Goat Cheese

THE FOOD

Goat Cheese / Soy Cheese

Who doesn't love the soft tangy love that is goat cheese?  Not anyone who can be trusted, that's who.

(After trying this cheese, try making feta.  It's not too hard and very delicious.)

THE QUANDARIES

Where exactly does on find goats milk in South Korea?  As it turns out, the solution isn't sexy, but it is pretty simple: Home Plus or E-Mart.  Please note though, not all of these stories carry it.  We have it in Pyeongtaek and they have it in many of the ones that I've been to in Seoul.  

Of course, you also need cheese clothe and they don't make cheese in Korea!  But actually they do... but they call it tofu.  What did I just say? Tofu?  Yes, tofu is just soy cheese.  It's made in the same way as other soft cheeses so they have clothe to strain it at almost all stores that sell cooking supplies.

Then there is the issue of herbs for encrusting your goat cheese, Korea doesn't have those... but you are wrong.  Nearly all the "Asian Markets" serving the Filipino, Thai and Vietnamese communities have a section of locally grown basil, cilantro and more.  It's actually everywhere (we travel a lot in Korea and every "Asian Market" we have found has had these items), you just not where you thought to look.  On top of that, it's pretty darn cheap and available year round.  

THE SOLUTIONS

Required
400 ml goats milk or Soy Milk
1 lemon

Optional
salt
herbs

First, heat goats milk SLOWLY to 180F in a clay or stainless steal pot (not aluminum, yuck).  You can use a thermometer, but if you don't have one just look for a bunch of tiny bubble appearing at the top of the milk. While you are waiting for this to happen juice the lemon and have it ready.

It looks like this.  Pretty subtle.

Second, add the juice of the lemon.  Stir it quickly, turn off the heat and walk away for ten minutes.  Prepare a good sized sieve with two layers of cheese clothe.

Third, the milk has now curdled and separated. You can stir in a little salt or herbs at this point if you so desire.  Once you are finished with that though, pour the mixture slowly in the sieve and let it drain for about 10 minutes.

Fourth, gather the cheese clothe up around the cheese and hang it over the sink for another 1.5 hours and let drip.  

Fifth,  remove the cheese from the cheese clothe onto plastic wrap.  You can use this to form the cheese into a log or ball or heart or star or whatever you feel like.  Have some fun with it.  It's like yummy play dough at this point.

Soy Cheese

(After trying this cheese, try making feta.  It's not too hard and very delicious.)

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Here is what I use for everything.

Small can are rewarding and satisfying.

I mean, I know folks with huge ones

but they're totally useless
because they don't know how to use them.

So stop using your small kitchen
as an excuse
not to cook delicious food.

The majority of the worlds recipes 

were created over an open fire 

with one pot and, maybe, 

a knife and a spoon.
Trust me, you have all you need.

Here is what I like to have:

Pot & Strainer
Clay pot
Mixing bowl
Frying pan

Big knife *

Paring Knife

Cooking Spatula

Rubber Spatula *

Mixing spoon

Measuring cup

Measuring spoons *

Can opener *
Meat thermometer
Candy Thermometer
Tiny graters
Mortar & Pestle
Masher
Bullet mixer/chopper/grinder
Cutting board
(not pictured because I forgot it)
Espresso pot :P

A Few Specific Tips:

If you can get a pot/strainer combo to save space.

Korean pot works like a double boiler and small dutch oven.

You don't need to go crazy with a big grater.  These work great.

I use these for a lot of things, including making my own ovens.

Since you often need to grind your own spices this is worth it.

A simple blender/food processor.

Hopefully this helps you feel 

more confident about getting started.

Gourmet cooking doesn't have to be expensive.

All you need is imagination,

a passion for research,

fresh ingredients,

and yummy science.

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This is one of the larger fridges we've had.

THE QUANDARY

All right, you still need more room in your fridge.  Who doesn't?

THE SOLUTIONS

There are lots of things that don't need to go in your fridge.  Like, a lot.  Of course, you don't want to screw up and put the wrong thing on the counters so check out this article from www.lifehacker.com.  Our list is a little different, but he offers good advice.  We've done a lot of research for our choices, but we recommend you do even more research for yours.  We all need to make our own choices and we are more adventurous than most since we grew up without traditional refrigeration.

FRIDGE NOT RECOMMENDED

• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Honey
• Onions
• Unpeeled garlic

FRIDGE NOT NECESSARY 

• Peanut Butter
• Bread
• Bananas
• Baked Goods
• Oils 
• Apples
• Eggs
• Fish sauce
• Soy sauce
• Ketchup
• Store bought mayo
• Butter
• Sourdough if you're feeding it

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THE KITCHEN

FROM: United States of America
LIVING: South Korea

We are super excited to have met two lovely foodies a few months ago who live a stones throw away.  Not only do they love cooking, but they aren't afraid to tackle recipes that take a little time including such things as sauerkraut, fancy cupcakes, bread & butter pickles, and hummus for the masses.  We find them an endless source of inspiration.  

Their kitchen is also extraordinary and we would be lying if we didn't say we dream of having something similar someday.  It isn't huge - and it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles - but it has everything one needs close at hand.  In short, compared with our kitchen it's a magic, gorgeous thing. 

THE FOOD

Corned Beef & Cabbage

On this particular visit we were attending a birthday party where they made homemade hearty Corned Beef & Cabbage, something that generally doesn't exist in South Korea.  This dish, which originated during the English Industrial Revolution, takes a lot of planning ahead.  It isn't something many people tackle, so everyone was duly impressed and it vanished fast.

The Corned Beef & Cabbage was accompanied by two Southern favorites, Fried Okra and Potatoes Au Gratin.  For desert they served amazing cupcakes made with coconut sugar (We were so busy eating these, that forgot to photograph the cupcakes).

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Ready for the oven.

THE FOOD

Tahini
 In order to make many Egyptian dishes one needs tahini and it's a pricy little snit in this part of the world, which is weird because we are swimming in sesame seeds.

THE QUANDARIES

1. Tahini, if you can find it, is terribly expensive in Korea.
2. Olive oil is imported.

THE SOLUTION

Sesame seeds
Grape Seed Oil or Olive Oil
Water

FIRST: Preparing the seeds

OPTION 1) Roast in an oven pre-heated to 185celcius for 3 minutes

OPTION 2) Roast in a pan on a stove top quickly and careful not to burn them.

OPTION 4) Don't roast them at all and grind them raw.

These are all good options.  Each way gives a different flavor, but we have been happy with all of them and consider it a personal choice based on tools and time.

SECOND: Grind it all up

Don't be scared.  Throw the seeds in a grinder with some water and olive oil.  Maybe start with a few tablespoons of each.  Then keep adding water and olive oil until you like the texture and taste.  There is no right answer here.  It's what you like and how you like it.  

I used a small bullet mixer that you can find for 30,000w.  It took longer but it worked just fine.

 A NOTE ABOUT OIL:

Alright, we are going to be honest.  The two imports we don't really budge on are olive oil and olives.  We find this is the ingredient that makes the most difference.  However, it's not impossible to use grape seed oil and it wont be the end of the world.  Feel free to make this substitution.  It will be just fine.

Note, it's going to be dark when you mix it unless you add enough water and oil. Don't panic.

Of course, you don't really know if it's good until you put it in something.

So I made baba ghanoush.

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