Back from vacation!

Every year, my friends and I rent a huge house in The Outer Banks, NC for a week. We eat and drink like kings: fresh-caught fish, shrimp, oysters, crab and scallops nearly every night. No joke. Oh, and steak. Tons of beer, vodka and rum. We make ridiculous fruity drinks during the day for the beach and pool. I am kinda the unofficial cook for the week and I love it. I get to fry, sauté, bake and sear anything and everything (I leave the grilling to the dudes. They love it).

This year, my good friend Jeff revealed that he picks up tips from our dinner time festivities. We had some scallops laying around (it’s like that) and I decided searing them would be a great lesson. Although it may seem pretty easy, there are a few very important tips that, if not followed, will ruin your scallops. Here’s what Jeff learned:

Buy fresh.

Go to a fish market or store. Do not get these from your grocery store. Not even Whole Foods. I know it’s more convenient but I’m telling you, it’s worth the extra trip. Most grocery stores buy scallops in bulk and they come wet-packed in a sodium solution in a huge bucket. Get them from a trusted fish shop where they get them dry.

Dry, dry, dry.

Before you cook them, set them on a kitchen towel or paper towel and let them sit for a few minutes. The moisture will slowly be pulled out. Just blotting them will not be enough. As you sear, water will seep out and start to boil your meat – NOT sear. Make sure you do both sides.

Hot oiled pan.

Any oil or butter is fine. Keep in mind that with butter, the fat solids will burn. I like the flavor but some don’t. Either way, make sure you wipe off the pan in between batches and re-oil/heat. Your pan is ready when a flick of water sizzles. Season one side with salt and pepper. Place the seasoned side down in the pan. Season the naked side in the pan. I use the juices/butter/oil and spoon it over the naked side while waiting for the cooking side to sear. This gives the meat a tiny bit of heat and flavor.

Don’t touch.

A lot of people stir, shove and fiddle when they cook. As a general rule – don’t. Especially when searing meats, don’t touch! The searing happens with patience and time. For scallops, leave them for 2-3 minutes. You can check to see if you have the desired golden brown at the 2 minute mark. Flip to sear the naked side. You’ll know your scallops are done when they feel firm, not mushy. Place them on a plate when they’re done. Don’t leave them in the pan as they’ll continue to cook.

The scallops above are resting on a bed of leeks and red peppers that I sautéed using the fond from the scallop pan. Fond is the brown, caramelized stuff that’s on the bottom of the pan. It’s tasty and adds flavor – use it!

The night we had seared scallops, we also had fried oysters, soft-shell crabs, grilled swordfish & tuna, sautéed sugar snap peas and red cabbage slaw. The night before, we had shrimp cocktail and a seafood chowder I made with local squash, potatoes and sweet onion. I used bay scallops, mahi and shrimp, starting it off with this amazing bacon from Landhaus (the best bacon you’ve ever had in your life, I’m not lying).

I’m just sayin’.

@skimkim & facebook

I know I did a Latin drink last post (Horchata!), but this is SO PERTINENT! This coming Sunday, Skimkim will be at Kimchipalooza serving up, you guessed it, MICHELADAS.

This Latin beer cocktail is said to be the hangover cure, similar to a Bloody Mary, except made with a pilsner or lager. There are many stories as to it’s origin but it basically means, “My Cold Beer” or “Mixed Cold Beer.”

For our version, I make a Korean red pepper salt rim and garnish with a lime. Here’s the secret: Bloody Kim Jong-il Mix. It’s our signature Bloody Mary cocktail mix that is perfect for these summer brewsky drinks. The base of the Bloody Kim Jong-il is kimchi brine from our market fresh Skimchee and then some tomato juice. If you are in NYC this weekend, you have two opportunities to catch us: 1) Saturday we’ll be at Smorgasburg in Williamsburg, 2) Sunday at Kimchipalooza, Governor’s Island, 12-5pm. We’re having kimchi eating/making/cooking contests all day. And you can drink all the Skimkim Michelada’s your latinkoreanphile heart desires. Here’s more info on our blog, Beautifuls.

If you are making your own Michelada at home. It’s super easy. Throw some coarse salt on a napkin or plate, rim your glass with a slice of lime, lightly run the rim into the salt. Add ice to the glass. Pour about 2 oz. of Bloody Mary mix (ours works best, duh), then fill glass with Corona/Tecate/Modelo. Garnish with a slice of lime! If you want it really spicy, dash some hot sauce or sriracha in there.

Note: The Bloody Kim Jong-il Mix is also featured on the bar menu at Oro Bakery & Bar in Nolita, NYC. The Michelada is death-worthy. If you need the mix for your own use, get it here, at the store. Look how delicious they do it up at Oro!

With these sweltering days, we need SOMEthing to cool us down. In my neighborhood of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a predominately Mexican and Chinese area (with spatterings of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans, and one half Korean-Scotch Irish Woman), horchata is on every corner. A traditional “milky” rice/almond/cinnamon drink, it sits in huge plastic jugs and is ladled into white styrofoam cups for a quick refresher. Of course, there are many ways to make horchata since there are so many latin american countries, but I’m gonna go with the familiar Mexican version.

Horchata

• 1 c long-grain white rice
• 1 c whole blanched almonds
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2/3 cup sugar (Sugar In the Raw or Agave is yummy)
• 5 cups water (room temp)

Chop the rice in a food processor. Combine rice, almonds, and cinnamon in a large plastic bowl. Add half the water (2.5 c) and let sit for 3 hours or so. No less, but up to 6 hours is okay. After this soak, purée or blend the mixture. Add rest water. Run through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to remove the grit. Add sugar and mix to dissolve. Refrigerate for a few hours. Serve over ice with a dash of cinnamon as garnish.

Make popsicles with this! Yum! To make a cocktail, add dark rum. What???

Check me out on “Hot Grease”, on Heritage Radio Network talking about my upcoming food+art event, Something I Ate. Go take a listen!

It’s that time of the year again. It’s HOT here in NYC and we Koreans (and half Koreans) find relief in Oi Kimchi, or cucumber. When the temperature starts rising, Koreans get to fermenting cucumbers. I’m telling you, it’s like our gazpacho, except spicier. For those of you who want to partake in the beauty of Kimchi, I have the perfect recipe for you–Cucumber Kimchi Salsa. It’s a toned down version of my Oi Skimchee and can be packed up for any BBQ to throw on a piece of fish, chicken, steak, whatever. Put a bowl of chips down and this stuff will disappear. Promise. If there are any leftovers, throw it in a salad or on a turkey sandwich. You’ll be hooked.

Cucumber Kimchi Salsa

• 4 Hothouse cucumber (also called English or seedless)
• 4 ears of fresh corn
• 3 carrots, peeled, & shredded in food processor (you can dice if you’d like)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 small ginger root, peeled
• 1 heaping Tbsp of coarse Korean Red Pepper (gochugaru, find it at a korean market)
• 1/4 c chopped cilantro
• 1/4 c sliced scallion
• kosher salt

I recommend the Hothouse cukes only bc you don’t have to seed them. With regular cukes, by the time you scrape all the seeds out, you have half the veggies you anticipated. Keep the skins on. This gives the salsa more color, flavor, and strength (you don’t want wilty veggies). Chop the cucumber in a medium to small dice. Sprinkle kosher salt on your chopped cucumbers and set aside. Shuck & clean the ears of corn thoroughly. Slice the kernels off carefully. Check out the video below for an easy method. Salt the corn and set aside. Peel the carrots and run through a food processor to shred them (don’t forget to use the right blade!). Salt and set aside. Once you have prepped all your veggies, let them sit for 30 minutes to an hour. This process releases excess water so your salsa doesn’t get soupy and gross.

Chop the peeled ginger into small chunks and throw it and the garlic cloves into the food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Set aside.

Rinse your salted veggies off and pat dry. Put in a large bowl. Add garlic ginger mix, gochugaru, cilantro, and scallions. Season with salt. Refrigerate for an hour before serving. Let the flavors come together.

Note: Gochugaru is a very specific type of red pepper flake. It is NOT the same thing as crushed red pepper that you can buy at your local grocery store. If you want this to be more authentic, make the effort to go get this stuff (click here to order online at HMart, my homies). It really is SO different. Way more flavor. If you can’t make it happen, use half cayenne and half crushed red pepper. Do not skip the salting part of this recipe. It is really important. Not only does it pull water out of the veggies, it also gives them flavor. Here’s a photo of the korean red pepper flakes.

And, here is the video of how to safely and effectively cut corn. Ingenious, isn’t it?

Finally, if you are in NYC tonight, Thursday, I’m djing tonight at “Reality Bites“, an all 90′s party, downtown. It is gonna be kinda sorta crucial, especially to all my 30 something’s (muah!). I will definitely be doing an R&B set, complete with Aaliyah, Dru Hill, Mary J, etc…Sway, 305 Spring St, btw Hudson & Greenwich.

Also, this coming Saturday at Smorgasburg in Williamsburg, we are doing a collaboration with Grady’s Farm. Deviled Eggs EVERYWHERE. Lemon Caper, Crab Ceviche, and Kimchi. Come to N7th & Kent from 9am-5pm. See you there, Lovelies.

Today, after hitting the streets with samples for new accounts, I stopped by a bagel shop for my breakfast (it was 3pm, hadn’t eaten all day). I was starving and so happy to finally sit down at home and eat a sandwich. Toasted everything bagel w/ turkey, tomato & avocado. After having eagerly torn through the paper, I was heartbroken when I found an egg salad on white with shredded lettuce. It was for the 65 year old man in front of me who apparently doesn’t have any teeth or tastebuds. I ♥ eggs, but not mayo doused deli bucket egg salad. Gross. And I hate shredded lettuce. Read the full story