Steamed Bok Choy with Ginger

I've mentioned how I've been cooking to share with my co-workers, and this is a dish that has worked well. I find it a little bland, but if you are cooking for Koreans, it's pretty easy on the palate.

Steamed Bok Choy with Ginger:

6 Bok Choy Clusters(?)
1 large tablespoon grated ginger
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

1) Wash the bok choy. Chop the bok choy, separating the stems from the leaves. Roughly chop the leaves.
2) Heat the olive oil on medium high. Add the stems, ginger, and soy sauce. Stir the ingredients, then cover and cook for three minutes (perfect amount of time to enjoy listening to the perennial classic Gee by Girl's generation)

3) Add the chopped leaves and cover and cook for another five minutes. How about some Busker Busker while we wait?

4) When the bok choy is a nice bright shade of green, season with salt and pepper. Congrats! You've finished! And you've heard some good K-pop as well. 

Recipe: Sesame Leaves in Soy Sauce ( 깻잎 장아찌)

I've been cooking a lot lately, especially since I've been doing lunch box (도시락) at school. Instead of eating the grossness of school lunch, a bunch of us each bring a side dish and we share it with rice. The ajjumas have been giving me recipes and I've been trying to cook Korean side dishes at home. Sometimes Usually, I fail. This one worked out pretty well though:

To start, boil equal parts water, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar (rice vinegar is fine) in a sauce pan. I did a cup of each.

Make sure you use quality soy sauce

 After the sugar dissolves, let your mixture cool down.

Washed sesame leaves

 Stack your sesame leaves in a storage container. The nicer stacked, the easier it will be to eat later.

Using an olive can to keep those leaves submerged

 Once the liquid has cooled down a bit, pour it over the sesame leaves. Ensure that they are completely submerged in liquid. Leave at room temperature for around 3 days. The longer you wait, the more flavor the leaves will absorb.

Your leaves will look something like this, but hopefully better stacked. This is one of my favorite side dishes. I just eat it with some rice and call it a day.

*Note, sesame leaves have a very strong taste and if you don't know if you like them, make a small portion. They are kind of a love it or hate it leaf.