curry bread (kare pan)

one of the things i miss most about korea and japan are the many bakeries they have! when i bit into my kure pan for the first time, i knew that i absolutely had to learn how to make it at home.

it took me awhile to think of what i can make them look like with their pointy oval shape. CHOMP helped me brainstorm and we ended up with cats and fish! as i was making them i figured you can make dogs too by simply using one of the cat ones, upside down and you have a floppy eared dog. you can make a bone to go with it by twisting both ends rather than just one for the fish. have fun with these!

they are originally fried but i decided to bake mine this time to be a little healthier.

CURRY BREAD (KARE PAN)

NOTE: For the curry, I like to use the Japanese brand, GOLDEN CURRY but you can use whatever curry you’d like. For example, you can get instant curry, or curry cubes at asian grocery stores, curry powder in the herb section of almost any grocery store, or indian curry. Make sure that it is leftover curry (about a day old, refrigerated) because new curry can make it leak and runny.

Makes 8-11

1 teaspoon yeast

½ cup warm water

3 teaspoon sugar

¼ cup water

3 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon melted unsalted butter

About 1 ½ cup of refrigerated leftover curry

Bowl 2 egg beaten

Bowl 1 cup bread crumbs (panko)

*Oil if you decide to fry

Mix yeast, warm water, and a teaspoon of the sugar in a bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes then stir again. To make the dough, combine the rest of the sugar (2 teaspoons), water, flour, salt and butter. Knead the mixture for a few minutes until smooth. Place the ball of dough on a greased big bowl, cover with towel, and let it rise in a warm place for half an hour to an hour. While you wait you can get the leftover curry out of the fridge, mash it well, and put it back in the fridge.

Knock down the dough and knead it for a couple more minutes. Cut the dough into 8 pieces. Take 3 of the 8 and cut those in half so that you will end up with 5 regular size kitties and 6 mini size fishies. Cover and let it rise again for 30-45 minutes.

After that, get the bowl with a beaten egg, bowl with panko bread crumbs, and mashed curry ready and out. First using the small balls of dough (fishies), roll the ball out on a floured surface and place a smaller portion of mashed curry in the middle. Fold the bottom over the curry to the top half and use a little of the beaten egg on the edge of top half to seal it better. Twist one end to make the tail and place it on a pan with parchment paper on it. Keep doing this until all the fish are shaped. Now, one at a time, cover them in egg in the bowl, then panko, and place back on the pan. Fix the shape if need to.

Time to make the fish eyes! I cut up raisins to do this but you can use pretzel sticks, nuts, chocolate chips, or sprinkles.  It helps to put a little of the beaten egg on it to stick. After you are done, spray them a little with spam and place them in the oven at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

While the fish are baking you can make the kitties! Do the same that you did with the fish just with a slightly bigger portion of curry in the middle and shape them like a crescent moon. Bake them at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

*To fry, make the kitties too before frying. After all the fish and kitties are done, warm enough oil to cover the bread in a large wok or pot. Once its hot enough, fry and flip until its golden brown. Place them on a plate with a paper towel on it to soak some if the oil out.

(=^ㅅ^=)

To reheat leftovers, bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes.

stall food is in! x3

a lot of munching to catch up to! this past weekend, we were visiting jonggak station to catch the show JUMP, a martial arts comedy show (i recommend seeing it if anyone gets the chance ^^). i’ve been wanting to try this combo koreans seem to love: fried chicken and beer. we so happened to past by a cute one that even make their own potatoe chips (above)! its located to the right after you get off of jonggak station exit 4 where you’ll run into shops, karaoke, and restaurants. we skipped the beer and just got a refreshing bubbly sprite to cool us down but the combo was still delicious!

today we tried to find where my cooking classes are. we couldn’t find it and just found ourselves roaming around and getting distracted by random sights. for example, the changdeokgung palace and the changgyeonggung palace! after all they were right next to each other. unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the secret garden because you have to go on a tour to see it and when we got there, the tours were over but we decided to save it for another day along with the jongmyo palace shrine just down the street so it’s all good ^^. on our way back home around 6 PM we stopped by a shopping and eatery hot spot at station euljiro 1-ga station. even on a weekday, people filled the streets to browse and have a good time. we just walked into a restaurant that convinced our eyes with on-the-floor seating and big pots of boiling pork bone potato soup sitting on top of a burner in the middle of each table. the soup reminded me of mom’s filipino beef potato soup at home only this korean one was spicy and it had some noodles and some type of dumpling thrown in. as i felt my last sip of soup trickle down to my belly, it leaves a somewhat cleansing feeling ^^ after we payed our bill, we walked around the crowded walkways of shops and yes, stalls! these stalls in myeondong shopping area looked especially good so we couldn’t resist trying something and we ended up with our first CHOMP of spicy ddukbokki! jonathan also got some kind of seasoned fried fish cake smothered in their own spicy ketchup and a fried chicken stick covered in what else? spicy sauce! of course, after all these spicy foods in one go, jonathan felt a lil queezy but he felt that its worth it! to celebrate my first taste of ddukbokki here’s an easy recipe for it to try at home! CHEW your way into some spicy goodness~ xD

DDUKBBOKKI RECIPE

a famous spicy rice cake stall dish!

INGREDIENTS:

- a package of rice cake (dduk) fresh ones are best but frozen is fine too just make sure to thaw

- 7 good sized anchovies. remove the heads and the intestines

- about 3-4 cups of water

- 5-6 tablespoons of hot pepper paste

- 1 tblsp of sugar

- if you want you can add some hot pepper flakes to your liking

- chopped green onions to top it all off

(you can find ingredients at an asian supermarket or korean supermarket. try looking one up online near your neighborhood if you don’t know)

INSTRUCTIONS

boil the 3-4 cups of water in a large saucepan or wok and add the anchovies free of intestines or heads.

reduce heat to medium heat and let the flavors of the anchovies spread for about 8-10 minutes.

take the anchovies out of the water and add the rice cakes.

add the paste, sugar, and flakes (flakes are only if you want to add them)

stir until all the ingredients are mixed together

add the green onions

consistently stir until the dduk absorbs the flavors and the liquid has a smooth texture (pic of ddukbokki above)

plate it and serve! (if you want, eat it with toothpicks for fun just like they eat at the stalls in korea ^^)