Hi, I’m Daniel Gray. I’m a Korean-American storyteller, tour guide, and food expert who’s passionate about sharing Korea’s rich culture with the world. Over the years, I’ve hosted travelers, curated immersive tours, and appeared on shows like Netflix’s Street Food: Asia – Seoul. My goal is simple: to help you connect deeply with Korea through meaningful experiences, delicious food, and unforgettable stories.
7. Spicy chicken and soybean sprouts and spinach side dish
A popular blogger Daniel Gray is making dakbokkeumtang (spicy chicken with vegetables), spinach, and soy bean sprouts side dishes in this video. Fast, simple, and delicious looking recipes!
If you haven't seen the video yet, here it is again:
Saw the video. Why not make proper banchan/side dish in the 25 minutes you have to wait for the doritang? Sprouts in 30 secs? Spinach in 15 secs? Dude, only if you have been eating in bad Korean restaurants your whole life. Properly boiling the sprouts takes, um, a little bit longer than that. Ditto for the spinach. I mean if you only want to spend 5 minutes total on banchan, jeez, steam some ggyenip and throw it on a plate. At least that goes with the doritang.
Jenny, I think you missed the concept of the video. We simplified and made the recipe accessible to people that are new to Korean food. This recipe was developed by a professor of Korean food and this is her method of cooking the bean sprouts. The residual heat from the boiling water will finish cooking the vegetables so they will still be crisp- yet cooked when you make the side dish.
Thanks for commenting.
Tamar: I hate mushy spinach! I think Korean spinach is a bit heartier so I had to cook it a bit more.
Sorry, I don't look to others for validation in my cooking. Western palates aren't as one-dimensional anymore and it's my belief that the whole dumbing-down process is what makes Korean food yak worthy. Residual heat cooking the sprouts turns them waxy not crispy. The heat also continues to push the water out of the sprout diluting the seasoning. And as for the spinach, if you overcook it, save it, blend it, and put it into your spaghetti sauce or meatloaf. BTW, is 10 oz. of chicken, a single serving?
Hi all, First I love the recipe, the two versions of Daniel and the maangchi.
And on the discussion of the cooking time maybe this information helps a little, of course respecting the opinion of every one, perhaps here is the answer to why the difference, and the rest is just different points of view..
"water WILL boil at high altitudes, but it isn't as hot as boiling water at sea level. This is because the air pressure is LOWER at high elevations. Boiling occurs when the water is hot enough to have the same pressure as the surrounding air, so that it can form bubbles. As water is heated, its steam pressure rises, until it reaches the pressure of the surrounding air. At high altitudes, this air pressure is lower than at sea level, so the water doesn't have to get so hot to get to boiling. Because the temperature of the boiling water is lower at high elevations than at sea level, it takes longer to cook things, such as eggs, potatoes, or spaghetti,etc,at high altitudes than at sea level"
I must say I don´t know if this is the case, only that I find interesting to see how this applies to a recipe depending on where you are and adapting to the place and situation.
Saw the video. Why not make proper banchan/side dish in the 25 minutes you have to wait for the doritang? Sprouts in 30 secs? Spinach in 15 secs? Dude, only if you have been eating in bad Korean restaurants your whole life. Properly boiling the sprouts takes, um, a little bit longer than that. Ditto for the spinach. I mean if you only want to spend 5 minutes total on banchan, jeez, steam some ggyenip and throw it on a plate. At least that goes with the doritang.
ReplyDeleteMore than 15 seconds of boiling for the spinach creates a nasty mush. I only boil my spinach for about 10 seconds.
ReplyDeleteJenny, I think you missed the concept of the video. We simplified and made the recipe accessible to people that are new to Korean food. This recipe was developed by a professor of Korean food and this is her method of cooking the bean sprouts. The residual heat from the boiling water will finish cooking the vegetables so they will still be crisp- yet cooked when you make the side dish.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting.
Tamar: I hate mushy spinach! I think Korean spinach is a bit heartier so I had to cook it a bit more.
Thanks
The first time I ever made Spinach namul, I used baby spinach. Even at 10 seconds of boiling, it turned into the infamous mush!
ReplyDeleteEven with the hearty, full grown spinach, I error on the side of caution because overcooked spinach is so nasty, the pigs won't eat it! LOL!
Sorry, I don't look to others for validation in my cooking. Western palates aren't as one-dimensional anymore and it's my belief that the whole dumbing-down process is what makes Korean food yak worthy. Residual heat cooking the sprouts turns them waxy not crispy. The heat also continues to push the water out of the sprout diluting the seasoning. And as for the spinach, if you overcook it, save it, blend it, and put it into your spaghetti sauce or meatloaf. BTW, is 10 oz. of chicken, a single serving?
ReplyDeleteHi all, First I love the recipe, the two versions of Daniel and the maangchi.
ReplyDeleteAnd on the discussion of the cooking time maybe this information helps a little, of course respecting the opinion of every one, perhaps here is the answer to why the difference, and the rest is just different points of view..
"water WILL boil at high altitudes, but it isn't as hot as
boiling water at sea level. This is because the air pressure is LOWER at high elevations. Boiling occurs when the water is hot enough to have the same pressure as the surrounding air, so that it can form bubbles. As water is heated, its steam pressure rises, until it reaches the pressure of the surrounding air. At high altitudes, this air pressure is lower than at sea level, so the water doesn't have to get so hot to get to boiling. Because the temperature of the boiling water is lower at high elevations than at sea level, it takes longer to cook things, such as eggs, potatoes, or spaghetti,etc,at high altitudes than at sea level"
I must say I don´t know if this is the case, only that I find interesting to see how this applies to a recipe depending on where you are and adapting to the place and situation.
Thanks Daniel for your post.