6 days Ago
Kimchi Soup. Photo by Cindy Rogers I’ve been curious about food from an early age. Ever since receiving my first oven (a turquoise Easy-Bake that cooked with a lightbulb), I have delighted in discovering new culinary techniques and recipes to add to my repertoire.
I suspect that growing up with a mother who immigrated to America from Germany encouraged my creative and curious side to keep seeking new cultural horizons. If you’d like to contribute to Home Plates, send a recipe and a story telling us how you came to cook it, who you cook it for and why it’s found a place in your life to [email protected] .
Also, please tell us a little bit about your life as a home cook, include a photo of the dish, and yourself, possibly together, and let us know the source of the recipe. Although my rural Maine family could never afford to travel much beyond Storyland in New Hampshire, that did not stop me from dreaming of traveling the world. Cooking allowed me to at least taste what the food might be like when I finally get there.
Trying foods from another culture is a wonderful way to experience its essence. Fast-forward to me in my 50s. I still haven’t traveled as far as I had hoped .
.. yet.
But food culture in the U.S., even in Maine, has expanded so much in recent decades that I can hear about and source ingredients for dishes I could never have dreamed of in those younger days.
To be clear, I very rarely order foods online. Between local farms and stores, my area of Maine (Midcoast to Portland) has enough sources to make it work. Food shopping is by far my favorite kind of shopping! One stop I always make when I visit Portland is Veranda Asian Market.
The variety of products from a wide range of Asian cultures is astounding. Exploring the aisles of this market is almost a mini vacation for me. Over the years, I have developed a running shopping list of items from Veranda that I consider staples in my pantry.
Among those are curry pastes from the Thai brand Maesri, soy sauces (double-fermented dark, light, etc.), jasmine rice and a wide variety of noodles, from rice sticks and vermicelli to longevity noodles, somen and frozen udon. The produce section at Veranda is well-stocked with items that I either can’t typically source at Hannaford, or that I prefer to buy here because of better quality or price (oh, those fat, crunchy mung bean sprouts for $1 a bag!).
I sometimes buy napa cabbage and daikon radish there to make kimchi at home. If that is not in my kitchen plan for the week, though, Veranda’s store-made napa kimchi is some of the best I have tasted! When there is kimchi in the house, my family can expect to find Kimchi Soup (Kimchi-guk) on the menu. I have learned that it is a very common dish in Korean households, where the spicy fermented cabbage is a staple.
It is a quick and easy dish to make when the kimchi is already on-hand. My recipe for Kimchi Soup is based on one from Emily Kim, aka Maangchi. I also follow her recipe when I make kimchi at home.
Traditionally, the soup is served with white rice, but my sons and husband prefer it with ramen or udon noodles. I sometimes add a soft-cooked egg as well. The warmth from the chili and healthfulness of the fermented veg is so satisfying.
I hope you decide to take that trip with me. Kimchi Soup (Kimchi-guk) If you are sensitive to spicy foods, omit gochujang or add it later to adjust heat level. The spiciness of kimchi can vary.
Serves 4-5 8 ounces pork belly, skin removed and cut into 1⁄2-inch dice (pork shoulder works as well) 1-2 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups kimchi, chopped, plus its liquid 1-2 tablespoons gochujang or other hot pepper paste 1 block tofu, cut into 1⁄4-inch dice 2 teaspoons fish sauce Garnish options: 2-3 scallions, white and green parts, sliced 1⁄4-inch Toasted sesame seeds Soft-cooked (6-minute) egg, peeled Heat a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or stew pot over medium-high heat. Add the pork to sear, stirring every few minutes to crisp slightly. Once the pork edges are starting to crisp, add the garlic and stir until fragrant, 30-40 seconds.
Add the kimchi with its liquid, the gochujang, and 6 cups water to the pot. Stir well, loosening up any brown bits from the pork that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring the soup to a simmer and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Cover and continue to simmer 20 minutes to tenderize the pork. Stir in the tofu and fish sauce and simmer on low for 5 minutes. Serve over rice or noodles (something with a little chewiness, like ramen or udon), and garnishes of your choice.
Courtesy of Cindy Rogers MEET THE COOK, CINDY ROGERS Except for college in Boston, I have lived in Maine my entire life. I enjoy traveling, but still have a lot of that yet to do – though I did get to take an epic, monthlong trip to Europe this year! Exploring foods by preparing new recipes and eating out is my escape from the everyday. I live in Union, with my husband and two sons in their 20s, who are still here for meals a good deal of the time.
Although the boys were quite fussy eaters when they were little, I think they – and their friends – are enjoying my unpredictable cooking style more as they get older. I love spice and lots of flavor, so I gravitate to Asian cuisines, and have started to explore some Middle Eastern flavors recently. I used to write a weekly recipe column in a little paper called “The 302 Times” in Windham, where I worked as a graphic designer in the early ’90s.
Now I work with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Knox and Lincoln counties, for the 4-H program. Sometimes I get to cook with kids at work. We invite you to add your comments.
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