Christmas is just six days away and we need to start to think about what we plan to do to celebrate and into the next year.
Christmas Celebration
This year, our family will get together Christmas Eve since our son, Reid, needs to work Monday, Christmas Day. Son Dean has worked so hard catering the MTV crew for the past month and a half, so we will be happy to have him celebrate Christmas with us since he wasn’t able to join us on Thanksgiving.
So it will be a special holiday for us to have two of three sons at home. We are just missing Neil, who lives in Germany and will not be able to join us this year.
We decided to have a Korean Christmas this year. I will have all the ingredients to build your own bibimbap, chap chae and, hopefully, since my friend, Tracy Kim, said she just bought 30 heads of cabbage to make kimchi, we also will have a jar of Tracy’s kimchi.
The weather is perfect right now to make your own gochujang sauce (necessary for bibimbap). It is sunny and yet cool. In Korea, it would be made from November-February when there is full sun and yet cold.
Easy Homemade Gochujang
Makes: 4 cups
2 cups gochukaru (fine chili powder)
1 1/2 cups meju powder (fermented soybean powder)
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup sea salt
1 cup rice syrup (jocheong)
3 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon green plum syrup (maesil cheong), optional
Sake to thin out, if too thick
In a pot, preferably with a flat bottom and uniform sides, mix water and sweet rice flour. Mix it well with a whisk. Bring to boil, stirring often to prevent any lumps from forming and to make a paste.
When it starts to boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes until it is fully thickened to a paste. Stir often to avoid lumps.
Add 1 cup rice syrup to sweet rice flour paste and mix. Add more if you want a sweeter gochujang.
Adding the syrup will make the paste watery. Continue to simmer for another 25 minutes until the volume reduces about 20 percent.
Turn off the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
Add meju powder, chili powder and salt to cooled rice syrup liquid.
Use a whisk and mix everything well until there are almost no lumps.
It is now ready to mix in your bibimbap and turn the rice red.
Hottest delivery trends of 2017
The hottest delivery trends this year have been poke, soft pretzels, avocado toasts, chips and queso and acai bowls.
The dishes expected to rise in popularity in 2018 are lettuce chicken wraps, poke (will continue from 2017), bulgogi, bibimbap, roasted cauliflower, spicy tonkotsu ramen, kimchi fried, cinnamon buns, pumpkin soup, brisket sandwiches and yellowfin tuna belly.
Big Island Chocolate Festival
The seventh annual Big Island Chocolate Festival, with the theme “Chocolate Around the World,” is scheduled for April 27-28 at Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. Food booths, unlimited wine and beer pours, a silent auction, dancing and more are on tap from 5-9 p.m. Saturday, April 28.
A limited amount of early bird ($75) and VIP ($120) gala tickets are on sale now; general admission is $85. Also available are three different overnight room packages, including a two-night chocolate weekender.
All room packages include a pair of tickets to the Saturday evening gala. Check out bigislandchocolatefestival.com to purchase tickets.
Mele Kalikimaka
To all my readers, merry Christmas. May you have a wonderful holiday.
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.