Spicy Crab Stew - Ggotgae jjigae

I'm finally moving out of korea town. No more gun shots in the night, gang fights, or ktown sleaziness on youtube (haha). Sorry, just exaggerating a bit. I'm going to miss the cheap groceries and good food though. You'll always be in my heart ktown. Although, moving has been a huge pain in the butt and in my arms gahh!

Anyhoo, here are some random facts I've read in the past...

MYTH BUSTERS!
False: Toilet water on your toothbrush will get you sick
I don't ever keep my toothbrush where the toilet is because microorganisms are ejected when you flush the toilet. It can spray further than 5 feet (ahh!) and all the good stuff lands all over the bathroom even if you close the lid. But, fortunately you won't catch anything from what comes out of your toilet because when the toothbrush dies, so does most of the organisms. Although, that'll probably take some time so don't brush your teeth right after you go haha... Just keep your toothbrush in the cabinet!

False: Bathroom door handles in public restrooms are the germiest place
Door handles actually have the least bacteria of any surface in public restrooms says Dr. Chuck Gerba of University of Arizona in Tucson. That's because on average 68% wash their hands before leaving (WHAT! NOT 100%??). Your desk is way dirtier than a toilet bowl (400x more!) In his recent study, Gerba and co. found parainfluenza virus, which causes colds and flu on about one-third of office surfaces...and most of it on the phone. These viruses can survive for 2-3 days on desktops, phones and keyboards too.

Just keep washing your hands, become a germ-aphobe and stop making out ah ha ha...

Spicy Crab Stew - 꽃게 찌개

Let's get all the veggies ready!

Slice up your onions to about 1/4 inch thick and chop Asian chives to above 3-4 inches long. Layer the onions at the bottom of a large pot first and the chives. The veggies should come up more than half way up the pot. But that's okay because it shrinks like crazy when you turn up the heat.

Hack your crab into half and separate the big pincers and place on top of the chives. Make the marinade in a separate bowl and add 1 cup of water to that. Pour the marinade over the crab and everything. Now we're ready to bring to a boil on high hit. Cover it with a lid once the chives shrinks and set the fire to medium.

Let it simmer for 5 mins, and then ladle some of the soup over the crabs so they soak in all the goodness. After 15 more minutes, throw on top some thickly sliced leeks, wait another 2 minutes. And there you have a delicious hot and spicy dinner!

Spicy Crab Stew - Ggotgae jjigae

Ingredients

Marinade

2 tbsp Korean Chili paste - Gochujang

1-2 tbsp Korean Chili powder - Gochugaru

1 tbsp Korean miso paste - Doenjjang 

2 tbsp mirin (sweet wine like sake, sherry etc...)

1 tbsp garlic minced

1 tbsp soy sauce

Main

4 bundles Asian chives

1/2 onion, sliced thickly

1 stalk leek, chopped thickly

1.5 lb crab, chopped in half

1. In a large pot, place chopped onions on the bottom and then the chives. Fills more than 1/2 way.
2. Chop crabs in half and break down pincers too. Place on top of chives.
3. Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl, mix with 1 cup of water and pour over crab.
4. Bring to boil, place lid and let simmer at medium heat for 5 mins.
5. Ladle soup over crabs, simmer 15 mins and add chopped leeks.
6. Ladle soup again, simmer 2 mins and serve hot.