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.

Caprese is one of my absolute favourite salads and flavour combinations. It’s just so fresh and tasty. So how do you improve on this fresh and tastiness, why you throw in some bread and fry it in butter of course. The crunch of the bread is the perfect combination paired with the juicy tomatoes, sweet basil and salty mozzarella.

Ingredients

1 ball of Mozzarella sliced

1 tomato

6 basil leaves

1/2 an avocado

1 fresh baguette

A drizzle of olive oil

A drizzle of balsamic vinegar

A pinch of salt & pepper

A knob of butter

Directions

1. Slice your tomatoes and then put them in a bowl with a little olive oil, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and and some salt and pepper and leave them to marinate for 5-10 minutes. Doing this turns tomatoes from okay into amazing. Always do this when you make salads!

2. Slice the mozzarella and avocado too, and set aside. Then take your lovely bread and slice it in half. Then build your sandwich, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, then avocado and press the bread down to make sure it’s sealed.

3. Put the knob of butter in a frying pan and put it on a low heat. Try and keep the butter in the middle then put your sandwich on top of it. Fry for a few minutes making sure it doesn’t burn. After a few minutes flip the sandwich over and do the other side. You may want to add more butter if the pan is a little dry. Cook for another few minutes until the sandwich is golden brown on both sides and the cheese has melted a little in the middle. Then serve and enjoy. I recommend making two as you will definitely want to eat another one!

If you are sick of eating the same old foods for dinner, then you really need to order some of these fabulous Moroccan merguez sausages from France Gourmet. I wanted to treat them special, and find a dish that lived up to their taste. Just thinking about them now is making my mouth water. It’s hard to describe their taste, I guess they are a kind of spicy sausage. But not spicy in a hot way, spicy in an amazing flavourful way. So much taste and flavour I could burst. I’ve never had a sausage like it. These caramelised onions and peppers were the perfect accompaniment along with couscous. You could also add a drizzle of tzatziki if you have the ingredients to hand.

Ingredients

500g of Merguez sausages

1 large onion

2 red peppers

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

1 cup of couscous

1 cup of hot water

3 tablespoons of raisins

Directions 

1. Heat a frying pan to medium and add just a drop of oil, you don’t need much as the sausages have plenty of fat in them. Fry on each side for about 5 – 10 minutes until browned and cooked through. While the sausages are cooking, slice the onion, aubergines, and peppers. When the sausages are done, remove them from the pan but leave the fat.

2. Add your peppers, aubergines, and onions to the pan and cook for 10 -15 minutes until they have softened and started to caramelize. Then add the brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce, and cook for a further 2 minutes.

3. While your veg is softening, prepare your couscous by putting it in a bowl with the raisins then pouring over one cup of hot water. Your cup can be any size just use equal measurements of couscous and hot water. Then cover with a plate and leave for five minutes. When it’s done, use a fork to make the couscous fluffy. Serve with your sausages and caramelized vegetables. Voilà an easy and tasty dinner which doesn’t require an oven.

I whipped up this lovely apple coleslaw after I received my WWOOF box of organic goodies. The apple is such an amazing addition that I now will not make coleslaw without it. I have actually made it about three time since. The Fat Boyfriend and I can’t get enough of it, we are both sneaking to the fridge and eating it by the spoonful. I mix things up depending on what’s cheapest, but I generally like to use a red onion or a red cabbage to give it a bit of color. You can also add cheese. I love cheesy coleslaw but cheesy apple coleslaw is insane. Smeared on some french bread and roast chicken it’s divine.

Ingredients

1/2 a small cabbage (red or green)

1/2  onion (red or white)

1/2 a carrot

1 apple

100g of grated cheddar (optional but delicious)

300ml of mayonnaise

3 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce

1/2 a teaspoon of celery salt

1/2 a teaspoon of black pepper

Directions

1. Finely shred the cabbage and onion and put into a bowl.

2. Grate in the carrot and apple and mix with the cabbage and onion.

3. Stir in the mayo and make sure everything is coated. Use less or more as desired.

3. Stir in the sweet chili sauce and grated cheese if using.

4. Season with celery salt and black pepper to taste. Voilà the best coleslaw you will ever eat!

When I first heard that this restaurant was opening, I was more than skeptical to say the least. Yet another Mexican restaurant, in the Itaewon area when it’s already bulging at the seams with them. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mexican food, but I was not sure what this new chain had to offer for us food enthusiasts. However, go I did, and I was not in the least disappointed.

The restaurant is huge for Itaewon, it’s in the site where the old Macaroni Market used to be. Despite it’s vastness there was already quite the queue waiting to get inside when we arrived. We went to put our name down on the list and found it was a 20 minute wait.  Now Fat Girl is not fond of standing in line, but I politely refrained from screaming, “Don’t you know who I am?”  As I cast my eyes around the restaurant, I spotted that they  had a few seats at the bar and asked if we could have a drink while we waited. They of course agreed so we sat down at the bar whilst the delightfully named bar tender “Baggie” got us a drink.

The drink menu is pretty decent, lots of different margaritas, fresh or frozen, and a variety of beverages you can have upturned into one. I went for a frozen  raspberry margarita with a bottle of Bernini in it (sparking rose) for 15,000. It was very sweet but delicious to me. I also ordered up a cilantro mojito (8,900), this was also exceptionally good and a great take on the classic.The Fat Boyfriend had a couple of beers (5,500), which came in very well frozen mugs, which was most to his liking despite the cold weather.

While we were sipping our drinks we were presented with the free bottomless chips and salsa. The chips are fried in house  and the salsa is very tasty. If you’re not in the mood for a meal, you could easily just come here for a cocktail and eat the free chips and salsa to keep you going.

A cocktail later we were shown to our table. The menu is huge with plenty of options, tacos, fajitas, burritos, and a plethora of appetizers are on offer. I always enjoy eating as much as possible so we opted for the sampler (28,000). It was a giant platter, which 3 or 4 less greedy people could easily share. The Fat Boyfriend and myself decided to split it. On the platter were 4 quesadillas, 4 flautas, 4 loaded nachos, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and a really yummy cheesy dip. It was a large plate of lovely Tex-Mex delights.

We also ordered a chicken Bordurrito (18,500). It was a hearty sized burrito cut into two with a nice flavour running throughout. It was stuffed with chicken, rice, caramelized onions, peppers, and sour cream. It also came with a side salad. But the  appetizer platter actually pretty much defeated us. Although I must confess that I had already been on the foodie crawl earlier in the day. I don’t want to to think I’m losing my edge. So we both tried the burrito for research purposes and had the rest wrapped up to go, along with a few appetizers we couldn’t manage. They even wrapped up the tortilla chips we didn’t eat and the salsa, which I enjoyed as a delicious breakfast treat the next morning.

Overall I really enjoyed my dinner at On the Border, there was a great atmosphere in the restaurant, and this is somewhat what you are paying a premium for. It’s not the cheapest Mexican food on the block, or the most authentic. But it’s fresh, tasty and comes in large portions. They have great big drinks and good food to match, which I think is worth a treat.It’s always nice to have a taste of home and that’s exactly what On the Border is.

On the Border is located at 737-37, Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Itaewon station (Line6) and come out of exit 2. Keep walking straight, for about 200 meters, until you reach the Hannam building. On the Border is on the 2nd floor. You can call them on 02-792-0682 or checkout their website for more details.

As a special treat for all my wonderful readers, the lovely people at On the Border have given me a 20,000 won gift certificate to give away to one lucky person. If you would like to win just share this post on your facebook page by Midnight on Monday December 16. I shall select a winner at random by picking a name out of a hat. Good Luck!

It seems insane to me that I have never posted a spring roll recipe because I love those little suckers more than life itself. I would never have an order of Chinese food without them and a pack always makes its way into my basket when I’m shopping at home. But sadly they are not as popular in Korea as they are in the rest of Asia. You can find them in your local Thai restaurant, but when you enjoy eating them as much as I do you have to make them in bulk. They call be a a bit fiddly, but once you get in the zone you can churn them out by the dozen. Sit in your living room to roll them out while watching an episode of your favourite show and in no time you will have a pile of the little beauties. I got my spring roll wrappers from the foreign food market in Itaewon. They usually have 3 or 4 sizes. I chose the medium sized ones. Obviously the bigger the wrappers the bigger your rolls will be. I only used about half of the packet making these, so they go a long way and they only cost about 5,000. You can also use them to make samosas. Use whatever veg and meat you like, I just used up all my leftovers.

Ingredients

½ a packet spring roll wrappers

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1/2 a carrot

A small wedge of cabbage

100g of shredded chicken

2 eggs beaten

1/2 an onion

2 inches of ginger

3 cloves of garlic

1 packet of instant noodles

A bunch of cilantro leaves

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of sesame seed oil

900ml of soy bean oil (for deep frying)

Directions

1. The first step is to finely slice your vegetables. Get them the peppers and cabbage as thinly as possible and grate the carrot.

2. Boil the noodles until soft then drain.

3. Fry the onion, garlic and ginger for a minute or two to soften, then add the rest of the vegetables. Fry on high for five minutes until softened. Add the drained noodles, chicken, cilantro, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, and sesame oil, and mix. Turn off the heat and put into a large bowl.

4. Peel off one spring roll wrapper and put it out on the chopping board. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture into the middle of the wrapper. Like below. Fold the top edge up, then wash the three remaining sides with the beaten egg. Fold the two other sides in and roll until you have a neat little spring roll. Set on a clean plate and repeat until all your mixture has been used.

5. When all of the spring rolls have been made, heat the oil to 190 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer let it heat on medium for about five minutes. Carefully put a spring roll into the oil, if it sizzles and floats to the top then it’s hot enough, if it doesn’t, turn it up a little higher and wait until it reaches temperature. Cook them in batches of about 5 for a couple of minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from the pan when they are done and let them drain on kitchen paper. Serve with your favourite dipping sauce and enjoy!

I have been lusting after a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger for months now. For so long I have lusted over the joy of a juicy patty of meat, smothered with melted cheese, topped with salty crisp bacon, tangy BBQ sauce, and housed in a delicious soft bun. But after eating various burgers my craving just wasn’t satisfied. Yes, I could have just visited Burger B in Hongdae, but I’m a very lazy girl, and feel Hongdae is just too far to go for food. I live in HBC (Haebangchon) which is actually better known to residents as Ham Burger Central. Our street is actually littered with places selling burgers. There is Burgermine of course, all you can eat burgers but no matter how many I ate, I wasn’t quite satisfied. Phillies, which I will say do a great burger and almost hit the spot but not quite. The restaurant  that changes it’s name one a month, currently named Bombs Burger, Indigo and Hungry Dog, but none of these restaurants meet my meat needs. I moved on to Jacoby’s. Jacoby’s has become a phenomenon in the last year after it was shown on a Korean drama, most nights of the week there is an endless queue of Koreans desperate to eat there. But I have never rated it, they are so over-hyped for a mediocre burger. I’ll take the one at Phillies any day of the week. So I did the only thing a fat lazy girl could do and decided to make my own. I came, I saw, and I conquered. They were exquisite and I couldn’t be happier. I scarfed down two in a matter of minutes. Every need was met and I am now sated for the time being.

The first thing that needed to be made were the buns. If I had been to Costco I would have just bought some, but we hadn’t, and you can’t get decent sized buns anywhere else. So I had no choice to make my own. I tried to cheat and found a no rise recipe, and, despite being delicious with melted butter, they were more like scones. My lovely fiancé Niall managed to find this recipe online at allrecipes.com and made these buns. They came out perfectly, which just goes to show you don’t have to be a great cook to make good bread. In fact I think it helps if you are not as you are more scrupulous when it comes to following the recipe!

Ingredients 

1 cup milk

1 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon white sugar

5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoons salt

Sesame seeds for decoration

Directions 

1. Combine the milk, 1 cup of water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat and let stand until lukewarm. If the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and yeast. Pour in wet ingredients and stir until the dough starts to pull together. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions They should be a little larger than a golf ball. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching it at the bottom. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. After the rolls sit for a minute and relax, flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3 to 4 inches wide. You may want to oil your hand first. Set rolls aside until they double in size, about 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in a cup or small bowl. Brush onto the tops of the rolls and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Position 2 oven racks so they are not too close to the top or bottom of the oven.
5. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the rolls from the oven and return them to different shelves so each one spends a little time on the top. Continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top and bottom.

My next job was to make the burgers. I popped over to my local butcher, and chose the cheapest wedge of beef he had and had him grind it up for me. It had a great ratio of fat to meat so was perfect. I like to to add breadcrumbs to my mixture too, probably because my mum does so that’s the way I have always done it.

Ingredients

600g of ground beef

1/2 an onion

1 1/2 slices of bread

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 a teaspoon of salt

1/2 a teaspoon of  black pepper

1 teaspoon of mixed herbs (parsley, rosemary, oregano, thyme, whatever you have…)

1 egg yolk

Directions

Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry off in a little oil for a few minutes just to cook out the raw taste from the onions, then set aside and leave to cool. Meanwhile make the bread into bread crumbs. Put the ground beef in a bowl then add the breadcrumbs. Add the salt, pepper, and mixed herbs. When the onions have cooled add to the bowl and mix everything together thoroughly. Add the egg yolk and mix again, then form into patties. Wrap the patties in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. If you are not using them all straight away, they will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, or you can put them in the freezer. Fry them in a pan, pop them under the grill or dust down your barbecue. Cook them to your liking with is medium – well for me.

Lastly I had to make the Chips, you can’t have a burger without chips. It would be sacrilege. I have been making Heston Blumenthal’s famed triple cooked chips for the past 2 weeks now. Yes they are somewhat time consuming, but they are well worth the extra effort. If you are spending a lazy Sunday on the sofa watching back to back episodes of Project Runway like I am then, it’s a good way to use your time. I followed Heston’s directions to the latter except I used soy bean oil as its very cheap here, and I just used the biggest potatoes I could find. They turned out well even if they weren’t exactly the kind we get back home.

Ingredients

1kg of potatoes peeled and cut into chips

Oil for frying

Salt

Directions 

This is a just little something I whipped up last week to use up some avocados and fresh mozzarella I had neglected to use. Yes I know, how on earth could I forget that I possessed two such wonderful ingredients. I have no idea how it happened, I guess it was just a very busy week and I kept putting off using them so I could make something special. With the mozzarella I whipped up a fabulous capressa salad to make use of my lovely basil before it dies but I still had tonnes left. I figured i could make a gourmet grilled cheese and it was poetry on a plate. I will certainly be making these again after my next Costco run.

Makes 1 sandwich

Ingredients

2 slices of bread

1/2 an avocado

4 slices of tomato

4 slices of mozzarella

4 basil leaves

A knob of butter for frying

Directions

Mash the avocado and spread onto one half of the bread, Arrange the mozzarella on top and then add the basil leaves. Top with the tomatoes and another slice of bread. Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan on a low heat and place the sandwich on top. Cook for a couple of minutes until the bottom has browned and the cheese has started to melt. Flip the sandwich over and cook the other side, you may wish to add more butter. When the sandwich is done, remove and devour, whilst giving yourself props for making such a bitching sandwich.

This salad is like summer in a bowl and I can’t get enough of it. It’s just so fresh and tasty and makes your taste buds dance in your mouth. It’s insanely quick and easy and a great way to use some of that watermelon you have in the fridge. Is it just me or are they bigger than ever this year? It’s so good I  have made this salad three times in the last week, in fact I’m eating it right now as I type this post!!! I managed to get a block of real feta up at the foreign food mart in Itaewon for 7,500. Quite a bargain. I think it would also taste great with halloumi cheese too.

Ingredients

1/4 of a watermelon

100g of feta

1/2 a cucumber

10 cherry tomatoes

10-15 mint leaves.

Directions

Chop your water melon into chunks, halve the cherry tomatoes and dice the cucumber. Then put it all into a large bowl. Tear the mint leaves into pieces and add to the salad. Finally crumble in the feta cheese and mix everything together. Voilà the most refreshing salad you are ever likely to eat.

When it rains it pours, and these past few weeks it’s been raining falafels. First Zayd started selling them over at Med food in Korea. Then I had some over at El Grecos. Then finally I made some myself and they are so good that I just can’t stop. I have been making them by the truckload lately and having them in all manner of salads and wraps. I also took a batch a down to the vegan potluck and the whole plate had disappeared within minutes. They are actually surprisingly easy to make if you have a sturdy blender.

Ingredients

2 cans or 800g of soaked chick peas (this is the weight once they have been soaked in water)

1 onion

5 cloves of garlic

1 lemon (zest and juice)

A large handful of parsley

A large handful of coriander (cilantro or 고수 found in many korean supermarkets)

1 -2 tablespoons of cumin

2 teaspoon of ground coriander

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

2-3 tablespoons of flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

Oil for frying (I use soybean because it’s cheap)

Directions

If using dried chickpeas, soak them in lots of  cold water overnight. Drain the chickpeas and blend until they resemble cous cous or bread crumbs in consistency. Next you need to blend the parsley, garlic, and onion. I did this in the blender too until it made a green onion smoothie. Mix together with the chickpeas, then add the salt, pepper, and spices. Add the juice and zest of the lemon and mix.  Stir in the flour and baking soda then cover with cling-film and leave in the fridge for about an hour. When the mixture has had time to rest remove from the fridge and form into ping-pong sized balls. Heat your oil to a medium heat then fry the falafel, they should take about 3 minutes on each side. If the oil is too hot they will not be cooked on the inside. Once they are done let them drain on a piece of kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Enjoy fresh from the pan with lots of hummus and flatbread. They can also be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Voilà fabulous falafels.