Yakbap- Yaksik or medicinal rice from Korea

Yakbap is a traditional Korean dessert, enjoyed in both North and South Korea.

“Yak” means medicine and “bap” means rice, so the name literally translates to “medicinal rice” because it is made with very healthy ingredients.

It is also called Yaksik or "medicinal meal".

It is sweetened with honey or brown sugar and includes a mix of highly nutritious nuts along with glutinous rice. Among the nuts, chestnuts, pine nuts, walnuts, the jujube (also known as Chinese dates) are essential, as they have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

When eaten cold, glutinous rice contains a high amount of resistant starch, which helps nourish our gut microbiota.

It is traditionally eaten during the lunar festival Jeongwol Daeboreum (정월대보름), which coincides with the first full moon of the lunar year.

Ingredients:

• 500 grams of glutinous rice

• 200 grams of jujube (Chinese red dates)

• 40 grams of walnuts

• 40 grams of raisins

• 40 grams of pine nuts

• 100 grams of chestnuts

• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

• 285 ml of jujube seed tea

• 180 grams of brown sugar

• 1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce

• 1 1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil

• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method:

1- Wash the glutinous rice and soak it in water for 5 to 6 hours.

2- Make a cut in the shell of the chestnuts and boil them in salted water for 40 minutes.

3- Soak the jujubes (Chinese red dates) for 10 minutes.
Jujube is a Chinese date that you can buy in Asian grocery stores.

4- Once hydrated, remove the pits from the jujubes and cut them into pieces. Do not discard the pits—we’ll use them to make jujube tea. Place the pits in 500 ml of water, bring it to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Once the water has a golden-brown color, strain it, and your tea is ready.

5- Peel the chestnuts and cut them into small pieces. Set them aside separately from the rest of the nuts, as they will be added to the mixture later. Also chop the walnuts into small pieces.

6- Add 450 ml of water and 130 grams of brown sugar In a pressure cooker , heat it slightly until the sugar dissolves.

7- Add the rice, jujubes, raisins, pine nuts, and walnuts (all the nuts except the chestnuts) to the pressure cooker. Add a pinch of salt, the soy sauce, sesame oil, and cinnamon, and mix everything well.

Add water just until everything is covered. Cook on high heat until steam starts to come out of the valve; at that point, reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool until all the pressure is released, then you can open it.

8- Spread some sesame oil on a tray and place the cooked rice on it. This is the moment to add the chestnuts, then mix everything well.

Spread the rice evenly and press down the surface so it becomes slightly compact. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour—though the longer it rests, the better.

9- Run a knife through the rice making vertical and horizontal lines to form small squares. These glutinous rice squares can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for a healthy snack whenever you like.

Take them out and microwave for a couple of minutes to defrost, and they’re ready to eat.

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

North Korea

Mul Naengmyeon - North Korean cold noodles

Mul Naengmyeon is the National dish of North Korea; it is the dish they offer to the few foreign leaders who visit the country. Since 2022 it has been included on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

It is made with buckwheat noodles and served in a brass bowl with pieces of meat, vegetables, fruits, kimchi, and radish.

This is a traditional dish deeply rooted in the life of the people of Pyongyang. It is associated with long life, happiness, hospitality, togetherness, and kindness, and it is believed to foster respect, intimacy, and unity.

On the day before Jongwoldaeborum (a Korean winter folk festival), relatives and neighbours gather to enjoy these noodles, hoping their lives will be as long as the strands of the noodles. During celebrations such as birthdays and weddings, the people of Pyongyang serve this dish while offering blessings to family members, neighbours, and friends.

Ingredients:

- 300 g beef brisket.
- 1/2 white onion.
- 6 cloves of garlic.
- 4 slices of ginger.
- 3 Chinese scallions (green onions).
- 1/2 tablespoon whole black peppercorns.
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce.
- 1 teaspoon sugar.
- Salt.
- 200 g buckwheat SOBA noodles.
- 1 boiled egg, cut in half.
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced.
- Radish slices.
- 2 slices of Korean pear.
- Chinese cabbage.
- Vinegar, mustard, or soy sauce.

Method:

1- First, we prepare a broth with ginger, garlic, onion, Chinese scallions, black peppercorns, beef, and radish.

Add the ingredients to a pot with one tablespoon of salt and put it over high heat until it comes to a boil.

Chinese scallions are this type of onion that has a milder flavour than regular onions, and the whole plant can be used, including the leaves. They can be eaten raw or cooked.

2- When it starts to boil, reduce to medium-low heat, place a lid on the pot with a small gap so the steam can escape, and let it cook for 40 minutes.

During that time, we remove the foam that forms on the surface.

Until the broth is clarified.

3- Set the meat aside. The vegetables can be used for other recipes. Then take the broth and strain it to remove all impurities.

4- Refrigerate the broth because it is served cold. You can even place part of it in the freezer so it chills faster while we prepare the rest of the dish.

5 - Now we prepare the ingredients that accompany the broth: slice the soft-skinned zucchini (Chinese or Dutch zucchini) and place it in a container with salt.

6 - Cut the meat into strips.

7 - Cut the radish, which was cooked for the broth, into strips.

8 - Also, cut the Korean pear into strips and place them in water with sugar to prevent browning.

The Korean pear is the apple-shaped pear commonly sold in Asian grocery stores.

9 - Boil the Chinese cabbage and the egg.

10 - Prepare the buckwheat SOBA noodles by bringing salted water to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, add the noodles and cook for 4 minutes.

To stop the cooking, transfer them to cold water with ice.

11 - Now plate the dish by placing the noodles in the center of the bowl, then arranging the meat, radish, pear, chopped Chinese cabbage, cucumber, and half a boiled egg on top of the noodles (I forgot the egg myself!).

Pour the broth over everything—it should be very cold. To enhance the flavour, mustard, soy sauce, or vinegar is usually added.

I wasn’t in the mood for cold noodles, but I really liked this combination served cold. I added mustard and soy sauce, and it goes really well.

Recipe in Spanish

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

North Korea

Cabezotes from Cuba (soaked sponge cake)

Cabezotes are an old traditional Cuban dessert. Today, due to economic difficulties, they are hard to find, as they require expensive ingredients.

They were a dessert of Cuban high society, an adaptation of the soaked sponge cakes from Spain, with the addition of local ingredients such as rum.

The recipe needs a lot of egg yolks, if you do not know what to do with the egg whites, here you have another spectacular dessert : Pavlova

Ingredients:

- 12 egg yolks.

- 1 egg.

- 40 grams of Sugar.

- 1/2 vanilla beam.

- 18 grams of Flour.

- 60 grams of corn starch.

- a pinch of Salt.

For the Sirup:

- 1 cup of water.

- 1 cup of Sugar.

- 1 Cinnamon stick.

- Lemon zest.

- Vanilla.

- 3 star anises.

- 2 table spoons of rum.

Method:

1- Take 12 eggs, separate the yolks from the whites, keep the yolks in a bowl. Add one whole egg. The eggs must be at room temperature.

2- Whisk with the help of a hand mixer or stand mixer until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.

3- Gradually add the sugar while continuing beating, then add the vanilla.

4- Add the sifted flour, cornstarch, and salt to the bowl.

5- Fold the mixture gently.

6- Place paper liners in each cup of a metal muffin tin, fill each cup about 3/4 full, and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15 minutes (top and bottom heat).

Take them out from the oven when they are golden on top.

7- Remove the paper liners and place all the cabezotes on a tray.

8- Make the syrup: pour the sugar, water, cinnamon, lemon zest, star anise, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of rum into a saucepan.

Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Strain the syrup, and while still hot, pour it over the cabezotes—now they’re ready!

Receta en Español

You can also watch the recipe at my Youtube Channel:

Here you have my  favourite cooking tools: https://viaja-en-mi-cocina-english.blogspot.com/2023/05/shop.html

Cuba

Bandera:   Por Miguel Teurbe Tolón and Narciso López - Geometry and dimensions from Ley no 42 "de los Símbolos Nacionales".Its shape is rectangular, twice length than width, composed by five horizontal stripes having all the same width, three deep blue and two white, placed alternating. A red equilateral triangle, in one of its vertical extremes occupy all the height of the flag constituting its fixed edge. Such triangle bears in its center a five-pointed white star, within an imaginary circumference, whose diameter is a third of the flag´s height, having one of its points towards the free upper edge of the flag.— English translation of Law 42 from Symbols of the Cuban Nation, Dominio público, Enlace