gALBI-TANG (KOREAN SHORT RIB SOUP)

Rainy weather calls for a galbitang. If only this soup was easy as other soups where you just put everything in the pot and start boiling.

Soaking it(to remove excess meat juice), blanching it, cooking it, and to cooling it to skim off the fat. All of which are such exacting steps. Nonetheless, the result makes the process absolutely worth it, with its ‘clean’ and ‘refreshing’(direct translation of how I would describe it in Korean) flavors.

I like adding daikon radish to my galbitang for that added depth and sweetness.

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#galbitang #갈비탕

christmas stöllen

The holiday season is over, but I’m still enjoying the Stollen I made during Christmas. I usually like making Panettone during that time, but this year I wanted to do something different. To tell you the truth, I’ve never tasted Stollen before, so I have no reference to what it should taste like. Thinking of stollen comes with a memory of passing by bakeries in Itaewon, where they would put up signs in early December that says, “Order for Christmas Stollen closing soon”. I’m not sure whether it was procrastination or the commitment to waiting for multiple weeks that hindered me from ever purchasing one. Years pass and here I was, making Stollen for the first time and tasting it for the first time. Following Cupcakejemma's recipe, I made two small loaves instead of a single big one and shared it with a dear friend.

I realized that holiday baking recipes are special not because you get to eat them surrounded by all the festivities, but because the amount of effort it takes makes you only willing to make them at the end of the year. This goes the same for Panettones.

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#stollen#stöllen#holidaybaking

Peanut x black sesame butter marble cookies (ft. rooted fare)

When my friend Emily gifted me a jar of Rooted Fare Sesame butter, the possibilities that I could explore with it got me excited a bit. I could make it savory sauce by adapting it into Lucas Sin's sesame noodles recipe that I love, I can replace it as a spread inside cinnamon rolls or swirl bread, the options seemed endless. With all the imagination aside, I decided to make this double-butter cookie(peanut x black sesame) one night when I was craving something sweet. I already had a go-to recipe for peanut butter cookies, so I just adjusted the amount of P.B. to add in the B.S. (lol spare me).

Mixing two types of butter not only creates this beautiful 'marbled' look but also the pockets of it give pockets of sesame flavor when you bite into it.

I'm not the type to create my own recipes(because I seem so not qualified to do so), but I'm pretty proud of myself for creating this one, so do give it a try!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 Cups of All-Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp of Baking Soda

1/4 tsp of Kosher Salt

1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar

1/2 cup of Dark Brown Sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) of Unsalted Butter at room temperature

1/2 tsp of Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup of Peanut Butter of your choice

1/4 cup of Rooted Fare Black Sesame Crunchy Butter

A mix of Sesame seeds for topping.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F/176 C Degrees.

2. Cream together(I'm using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment) the softened butter and sugars until pale in color. I try to cream it for at least 3-5 minutes to make it as fluffy as possible(a tip I learned from Candace Nelson, it makes all the difference in cookies!).

3. Add in the egg, and mix, followed by peanut butter and vanilla extract.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and without overmixing, mix until you don't see the dry bits.

5. Using a flexible spatula, gently fold in the black sesame butter. Not overmixing is key to creating that marbled look, as well as those pockets of sesame seed butter.

6. Using a cookie/ice cream scoop, form a ball (about 2 Tbsps amount of batter) and place them on a baking sheet. The cookies will spread a bit, so give them space in between.

7. Using a fork, press down the top of the cookies twice creating the crisscross pattern (the pattern will create divots for sesame seed toppings when they are baked).

8. Bake the cookies for 15 to 18 minutes, until they are golden brown.

9. Sprinkle a mix of sesame seeds on the top of the cookies and flaky salt to your liking(I like adding the flaky salt for that extra crunch).

10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool or just eat it soon as possible if you don't have the patience like me.

#cookies #cookierecipe #peanutbutter #sesameseedbutter