Shiraegi-guk and other happenings in the kitchen

I am finding that lately my blog posts are repeats of what I put on Instagram. In the past I have been so very mindful to not do this but lately the line between Instagram and blog has been a bit blurry.

I'm trying to find what I want from each space. Being on Instagram for what is now my 8th year, I felt as though I needed to do new things all the time. New content, new angles, new stories, new places, new experiences. I worried about being boring and what I thought people wanted to see came first before what made me happy. It's been a long detour to find my footing again but I think I'm slowly getting there.

I have also cleaned out my Instagram following list. Not entirely because it's a bit tedious to do, but I have deleted about 3,000 accounts. Being on Instagram for so long now there were too many inactive accounts and I hated the inflated follower number. I think there are still thousands more that are inactive but I'll get to them. One year, Instagram actually cleaned out the inactive accounts for us. I lost about 2,000 accounts then. I secretly wish they would do it again.

Anyway, I've digressed a bit too much. 

I wanted to talk to you about what's been going on in my kitchen lately.

I am still very much meat free. That includes meat and bone based soups. I cook with meat though, for Yangkyu and also for Lady, and it hasn't been difficult, meaning I haven't been tempted to eat it. Yangkyu also doesn't ask for meat and is completely ok with whatever I prepare, but sometimes I feel bad and include it for just his portion of his dinner.

Dairy products has still been one and off, but 95% non-consuming and the rest consuming. And I am still very much eating seafood. But I am beginning to get more and more interested in plant based diets and have been more proactive about incorporating them into our meals plans. 

I decided not to be too harsh on myself and still keep the meat-free lifestyle as my hard boundary to never cross. 

A few weeks ago at our local Korean grocery market, they were selling stems from radishes. You might be scratching your head like, what? That's edible? Isn't that part something you just throw out?

I thought so as well until a few years ago when I learned that one of my favorite soups is made with this. It's called shiraegi-guk and is made with ingredients that you might as well throw out - stems from radishes or even the outer most leaves on Napa cabbages. 

I love the concept of not throwing any part of the vegetable out. I think it originates from back in the days when people were poor and they weren't wasteful with food because it was just so hard to feed mouths back then. And so people found ways to use everything, including scraps to cook.

I love that my favorite dish has these roots. (Don't you love stories behind food?! I just love it. I wish there was a Korean cookbook with stories like this.)

My neighbor who is Korean, grows her own radishes and she dries these stems and cooks with them at home. She even grows her own red peppers, dries them and makes her own finely ground pepper flakes. She's kind of hardcore. Perhaps one day I'll be just as hardcore, too.

If you're ever interested in seeing what is on our table, you can following along at #janeandyangkyustable on Instagram for a glimpse of our meals.