Lady M

In our last Cookbook Club post we announced that January's book would be Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking!!

Maangchi is famous for her Korean food blog, an amazing resource for home cooks. She's based here in NYC, and also popular on YouTube for approachable cooking videos. Maangchi was called "The Korean Julia Child" by the New York Times... a most fitting title.

We want to cook nearly every recipe in Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking. The recipes in her book range from quick and easy (like the Seasoned Spinach and Pan-Fried Oysters), to complex and hearty stews and soups, and straight up fun recipe (like the Ginseng Milkshake and Persimmon Punch Slush).

Aside from just recipes, this book is a true resource for Korean food (especially for newbies). The first part of this book dives deeps into all the ingredients in a Korean home kitchen. Maangchi photographs every item, explains where to find it in the supermarket, and how to use the ingredient. Even if you're not planning to cook anything, it's an extremely enjoyable read. Maangchi's voice comes through clearly in the book, it's encouraging and inviting, everything we want in a good cookbook.

Today we are preparing the Pan-Fried Tofu (page 206). This is an easy dish that we love making for potluck parties, simple weeknight dinners, and also for office lunch!

Maangchi's Pan-Fried Tofu

Here are the ingredients you'll need:

First: prepare the Soy-Scallion Seasoning Sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well with a spoon until the sugar is completed dissolved. Set aside.

Second: prepare the tofu. Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet and add the tofu pieces in one layer. Cook until browned and crisp on onside (this takes 5-7 minutes). Then flip the tofu over and cook the other still till nice and brown (about 3-4 minutes).

Third: plate and serve. Transfer the tofu slices to a plate. Spoon the Soy-Scallion Seasoning Sauce over the tofu and serve right away.

This is such a delicious treat, especially when the tofu is hot and crisp along the edges. So much more than the sum of parts! Pour as much or little of the soy-scallion sauce as you'd like. It's a versatile sauce that is equally tasty when mixed with rice or spooned over grilled fish.

We made this recipe for lunch today, and paired it with Earl Grey Mille Crêpes. Something about the smoky notes of that bergamot black tea go beautifully with the toasted sesame seeds and crisp texture of tofu. Needless to say, we were all delighted with lunch!

For February, we'll be cooking from Japanese Home Cooking: Simple Meals, Authentic Flavors by Sonoko Sakai. Sakai is the new modern day expert on Japanese cooking in the US. Her new book (published in 2019) is often compared to Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji  (published in 1980). Japanese Cooking is the classic Japanese cooking anthology...think Joy of Cooking but for Japanese cuisine. Japanese Home Cooking is the modern Japanese anthology for home cooks. It's fun to compare the two side by side. We'll be selecting a recipe from Sakai's book to cook. See you back in the kitchen soon again!

Till then,
Lady M