Newcomer Kitchen- Give the Gift of Joy this Holiday and For Lifting the January Blues

 

Give A Gift of Warmth, Fun, Community & Meaning

Excited to present ✌ things I've been working on at Newcomer Kitchen. Give the Gift of Joy this Holiday and For Lifting the January Blues (with a Holiday Trinidadian black rum cake and 3 International Cooking Workshops to start the new year)!

Order your cake on Eventbrite here

Get ready to spice up Tuesday evenings in January as we celebrate diverse global cuisines through engaging, small hands-on workshops followed by a shared meal. Let’s come together to enjoy delicious dishes while supporting newcomer women from around the world who are striving to make Toronto a warmer, more welcoming community. This promises to be a truly memorable experience! $59.91 total for a workshop

Moroccan Tagines Cooking Workshop

Tuesday, January 14th, 5:30 to 8:00pm Small Group Cooking Workshop: Savour Morocco Join La Kasbah Del Sol chef Hajar Ouzid for a hands-on workshop exploring Moroccan tagine with all the trimmings!

Tickets & Info for Moroccan Workshop

Nigerian Cooking Workshop

Tuesday, January 21st, 5:30 to 8:00pm Small Group Cooking Workshop: Savour Nigeria Join Ibile Meals chef Ope Osadare as she prepares steamy banana leaf wraps and serves up delicious puff puffs!

Tickets & Info for Nigerian Workshop

Persian Cooking Workshop

Tuesday, January 28th, 5:30 to 8:00pm Small Group Cooking Workshop: Savour Persia Join SHAMS founder Hamideh Arefeshghy to explore the flavours of Persia showcasing special ingredients sure to leave you enchanted!

Tickets & Info for Persian Workshop

Warm Up to Korean Abalone Porridge (Jeonbokjuk)...

 

Jeonbok-juk or abalone rice porridge or congee is a variety of juk, or Korean porridge made with shellfish abalone and white short-grain rice. Abalone is regarded as a high-quality ingredient in Asian cuisines, and was often prized as a gift to the King of Korea. It's texture is plump, rubbery and dense, and like many seafood, has a briny and sweet flavour.

I love abalone, although expensive we may order them braised whole or sliced ladeled with its umami thickened sauce on top of stir-fried snowpea leaves, a popular premium Chinese banquet-style dish. In Asian supermarkets, you can easily find them frozen with their shells attached, or brined in cans, used to make Chinese soups and stews, or stir-fries with vegetables. Moreover, abalone is high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol, and contains many nutrients such as iodine, phosphorus, selenium, magnesium, omega 3-fatty acids and contains bioactive compounds- anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory.

I came across frozen abalone on sale ($6.99 for 5 nice pieces), and with the winter chill upon us, the first food that came to mind was comfort congee, or as the Koreans call it jeonbokjuk! An ultimate cozy soothing comfort in a bowl!

Korean Abalone Porridge (Jeonbokjuk) (adapted by Maangchi.com)

Serves 4

4 to 5 frozen medium sized abalones, thawed (or canned with brine drained well)

1-1/2 cups short-grain rice, rinsed and soaked in cold water for 1 hour
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
8-9 cups of water
1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tsp. fish sauce
2 tsp. kosher salt
4 large eggs (optional)
2 sheets of gim (seaweed paper), toasted, and crushed

Note: prepare to your taste: add more or less fish sauce, kosher salt, toasted sesame oil, or water.

Great Substitute: Replace abalone with conch, mussels, clams, shrimp, or even ground beef. 

If the abalone are still in the shells, gently and firmly pry them out with a spoon. Gently rinse and pat dry. Remove the intestines by cutting them out; set aside. Score the abalone flesh on an angle, then thinly slice on the opposite bias.

In a colander, strain the rice. 

Heat a thick-bottomed pot over medium high heat. Add the sesame oil and garlic and stir with a wooden spoon for 10 to 20 seconds. Add the abalone intestines if you have it, and keep stirring until well combined.  Add the rice and stir with the wooden spoon for one minute until the rice turns a little translucent. Add the chopped abalone and 8 cups of water. Stir and cover. Let cook over medium high heat for ten minutes. 

Add carrot and green onions. Lower the heat and cook for another ten minutes. 

If you like your porridge a bit more liquidy, add one more cup of water and let it cook for a few more minutes over low heat. Add fish sauce and salt and stir it well. 

Optional: If you want a poached egg or two, crack the eggs into the porridge. Gently stir the bottom of the pot with the wooden spoon so it doesn’t get burnt. Cover, turn up the heat a bit, and cook for another minute or two or until the egg is set.

Take a roasted or freshly toasted sheet of seaweed (gim) and put it in a plastic bag. Rub the sides of the bag together to crush the gim and create gimgaru (crushed seaweed flakes). 

To Serve, ladle servings of porridge into bowls and sprinkle a bit of gimgaru over each one just before eating. Serve with sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and kimchi as a side dish.

Full Recipe:

Korean Abalone Porridge (Jeonbokjuk) 

Serves 4

4 to 5 frozen medium sized abalones, thawed (or canned with brine drained well)

1-1/2 cups short-grain rice, rinsed and soaked in cold water for 1 hour
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
8-9 cups of water
1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tsp. fish sauce
2 tsp. kosher salt
4 large eggs (optional)
2 sheets of gim (seaweed paper), toasted, and crushed

Great Substitute: Replace abalone with mussels, clams, shrimp, or even ground beef. 

Note: prepare to your taste: add more or less fish sauce, kosher salt, toasted sesame oil, or water.

If they are still in the shells, gently and firmly pry them out with a spoon. Gently rinse and pat dry. Remove the intestines by cutting them out; set aside. Score the abalone flesh on an angle, then thinly slice on the opposite bias.

In a colander, strain the rice. 

Heat a thick-bottomed pot over medium high heat. Add the sesame oil and garlic and stir with a wooden spoon for 10 to 20 seconds. Add the abalone intestines if you have it, and keep stirring until well combined.  Add the rice and stir with the wooden spoon for one minute until the rice turns a little translucent. Add the chopped abalone and 8 cups of water. Stir and cover. Let cook over medium high heat for ten minutes. Add carrot and green onions. Lower the heat and cook for another ten minutes. 

If you like your porridge a bit more liquidy, add one more cup of water and let it cook for a few more minutes over low heat. Add fish sauce and salt and stir it well. 

Optional: If you want a poached egg or two, crack the eggs into the porridge. Gently stir the bottom of the pot with the wooden spoon so it doesn’t get burnt. Cover, turn up the heat a bit, and cook for another minute or two or until the egg is set.

Take a roasted or freshly toasted sheet of seaweed (gim) and put it in a plastic bag. Rub the sides of the bag together to crush the gim and create gimgaru (crushed seaweed flakes). To Serve, ladle servings of porridge into bowls and sprinkle a bit of gimgaru over each one just before eating. Serve with sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and kimchi as a side dish.