The idea for a bulgogi burger came to me last summer when I was thinking about entering a burger grill-off/competition. Little did I know that the "Bulgogi Burger" is already a standard menu item on fast food burger joints in Korea. I was slightly disheartened, since my idea wasn't original, and scrapped it for the competition.

But I never forgot about making it myself. I've never actually tried a bulgogi burger in Korea (it's been about 15 years since I've been there), and decided that I didn't want to know how it is made in tha' Motherland. I wanted to come up with my own. Besides, someone also told me that many "Bulgogi Burgers" are not burgers at all - they are real pieces of bulgogi slapped between the buns. Who knows? I didn't care.

Sometimes, cooking for one or two every night is just as much of a challenge as cooking for a large family of six. Whereas cooking for a large family requires savvy stretching of dollars and food, cooking for one or two requires the ability to cook in small quantities without wasting food. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't get creative with leftovers.

The micro rice cooker helps out by allowing you to cook a small amount of rice, and conveniently, too, since the ceramic pot goes in the microwave oven. Once the rice is cooked, you can eat straight from the bowl. It's certainly not any faster, since the uncooked rice still has to be washed/rinsed and soaked for 15 minutes before cooking. If you want speed, then just go for the pre-cooked ready packed rice available at Asian markets.

The micro rice cooker is available at Compact Impact for $44. 

[via: popgadget]

If you're becoming more and more into Asian foods, or are new to Asian foods, then I've just come across a cool site that serves as a decent resource, www.asiafood.org. The site has recipes, links to other Asian food resources, feature articles as well as restaurant reviews (though they seem to focus only on a few sleect places like NYC). However, the greatest information is AsiaFood's glossary. It doesn't have pictures, and the definitions are brief, but for quick information, it seems to do the drink. For example, maybe you need to find out what gamboge is. Well, it's an acidic fruit from southern India and Sri Lanka! 

AsiaFood's glossary helped me out a little today when I was trying to figure out what the heck grass jelly is.

Almost everything for the base of this dish comes from the pantry - spaghetti noodles, peanut butter, soy sauce (though some are supposed to be kept in the refrigerator). I do add fresh raw veggies like cucumbers, green onions, snow peas and bell peppers, and sometimes add chicken that I've either grilled or sauteed with a little bit of sesame oil and soy sauce, but who keeps chicken in the pantry, right?!?

Cook 16 oz. spaghetti or other long, thin noodles as the package directs. Drain, rinse (yes! rinse the pasta!) then toss with 1-2 Tbsp. sesame oil.

In a food processor, pulse about 5 cloves of garlic (sometimes I use more) until they are small pieces, then add 1/2 c. peanut butter, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 2 T. either honey or sugar, 2 T. rice vinegar, 2 T. chili oil,  and 1 chopped chili (like fresh jalapeno or Serrano, but if you don't have these on hand, the chilioil will still make it spicy). Puree until smooth.

Toss the noodles with the sauce. Topping with cooked chicken, julienned cucumber, green onions, peas, or bell peppers is optional, of course.

With the Chinese New Year goings on around the world this weekend, it's no better time to stock your kitchen with commonly used Asian ingredients both in the pantry and in the refrigerator (right after you've purged it of all those useless gadgets). A lot of Asian foods are healthy and delicious, so if you haven't done much Asian cooking at home, let the new Year of the Dog be the year you try it.

I do a lot of Asian cooking at home, so these are a few things I like to have on hand:

• Soy sauce - I actually have a giant 1-gallon container in my refrigerator. Yes, keep soy sauce in the refrigerator. Also, if you are wary of gluten or carbs, there is wheat in soy sauce (who knew?)
• Sesame seeds - I have both regular and black sesame seeds. They taste the same to me, but the black ones add some contrast for presentation. However, there is a difference in taste between regular and toasted sesame seeds. If you buy regular sesame seeds, toast them yourself in a dry pan over medium high heat.
• Sesame oil - It's rarely used as a cooking oil, but rather, as a seasoning in marinades or added to a dish like a condiment just before serving for its fragrance.
• Rice - Short grain rice that is "sticky" when it is steamed.