Talinum Dip

In one of my previous posts, I talked about talinum (Talinum fruticosum). This herbaceous, succulent plant grows abundantly in the area where I take my early morning walks and just the other day I picked a big bunch. The plant has nice tiny pink-purple flowers and looks lovely in a flower vase. Then my daughter found this recipe for a dip that calls for spinach and I thought, why not use the talinum instead of spinach? After all talinum is also known as Philippine spinach.

Since the recipe uses frozen chopped spinach, I blanched the talinum leaves first, then shocked the leaves in iced water. After thoroughly draining and squeezing out the excess water, I had my spinach substitute.

Here’s the modified recipe. Blend together 2 cups yogurt (I used my home-made low-fat yogurt), 1 packet of soup mix (your choice of flavor; you can also use “ginisa” mix), ½ cup chopped spring onions, a few cloves of garlic and about 1 ½ - 2 cups of chopped talinum leaves (previously blanched, and thoroughly drained). Season with salt and pepper to taste. You may add grated cheese for added flavor. Refrigerate for a while to allow the flavors to come together.

The dip goes well with corn chips, slightly toasted tortillas or pita bread, or vegetable sticks.

Korean Seasoned Spinach (Sigumchi Namul)

This seasoned spinach “salad” is a light Korean side dish that can also be used in other Korean main dishes like chapchae (stir fried noodles), kimbap (rice and seaweed rolls), and bibimbap (rice with mixed vegetables).

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

1 pound spinach

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

1 Tbsp sesame salt*

2 cloves finely chopped garlic

2 tsp sugar

Directions

1. Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds.

2. Remove spinach quickly and rinse in cold water.

3. Gently squeeze the spinach to remove excess water.

4. Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, seeds, salt, garlic, and sugar and mix into spinach.

* If you don't have sesame salt, you can add 1 tsp of salt and an additional 2 tsp soy sauce).

Source: Sigumchi Namul

Korean Stir Fried Korean Noodles (Chapchae)

Chapchae is one of the most popular noodle dishes in Korea, and also seems to be the one that Westerners like best. The foundation of the dish is the mixture of the noodles, soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil. Because mung bean or sweet potato noodles both absorb tons of flavor, you can mix and match the vegetables or meat to your liking. Broccoli, red peppers, shiitake mushrooms, bulgogi, and onion are in the version pictured here, this flavor and color combination is a favorite. More traditional ingredients have been included below.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 70 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 oz mung bean or sweet potato noodles (might be called cellophane or glass noodles or Chinese vermicelli)

1 sweet onion, sliced into thin strips

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 pound baby spinach, parboiled

2 carrots, julienned

3 scallions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped Napa cabbage

5 shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated if dried and then sliced

2 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil

2 Tbsp sesame oil

3 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar Salt to taste

Sesame seeds (optional)

6 oz. chicken breast*

Directions

1. Cook noodles according to package directions.

2. In a large pan or wok over medium heat, heat vegetable (or olive) oil and 1 Tbsp sesame oil.

3. Add onion slices and garlic and sauté for about 1 minute.

4. Add rest of vegetables and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the vegetables are half-cooked and still a bit crispy.

5. Turn heat to low and add cooked noodles, meat (if using), soy sauce, sugar, and the remaining sesame oil.

6. Mix to combine and cook for another 2 minutes.

7. Add salt or more soy sauce if needed.

8. If using sesame seeds, add them at finish.

* Strips of egg, or fried tofu pieces are good protein additions.

Source: Chapchae