Filipinos are the ultimate foodies. We love to try new cuisines and dishes, and a recent favorite has been Hanshik or Korean fares. Nobody can resist feasting on spicy tteokbokki and munching on crispy mandu while watching their favorite K-drama. Even just the thought of slurping that piping hot ramyeon on a cold night can really work up your appetite.

But as the pandemic still rages on, cooking Korean dishes at home is the best way to satisfy your cravings. It may look challenging to cook but there are recipes that you can easily pull off and even give a Pinoy twist.

Get a taste of your favorite Korean food featuring some of Mekeni’s all-time favorite classics!

Make your regular tteokbokki guiltlessly delicious

Tteokbokki is one of the most popular Korean snacks in the country. This stir-fried rice cake immersed in a spicy red sauce made with gochujang can be adjusted if it is too spicy for your taste. Aside from that, you can also make it healthier by using Mekeni GOLite Gluten-Free Chicken Longanisa. Here’s how to make your tteokbokki guiltlessly delicious!

Ingredients:

1 pack Mekeni GOLite Gluten-Free Chicken Longanisa 250g, cut diagonally into coins

3 tbsp oil

1/4 cup garlic, minced (about 12 cloves)

1 large white onion, sliced into strips

4 cups water

1 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp dashi powder or seasoning granules

2 tbsp gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)

3 cups Korean rice cakes (about 42 pcs)

sliced spring onions or leeks and sesame seeds for garnish

Procedure:

1. Put oil in the pan and fry the Mekeni GOLite Gluten-Free Chicken Longanisa pieces until lightly brown. After this, transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. In the same pan, sauté garlic and onion until fragrant and translucent.
3. Add water, sugar, soy sauce, seasoning granules, and gochujang. Let it boil.
4. Gently add the rice cakes and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the rice cakes are soft.
5. Put the Mekeni GOLite Gluten-Free Chicken Longanisa back in the pan and slowly simmer for about a minute until heated through.
6. Top with spring onions and sesame seeds. Serve while hot.

Make afternoons exciting with K-hotdog sandwiches to snack on

Nothing beats a juicy Mekeni Picnic Hotdog on a bed of tangy and spicy kimchi. Topped with kimchi mayo and crispy furikake, this Korean snack will make your K-drama marathon more enjoyable.

Ingredients:

6-8 Mekeni Picnic Hotdogs (you can also use Mekeni Picnic Cheesedogs)

2 tbsp oil (for frying)

6-8 hotdog buns

Kimchi Mayo

1 cup or 120g kimchi (store bought/readymade may be used)

1/4 cup mayo

2 tbsp furikake

1 tbsp gochujang (Korean Red Pepper Paste, optional)

Sesame Kimchi Coleslaw

1/4 cup kimchi juice

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp patis/fish sauce

1 tbsp liquid seasoning

1 tbsp vinegar

2 cups carrots, shredded

2 cups cabbage, shredded

1 medium onion, sliced

1/2 cup spring onions, sliced 1 inch in length

1 tbsp gochujang (Korean Red Pepper Paste, optional)

Procedure:

Kimchi Mayo

1. Firmly squeeze the kimchi until most of the juice has been removed. Collect the juice in another container and set aside.
2. Chop the kimchi cabbage and put in a bowl.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix, and set aside.

Sesame Kimchi Coleslaw

1. Pour the kimchi juice and combine it with all the ingredients for the coleslaw in a bowl. Set aside.

Assembly

1. Fry the Mekeni Picnic Hotdog/Mekeni Picnic Cheesedogs until thoroughly cooked.
2. Warm the hotdog buns on a pan or in a toaster for 1-2 minutes.
3. Spread kimchi mayo on the warmed buns and spoon some sesame kimchi coleslaw.
4. Put a hotdog in the bun. You may add more kimchi mayo and sprinkle with more furikake, spring onions, and sesame seeds. Serve while warm.

Incorporate tamis-alat to your bowl of bibimbap

Give your fave Korean mixed rice a balanced tamis-alat twist by using tocino as the main ingredient. Yes, you can elevate Bibimbap by using Mekeni Specials Pork Tocino Tamis-Alat as an alternative for the pork pieces. See how the Mekeni Specials Pork Tocino Tamis-Alat will complement the hot gochujang paste with this recipe:

Ingredients:

1 220-gram pack of Mekeni Specials Pork Tocino Tamis-Alat

1 cup seasoned spinach

1 cup seasoned bean sprouts

1/2 cup mushrooms (optional)

1 small carrot, julienned

3-4 serving portions of rice

3-4 eggs

Oil

Korean seasoned seaweed, shredded

For the Bibimbap sauce:

2 tbsp gochujang

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp minced garlic

Procedure:

1. In a small pan, heat some oil and cook the veggies one by one starting with the carrots, followed by the mushrooms. Do this on medium-high to high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add salt to taste. Remove from heat once cooked then set aside.
2. Make fried eggs.
3. Fry the Mekeni Specials Pork Tocino Tamis-Alat in the same pan. Once cooked, remove from the heat and let it cool before slicing into thin pieces.
4. While waiting for the Mekeni Specials Pork Tocino Tamis-Alat to cool down, combine all the Bibimbap sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
5. Put the rice into a bowl and add the Mekeni Specials Pork Tocino Tamis-Alat pieces, assorted vegetables, seasoned seaweed, Bibimbap sauce, and the egg on top of the rice. Serve it.

When it comes to making food that is #TimplangAtin, Mekeni has all the products you need! Level up your Korean cooking when you use the Mekeni Specials Pork Tocino Tamis-Alat, the mom-approved Mekeni Picnic Hotdog, the healthier alternative Mekeni GOLite Gluten-Free Chicken Longanisa, and so much more! You are sure to complete someone else’s day once they have a taste of Korea, but with a Filipino twist that will tickle their palate.

For more of Mekeni’s #TimplangAtin favorites, visit their official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mekeniph.