Are you bored with Western breakfasts? Of course, pancakes, cereals and eggs are delicious but sometimes we just need something else. For example, Koreans eat soup in the morning! It’s very light and nutritious and you feel full till the lunch time. Do you know that eating soup in the morning helps with digestion and provides you with fiber and protein? All benefits come from boiled vegetables, and you can use leftovers in the evening.
One of the things that I love about Korean breakfast is that most of the ingredients are freezer friendly and they can wait for you for months. Their savory and spicy pastes and sauces can transform the dish in a minute and then sit in a shelf for 3 months. Korean love flavorful and delicious meals, every bit has an interesting taste and a unique texture. The selection of Korean breakfast can make a feast with flavors that you haven’t tried before.
If you ever tried Korean cuisine, you know that every dish is like a celebration of food. Unlike Western way of cooking meals (a lot of food in one pot) Koreans refer to serve many little dishes, every one complements each other. They eat soups, chicken, vegetables and noodles in the morning, and add extra dishes to make breakfast something more than the sum of different parts.
Korean cuisine has changed over the last centuries. Many basic cooking rules came from their ancient agricultural traditions. Nowadays, it represents different interactions with the environment and many cultural trends. You can find different variations of one meal in different Korean provinces, and some dishes have become international. Those recipes that ones were local have proliferated across the world.
As you may know, Korean cuisine largely relies on meats, rice and vegetables. Traditionally, Koreans cook many side dishes to add to the steam-cooked rice and spice meat. They often use fermented bean paste, sesame oil, salt, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, red chili paste, pepper flakes and cabbage. Most of the ingredients are available in Western grocery stores.
Surprisingly, Korean breakfast is not much different than lunch or dinner, except it is a little bit lighter (not so many side dishes). They usually eat a bit of rice, a little bowl of soup and any number of vegetables, nuts and berries. This first meal of the day keeps them energized longer.
Since traditionally Koreans eat soup, meat and rice with an array of side dishes, you can make your breakfast more authentic by adding spicy seafood, grilled ribs, sprout rice, stewed fish, seasoned kelp, radish kimchi and anything you can find in your local grocery store. This recipe is delicious as is, and it’s a great way to try something new.
Course: breakfast
Cuisine: Korean
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 1 portion
Calories: 1423 kcal
Ingredients
1 stalk green onion
1 tablespoon oil
1 egg
1 yellow onion
1 zucchini
1 pint tofu
1 salted belt fish
1 cucumber
1 green chili
1 daikon
5 dried anchovies
5 cloves garlic
5 tablespoon soybean paste
2.5 cup water
Optional: rice, kimchi or pickles
Instructions
Take a big pot and add the following ingredients. Chop onions into small slices. Chop 1 cup of yellow onion. Chop green chili and zucchini into cubes. Slice tofu into equal cubes. Chop cucumber. Peel and slice daikon. You need one handful of it. Add anchovies and chop garlic. Mix everything in a pot.
Add soybean sauce and water. Heat the water to boiling, decrease the heat to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Now you should prepare the fish. Take a pan, place it over high heat, add oil and fry fish for 4 minutes on each side. Finally, prepare the eggs: remove the fish and set it aside, crack eggs in the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Combine all the ingredients together.
