegar

A pinch of salt

Directions

1. Chop your tomatoes into different sized pieces. I halved some and quartered or sliced others.

2. Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then sprinkle with salt. Be sparing with the vinegar as you don’t want to overpower the tomatoes.

3. Tear your basil leaves into pieces and toss with the tomatoes. Then enjoy your delicious fresh simple salad.

Hello everyone. Sorry for the lack of posts this past week or so but I have been off enjoying myself in the Philippines! I had planned to try and write everyday while I was away, but alas all those plans went out the window after a few bottles of rum and I decided to have some fun in the sun instead. Even during the frequent rain storms I found it more enjoyable to read, get massages, and watch reruns of Americas next Top Model rather than work hard. But since I was on holiday I figured it was okay as we all deserve a break. My laziness since returning from my tropical jaunt is all due to my new early starts and lack of desk warming time at work.

So to make up for my lack of work of late I present to you yet another fried food recipe. Not the healthiest but definitely the tastiest way to get more pickles into your life. If you have never tried them, deep fried pickles are absolutely amazing! I have been rather obsessed with these since trying them last winter at Pizza Pub (now Route 66). I have been wanting to give it a go myself for months now, but always seem to forget about them any time I have the fryer out. So finally I got around to it. Not only are they delicious, they are also a great way to use up all those pickles I seem to procure from my ubiquitous pizza Sunday. You can use any kind of pickles you like though, and you can also bake them in the oven instead of frying if you drizzle them with a little oil first!

Ingredients

3 tubs of pizza pickles

5 tablespoons of seasoned flour (just add a little salt and pepper)

2 eggs (beaten)

1 cup of panko crumbs (mix with the paprika)

1 teaspoon of paprika

Soy bean oil for frying

Directions

1. Add enough oil to your pan or frying pan so it covers at least an inch or two deep then heat to about 180 degrees this will be medium on a gas range, high on an electric.

2. Strain the pickles from the juice they are kept in and pat dry with kitchen roll. Then toss in the seasoned flour.

3. Dip the floured pickles into beaten egg making sure they are fully coated. Then coat in the breadcrumb mixture. Next, lay them on a plate until the pickles are ready to be fried.

4. Fry the pickles in small batches for about a minute on each side or until golden brown. Then drain on kitchen roll and repeat until they are all cooked. Serve with your favourite dipping sauce or samjang mayo.

5. To make samjang mayo mix together 5 tablespoons of mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of samjang, or to taste.

My ice-cream obsession now plagues my every waking hour, so I thought it was about high time I made my own. Pralines & Cream is my absolute favourite flavour of Haagen Dazs and it’s impossible to get in Korea. So it seemed as good as place as any to start. The ice-cream itself its stupidly easy to make, whipping and mixing  and that’s it. You can keep it as straight vanilla or add whatever flavours you like to jazz it up. I went for my lovely pralines mixed with a caramel sauce. It was divinity itself maybe even better than the Haagen Dazs version. I can see a Fat Girl ice-cream range in my near future!

Ingredients

600ml of cream

200g of condensed milk

2 tablespoons of vanilla extract

Pralines

200g of pecans

200g of light brown sugar

100g of butter

4 tablespoons of milk

A pinch of salt

Toffee sauce

4 tablespoons of butter

10 tablespoons of light brown sugar

200ml of full fat milk or cream

Directions

1. To make the ice cream, put your cream, condensed milk, and vanilla extract in bowl and whisk until it becomes thick. It should be very thick, stop just before it starts to turn. It’s much easier to do this if you have an electric whisk. Once it’s nice and thick put it into a seal-able container and pop it in the freezer until it sets(usually 4-8 hours). It’s so easy, right? If you only want plain vanilla you can just eat it as it is.

2. To make the pralines, melt the butter in a saucepan on a low heat, then stir in the sugar. Once the sugar has melted a little stir in the milk. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens and starts to turn golden brown. Add the pecans to the sauce and stir to make sure they are coated and cook for a further minute. Turn off the heat and spoon out the pralines onto grease-proof paper, allow to cool. Then pop them in the refrigerator to set for a few hours. Once they have set, you can bash them into pieces using something heavy.

3. To make the toffee sauce put the sugar and butter in a saucepan and heat on low. Once the butter has melted and starts to combine with the sugar, add in the milk or cream. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, until you have a thick golden brown  toffee sauce. Allow to cool before adding to the ice cream along with your pralines. Voilà easy homemade ice cream!

I am all about garlic, and mushrooms for that matter, and this is one of those random dishes that I really miss from home. A lovely mushroom, coated in garlic butter, breaded and deep fried. Oh my they are perfection, dipped in some garlic mayo or sweet chili sauce what could be finer? I had pretty much forgotten all about my love of deep fried mushrooms until I decided to try them out myself. They were actually super easy to make, and the taste was undeniably amazing. I think mine were far superior to any I have had before, did I get lucky or am I just brilliant? Who could say for sure, either way I nailed it. The best part was that The Fat Boyfriend doesn’t even like mushrooms, so he had one and very generously let me eat the rest. It was the best day ever!

Ingredients

10 – 12 Mushrooms (but feel free to double up, you wont be sorry)

1 stick of butter

5 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon of fresh parsley

A pinch of salt and pepper

1 egg beaten

3 tablespoons of flour

8 tablespoons of panko crumbs (or bread crumbs)

1 teaspoon of paprika

500ml of soy bean oil (enough to cover your pan, at least an inch deep)

Directions 

1. To make the garlic butter, melt the butter in a saucepan and crush or grate the garlic into it. Add the parsley, salt, and pepper, and let it cook for a minute before removing from the heat. Add the mushrooms to the melted butter and give it a good stir to make sure they are coated. Let the mushrooms sit in and soak up the butter while you do the next step. Take a plate or tray and put a piece of grease proof paper on it. Then put the mushrooms on the paper and put them in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. The butter will freeze and keep them coated.

2. When the mushrooms have set, sprinkle on the flour and toss them in it a little and then pop them back in the freezer while you prepare the egg and bread crumbs. Put the beaten egg in one bowl and the breadcrumbs and paprika in another. I usually make a nice breadcrumb mix using panko crumbs, nutritional yeast, some oats, and some quinoa. I feel it gives a nice range of textures but just plain panko crumbs is fine too.

3. Put the soy bean oil in a wok or large pan and heat it to about 180 degrees (if you don’t have a thermometer this is about medium on a gas range). Dip the mushrooms into the egg, making sure they are completely coated. Then gently toss them in the bread crumbs. I usually find it’s easier to coat them all first and set them on a tray before frying so you aren’t trying to do three things at once. Fry them in small batches for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown. Then remove and drain on a piece of kitchen roll before serving with your favourite dip. Voilà breaded mushrooms.

I generally like to save my cocktail shares for the weekend, but today has just been one of those days and I plan to hit the the bottle the moment I get home from work. I’d be more than happy to get on it before work if only human decency would allow me to indulge in teaching while drunk. So for the moment I choose coffee, but later I shall choose Berentzen.

Berentzen recently celebrated their 1st Birthday in Korea, and to celebrate ran a competition to give away a bottle of each of their fab flavours of liqueur. And would you believe it, I only went and won the blackcurrant one. I have never won a thing in my life (except the pub quiz), so to win some free blackcurrant flavoured booze was tremendous. I’ve been a lover of all things blackcurrant since I had my first sip of Ribena as a child. So using my lovely free booze I made these two cocktails, because lets face it one is never enough.

My first libation is called the Naughty Ribena, an alcoholic and adult friendly version of British kids favourite blackcurrant squash. I was inspired to make this after having a chat with Charlie, the owner and resident mixologist of Battered Sole, who told me he plans to put a Dirty Ribena on the menu of their new British Gastropub restaurant. It hasn’t quite made its way onto the menu yet, so I figured I would have a go at making my own and it turned out perfectly.

Ingredients

4 shots of Berentzen blackcurrant

2 shots of vodka

4- 6 shots of sparkling water

A wedge of lemon

Directions

Pour the vodka and Berentzen blackcurrant into your glass and top with the sparkling water. Squeeze in the juice of a wedge of lemon then stir and serve over ice.

The second cocktail I made was a good old rum punch. Now the sun is shining I just can’t get enough of this fruity rum delight. This one makes a whole jug-full, so you can share with your friends, or if you’re a lush like me just drink it alone. This one is kind of boozy so feel free to add more juice if you need to. Ah punch, the answer to all of life’s problems.

Ingredients

4 shots of Berentzen blackcurrant

4 shots of dark rum (I used Captain Morgan)

2 shots of Malibu

12 shots Pineapple juice

Fruit & ice to garnish (strawberries, orange, and lemon)

Directions 

Pour all the alcohol and juice  into a large jar or  glass. Give it a good mix then top with ice and sliced fruit. Voila two amazing cocktails to see you through the summer season. Happy Birthday Berentzen!

I do love sweet chili sauce, we always have a bottle or two in the cupboard and it’s my secret ingredient to all things savory. There isn’t much that I make that can’t be jazzed up with a little sweet chili sauce, from coleslaw, potato salad, or dips, to bolognese. It’s a wondrous ingredient that’s forever in my heart. However last Costco run I sadly neglected to pick up any and was not relishing living without it. I knew that it’s pretty much sugar, vinegar, and chilies so it really couldn’t be all that hard to make. I had a load of chilies in the fridge which were in desperate need of use. So I thought I would whip up a batch. It was a resounding success and it was cheaper to make than buying  it at Costco.

Ingredients 

2 cups of white sugar

1 cup of water

1 cup of apple vinegar (You can buy this in any Korean Mart)

2-6 red chilies (keep the seeds if you like it hot, take them out if you want it mild)

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 an inch of ginger (or less)

4 tablespoons of cornflour

4 tablespoons of cold water

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender, except the cornflour and cold water, and blend until smooth.

2. Pour everything into a saucepan and put on a low heat. Meanwhile mix together the cornflour and cold water in a cup to make a paste, then add it to saucepan and stir together.

3. As the sweet chili sauce heats up it will thicken. When it begins to boil you can turn it off. Taste and add more salt, sugar, or vinegar to suit your own tastes. When it cools you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container. It should keep for a few weeks at least.

What with it being 4th of July an all and lots of long weekends coming  up, it once again means it’s barbecue season. For some of us it’s a chance to show off our skills and wow everyone with gourmet delights. While for others it sets fear in their hearts and they make no plans at all then panic buy packets of Doritos and sad smoked Korean sausages at the last minute.

Barbecues aren’t everyone’s thing but they could be, don’t be scared of a potluck just because you can’t cook. There are tonnes of amazing dishes you can make with little to no ingredients in your store cupboard and just a bit of effort. Cooking enthusiasts should check out this post I did last year for some of my best BBQ ideas. For the culinarily challenged keep reading. Not everything is 100 % easily sourced, some things are from the foreign food market or i-herb ingredients but all the rest you should be able to pick up from your local Homeplus.

The first problem people run into is cost. You need to be willing to spend a bit make a dish if you don’t keep a well stocked fridge and pantry. A barbecue is for sharing and you can’t expect to eat meat if all you bring are chips and salsa. Plan to spend about 15,000 per person on food which is what you would pay for a meal in a restaurant if you went out to dinner. If you’re sharing with your significant other or a friend put it up to 25,000 – 30,000. I know we are all broke sometimes but it’s still a pretty cheap meal out, at which you can get to try loads of delicious dishes all at once.

First up bread and dips. Everyone, and I  mean everyone, likes bread and that includes those poor gluten free people who can’t eat it. I almost always bring a loaf of bread to a BBQ because it goes down well and I can make one for next to nothing. Focaccia is actually relatively easy to make as long as you have an oven and olive oil in your house. You can also easily make flat breads, bagel chips, or homemade tortilla chips using burrito wrappers. If you don’t possess the ingredients to make bread then buy it. In my neighborhood there are dozens nice bakeries, but if you look around you will find one other than Paris Baguette fairly near by. Buy a couple of nice and unusual breads, slice them up and serve them with some homemade or bought hummus or dips. In Itaewon it’s everywhere, including mine. For those who live far away order from Hummus in Korea. Make baba ganoush, salsa, tzatziki, or any other kind of lovely dip. If it’s plentiful no one will feel short changed and all you did is buy and cut up some bread.

The second option is salads. Salads are sadly very neglected here and I feel an integral part of the barbecue experience. Anyone can make a salad, you buy a few lettuce leaves, chop them up with other salad paraphernalia and buy a bottle of dressing. If you can get individual things by weight this really shouldn’t run you more than 10,000 even if you generally skip the produce aisle and refuse to allow vegetables to come into contact with your home. Add a chicken breast and some of those Doritos that someone brought and you can make a taco salad.  A good tip for veggies is going to a small Korean supermarket, or ajamma on the street, their stuff is tonnes cheaper than Homeplus and if you speak a bit of Korean, you can buy it in smaller amounts.

If you want to be a little more classy then buy a ball or two of mozzarella, some giant tomatoes, and a basil plant, and sprinkle with salt and pepper olive oil and balsamic vinegar. That’s how you make a capresa one of the tastiest salads in the universe! You can also do my mint, watermelon and feta salad. As long as you are thrifty with your watermelon and find a 5,000 one you can get feta for 7,000 and a mint plant for 3,000 no one will feel deprived and you have a bowl of fresh goodness. Even coleslaw is incredibly simple, a cabbage, a carrot, an onion, and some mayo. Though jazz it up with some grated cheese and I guarantee you will have everyone coming back for more.

The third option for the truly lazy is buying a bag of wings or two packs of that cut up chicken that they sell everywhere and a bottle of barbecue sauce. Mix them up together and throw them on the barbecue. You aren’t going to win any prizes for dish of the day but you will provide people with something they actually want to eat. Everyone loves wings and chicken, and the barbecue will do a lot of the work to enhance the flavour. If you want to get a bit fancier I have lots of marinade recipes here.

Your fourth option is going to Costco and buying burgers and buns. You may need to go in with a friend on this to do it right. Don’t just get burgers, get the buns and the cheese slices to go in them too and slice up some onions. Make sure you bring ketchup and mustard and you will be a hit. Everyone loves a good burger and the Costco ones are pretty decent. If you really want to impress grab a packet of bacon too, and you have got yourself a party! You can make your own of course, here is one of my recipes but this is a post for the culinarily challenged.

The last and laziest option is just to go to the butchers and buy a steak, yes steak is expensive but you should get one huge or two decent sized steaks for 15,000. Cut it up with the scissors and everyone will be happy. You can get rubs on i-Herb if you want to add a bit of flavour but just steak alone is perfectly good. Just whatever you do don’t bring those god damn sausages. And if you don’t bring food, bring a lot of booze instead!