Baesuk (배숙): Korean Cooked Pear

Baesuk is a traditional Korean fruit punch made with pear, ginger, honey and cinnamon as the main ingredients. I first came across this punch watching Maangchi. 

"That will be just nice for a cool, rainy December night..." I immediately thought to myself.

It was just fate that I came across some beautiful Korean pears, gleaming and beckon at me from their crates, when I did my grocery shopping the following day. I failed to resist the luring powers. I usually end with more stuff then I need on such buying trips, I guess it's due to my unwavering conviction in the power of retail therapy...

I victoriously lugged the pears home and started reading up and found out that baesuk was originally served in Korean royal court cuisine. Cool, my mind started to play images from the "Jewel in the Palace" and the haunting soundtrack started to play in my head...
 

Snapping back to reality, I also found out that:

Pear
Under the concept of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), pears are cold in nature and can be used to detoxify, regenerate body fluids, dissolve mucus, quench thirst, relieve restlessness, promote urination, treat constipation, alleviate retina pain, heal skin lesions, promote overall skin health, lubricate the throat, relieve a cough, and heal a hoarse throat.

Ginger
Ginger is warm in nature and can be used to dispel cold and wind, warm the body by improving circulation, regulate digestion and reduce nausea.

Honey

Consumption of honey can help dispel pathogenic heat, clear away toxins, relieve pain and combat dehydration. It is believed that eating honey every morning can help prevent constipation and it is a good choice for those who suffer chronic coughing.

Cinnamon
It is use as tonic for stomach, dispel of wind, to promote urination and sweating, treat headache, anemia and cold limbs.

I also realise that as I age, I start to sway towards more holistic approved oach for health and yes, I am starting to become more health conscious. I don't wish to fall ill or pass away too soon now that I'm looking forward to a new phase of my life. That explains all the TCM ramblings with background meditative and yogi thoughts... yada yada yada...

Snapping back to baesuk. This is how I made it:

For 1-2 servings

Ingredients

1 sizable Korean pear

2 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. grated ginger and don't forget the juice

½ tsp. cinnamon powder

2 red dates, pits removed

Steps

1. Slice about 1 inch off the top of the pear and keep that for the lid. 

2. Scoop out the core and the seeds with a small spoon.

3. Scoop out some of the flesh to create a "pear pot", be careful not to break through the skin or you will end up with a leaky pot.  

K

4. Fill it up the "pear pot" with pear flesh, honey, ginger, cinnamon powder, and red dates.

5. Put the sliced lid back on the "pear pot" and put it in a heat-resistant bowl. 

6. Steam the pear about 1 hour over medium high heat.

When done, you should be able to see that the skin is starting to peel off from the tender and translucent flesh of the pear. 

Do serve it hot if it is consumed as a cold remedy. Lift the lid and you will see the nutrious fillings swimming in amber goodness. 

Feel your tummy and body warm up as you sip this fragrant yet delicate baesuk essence.  Otherwise, you can serve chilled on a sweltering hot day as well.

Matcha Coconut Almond Cookies

It’s a long time since I have updated any entries here. Long story short, I’m now a married, middle-age cat lady with a very routine, normal life. But! There are always some things to be excited about on any day. Things ranging from getting hitched and making our dream nest real last year to thinking about what to have for dinner on a daily basis make me really happy.

So my entry today is on something delightful, at least for me, so happy that I have this pedo smile on my face while typing this.

I've caught the baking bug!



It all started with my man attempting to make some bread from scratch... he tried and experimented with different techniques and turned out with a lot of bread, a little more than what we can chomp off in a week.

Well, what has his bread-making adventure has got to do with mine then... I wanted to join him in the kitchen, make something and contribute my fair share of ingenuity (*smiley). However, I prefer to avoid all forms of strenuous activities such as "prolonged periods" of dough kneading, punching and smacking. However, I do admit that it is good therapy if one is terribly enraged and is looking for safe ways to let out the steam... go punch a bratty looking dough.

Hence, I made a smart choice and started on cookie baking! It's straight-forward, relatively easy and most importantly, I get to see the result really quickly. As all amateurs do, I am still picking up the new skill and is in no position to give anyone lessons or tips on baking. I am just glad that some recipes that I churned out from my perpetually whizzing mind actually worked and thought that it's a good idea to start recording it somewhere for my own future reference.

Since the day I made my first batch of cookies, I wanted to make some for my parents as I still can’t fathom why the diabetic-friendly ones over the counters are often pocket-unfriendly. To me, the only difference is that sugar substitutes are used.
If you are interested in making some diabetic-friendly cookies, which I made to score brownies points from my parents (Nah! Because I love them...), feel free to take a look at how I made them!


Matcha Coconut Almond Cookies


Number of servings: 30 cookies

Ingredients:


100g unsalted butter at room temperature
5 tbsp. of Splenda
For the diabetic-unfriendly version, you may replace Splenda with 50g of brown sugar. Please remember to study and ensure all ingredients for diabetic-friendly recipes should not contain sugar. 
1 egg at room temperature
Vanilla seeds from 5cm of vanilla pod or 1/2 tsp of sugar-free vanilla extract
160g of all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. Matcha green tea powder
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
40g of desiccated coconut meat
40g of chopped almond

Steps:
 
1. Cream the butter in a large bowl. Add Splenda and mix until you get a smooth and creamy consistency.

2. Add the beaten egg little by little, and mix well. Add vanilla and mix well. 


3. Sift in flour, Matcha powder, salt and baking powder.


4. Add in desiccated coconut and chopped almond and mix well with a spatula.

5. Wrap in plastic wrap and cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set.


6. Divide the dough into 30 pieces. Roll into small balls. Then press the centre of the ball gently with your finger to make it flat (approximately ½ cm thick). Not to worry if the dough appears to be crumbly, packing and rolling the balls with the warm palm of your hands should do the trick.

7. Place all the shaped cookies on the baking tray, bake at 170C for 10 minutes. Make sure to cool the cookies on a wire rack before packing.

My cookies turned out quite well, slight golden brown around the edges. The rich, nutty aroma got more distinct the more we chewed on the crunchy goodness. The almond gave the cookies some interesting bite and texture as well. Good job! Self-praise is entitled at times... I can't wait to send these yummy morsels to my parents tomorrow.