“Two Potatoes. Half a bag of Carrots. Cucumber. 1/4 tub of kimchi. One Onion…”
The bare, empty shelves in our fridge seemed rather unwelcoming and pathetic. I was a little surprised. I swear that there was food there before. Somehow, food just disappears so quickly.
Oh boy. This is not good. Zoe and I were hosting a dinner party the same evening. I looked over at her – her arms crossed, her eyebrows furrowed and her face expressionless.
This really wasn’t a good planning on our part. Sometimes life and school gets hectic and you forget about things like your rather empty fridge. Not being able to drive was like being handicapped, because walking to the grocery store was nearly impossible with the time we had. It was at times like this I wish I could call on the expertise of my parents. I had missed having them around and being able to talk to them as much as I wanted to – daily, trivial issues that they always had answers to. It was something I always appreciated about living at home and about my parents. They had answers to everything. But then again, thats why we have the internet.
Two of us were immersed in our rather arduous task of thinking of a decent menu. But after a couple minutes of furious tapping, fluid hand movements, the internet worked magic – Andong Chicken. That was what we were going to make. We had all the ingredients to make it.
Andong Chicken or Dakjjim is one of my go-to dishes that we have made multiple times over the past few years. Back in December, we had made this for a a dinner party for a group of our high school best friends. It definitely was the star of the night. This succulent, tender chicken braised in a sweet-spicy soy broth is an absolute crowd-winner. A bite of the soft carrots, potatoes and flavorful sweet potato glass noodles that has soaked up all the delicious broth. Oh my gosh. It was so good. It was my type of comfort food! Yup, its not mac n cheese or nachos or chili, its Andong Chicken!
That night we served this dish to a group of girls that came over for dinner. When we announced what we had made, most of them gave us blank stares, not knowing what Andong Chicken was. I watched as I saw the girls take the first bite into the succulent meat and take slurp of the noodles. As they did, surprised looks came across their faces. One of the girls looked up after tasting her first bite and said “This is so good.”
I knew they enjoyed it.
There was a lot of food. But by the end of the night the entire stew was gone.
Even though the morning was pretty chaotic and unexpectedly dramatic as we were trying to cook up this stew, it turned out to be an enjoyable evening. We had good food and good company.
After the delicious dinner, with a few sneaking back to get more chicken, we sat in a circle talking and laughing. We shared about how we personally felt about being a woman and being able to know who we are – as precious daughters of God. As each sister shared their thoughts and feelings, I just felt so inspired. These were wonderful woman who were all striving to find who they were and trying to live the best lives they could. Their lives were certainly not perfect but they didn’t give up and they had the strength to face their challenges. I felt so inspired by each of their comments.
We all face challenges in our lives. But one thing I learned tonight was that life just has so much to offer. We can choose to be happy and to choose to be confident with who we are. Because as we do, we are able to inspire and uplift those around us.
With our tummies full and our hearts all uplifted, it was a perfect way to end the night.
“Would we do this again?” – I asked the sisters before they left. They all nodded eagerly and said “Yes! Lets have another night of eating GOOD FOOD and good company!”
Wow. The Andong chicken must’ve been pretty convincing. I’m sure they will be back for more.
(remade this again last weeknight without and there was enough for dinner 2 nights in a row! It was OH so delish)
- 3 lbs chicken drumsticks (chicken wings, thighs), fat removed
- 3.5 oz Sweet Potato noodles (dangmyeon)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 slices of ginger
- ½ large onion, sliced
- Vegetables:
- 2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced in 0.5” cubes
- 2 medium carrot, diced or 2 stalks celery
- 100g white mushrooms, diced
- 1 zucchini (or cucumber)
- Garnish: Sesame Seeds, Sesame Oil, Green Onions
- Sauce:
- ¼ cup GF Kikkoman Soy Sauce
- ¼ cup GF Oyster Sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- Black Pepper
- Place chicken into a pot, cover with water and blanch for about 1 minute to remove excess fat.
- Drain the water and return the chicken to the pot. Add 2-3/4 cups of water, the sauce carrots and potatoes.
- Cover and bring to boil. Once boiling, turn down to medium heat. Let it simmer covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Soak the potato noodles in cold water, completely covered and set aside.
- After 15 mins on simmer, add in the remaining veggies and noodles. Turn heat on HIGH and cook uncovered for 15 mins until the noodles and vegetables are soft. (if it gets too thick, add some water).
- Taste and season with black pepper.
- Garnish with sesame seeds, sesame oil and green onions.
You have got a diligent follower in Jasmine Wong EVERYDAY. (from her mom who just happened to stumble upon this window which she opened.) She is quite keen about trying out one of the dessert recipes.
haha thank you so much for letting us know! I hope Jasmine will enjoy the recipes she tries out! I’m so thankful to have supportive family, especially for Jasmine’s emails and her devotion! If she has cool recipes too let us know and we would love to try them out!