Kongnamul is a very popular side dish for Koreans. It almost always included in the banchan (side dishes) in Korean restaurants. I made this version a couple of days ago and took it to work. The 2 pounds batch was gone by the end of the day. One co-worker really liked it and even put it in the soup she was eating for lunch.
When preparing soybeans for cooking, it's important to pick them over and remove discolored ones and any bean skins that are still hanging on. A traditional Korean mother would snip the skinny tails off of each and every sprout before cooking. Thankfully, this is not usually the case anymore. In fact, the tails have a concentration of an ingredient that is great for hangovers. A very good excuse to be lazy.
Here's a closeup of a few individual sprouts. In her cookbook, Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen, Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall relates how musical notes are called soybean sprout heads by Korean children. It makes perfect sense. Also, it is believed that children who eat a lot of kongnamul will grow up straight and tall.
Here are the ingredients I used for a two pound batch of kongnamul. From left to right - ground sesame seeds, sesame oil, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, black pepper, green onion, salt and garlic.
The sprouts are put in a pot with a cup of boiling water. The sprouts are covered with a lid and cooked on high for about 3 minutes. Do not take the lid off the pot while the sprouts are cooking. Every Korean cook will tell you that the sprouts will taste "off" if the lid is removed too soon.
Drain the sprouts. I usually let them cool a bit also. In the meantime, finely chop the green onions and garlic. Mix with all the other ingredients except for the ground sesame and red pepper flakes.
Sprinkle with the ground sesame and red pepper flakes before serving.
I made another batch of soup using a different recipe. This was based on chicken broth and chicken breast. In addition to the chicken, it also had medium firm tofu. The rest of the ingredients and method were similar to the beef version. I used American canned chicken broth that is low in sodium. I dilute with the same amount of water.
Miyeok is bought in bags. The photo shows two examples. The writing in red on the upper bag is miyeok in Korean. 미역 This is what you need to look for at the store.
Dry miyeok is very dark, bone dry and brittle. If not using the whole bag, I try to separate the pieces instead of cutting it because cutting produces a lot of little pieces.
Here's a big piece of seaweed. A lot of the pieces have a seam that should be cut off. On this piece it runs along the top. I use a sharp paring knife but it can also be torn off.
The finished soup is ladled into individual bowls and then garnished with the green onion. 
The other is a pressure rice cooker that I received as a gift. 
Rice cookers can be very convenient. If you follow the basic instructions for the cooker or on the rice bag, you should be able to produce a good batch of rice without a lot of fuss. On the other hand, it is a useful skill to be able to cook rice well without a special appliance. I’ve been using a regular American style 3 quart pot with a glass lid and a Korean cast aluminum pot gamasot 가마솥 with a black non-stick coating.
Each night for the past week I’ve been making a fresh pot of rice on the stove by cycling through the three different cookbooks mentioned in my previous post. I have made decent rice from each recipe. This is what I did tonight and it produced a very good batch.
My steps to cooking rice on the stove
1) Measure rice into the pot. Two cups will serve two or three people.
2) Run cold water over the rice while swishing it around with your fingers.
3) Tip the pot as needed to drain the water. Be careful not to dump the rice into the sink. Repeat until water is nearly clear.
4) Cover rice with cool water and let soak from 30 to 60 minutes.
5) Drain and cover the rice with the same amount of water as rice. Note: this does not mean the water should be at the same level as the rice in the pot. Two cups of water over two cups of rice will cover the back of your fingers if you gently place your hand flat, palm down, on top of the rice.
6) Cover the rice and bring to a boil on high heat. Stir and cover again.
7) Reduce heat to medium low for 10 minutes and then stir.
8) Reduce heat to low and then cook an additional 10 minutes.
9) Reduce heat to lowest setting and let sit until ready to serve.
This works on my stove but your results may differ. If you have hard rice at the end you should add a little water to the pot and turn up the heat and replace the cover. If the rice is too watery, you should take the lid off and turn up the heat. Stir the rice a bit to help the water evaporate. Try not to disturb the rice at the bottom as by now it has become a little hard. Your rice will improve if you practice and make adjustments to the cooking process.
I tried again today but used the small holes on the box grater to get away from the "hash brown" look. I also used Yukon Gold instead of Russets. It produced a lot more water which I soaked up with paper towels. The result looked more like a true pancake but they didn't seem to taste as good as the Russet batch. Next time I'll try Russets finely grated. And I'll use my food processor. The box grater and I didn't get along today.
The recipe I use is adapted from Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall's "Growing up in a Korean Kitchen". Egg and cornstarch are mixed together and then chopped peppers, mushrooms, green onions and garlic are added.
Potatoes are quickly grated and mixed in. I use a box grater and if you cut the potatoes in half lengthwise is works well.
The batter is dropped into the pan and cooked for about 4 minutes per side. I prepared a vinegar soy sauce for dipping.
The first time I prepared this the boys complained about there not being enough heat. This time I used 4 peppers. My mouth is still tingling a little. Maybe I'll try three next time.
Here's a picture of the Korean noodle dish Japchae. I made this for a Korean Language Meetup in Seattle. It's considered one of the best Korean dishes to take to a potluck dinner. It can be served at room temperature and keeps well. This version of Japchae contains flank steak, noodles, 3 kinds of mushrooms, onion, carrot, cucumber and bellflower root. It sounds simple but it's fairly labor intensive. All the ingredients are prepared separately and then tossed together at the end. I've made it several times and it's only become a little easier to prepare. I use a mandoline slicer to get the long strips of carrot and cucumber. 
Considering the cost of kimchi at Paldo, I've started investing the time to make our own kimchi. I made a couple of gallons of cubed radish kimchi a couple of weeks ago and Monday I made just as much cabbage kimchi. 
I drove down to Shoreline and Lynnwood to buy Korean groceries. The first stop was Aurora Oriental Market at 15202 Aurora Ave N in Shoreline. It's across the parking lot from Old Village Korean Restaurant. I've shopped at this market since the early 90's. I think that is why I developed a taste for jeotgal. Jeotgal is raw seafood preserved by salting and fermenting it. Aurora has a self serve case with many kinds that you use tongs to pack into plastic containers. My favorites are raw squid strips and baby octopus. I've also eaten 
prepared fish intestines, oysters and clams. Naturally it's all very salty and not meant to be eaten in great quantities. I think a few pieces with steamed rice is best. Aurora Market is a great place to shop and seems to have better prices than the bigger Korean stores farther north in Edmonds and Lynnwood.
