Kimchi Fried Rice with Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage

Woo. I'm starting vacation after this 24 hour call! Although we've been wanting to travel far far away, we're unfortunately stuck close to New York. We were planning to visit my parents this week in LA, but California has been doing poorly with COVID so we've had to cancel our flight. Also unfortunately, our hospital policy on travel is super strict for residents :(  We're at least going to the Pocono Mountains for a much needed relaxed visit!

I wanted to post this classic Korean home meal, which I've made time and time again. This time with Alfresco Chicken Sausage! I don't usually put protein, but because these dinner sausages are already cooked, it is such a breeze to slice and put it in. There are so many flavors! I used roasted garlic, which has a sweetness to it that works very well with Kimchi. I definitely want to try the Spicy jalapeño sausage next time for some extra heat!

 Kimchi Fried Rice with Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage

serves 4-6

1 stalk green onion, finely chop
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 Alfresco Chicken Sausages, sliced
2 cups ripe napa kimchi, chopped into small pieces
2 tbsp kimchi juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Korean chili pepper powder
1 tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)

3 cups cooked rice, cooled
3 tsp sesame oil
sesame seeds
roasted seaweed (optional)
fried eggs

1. In a large frying pan, heat cooking oil on medium flame and stir fry green onion (just the white/light green part) and the sliced sausages
2. Once the sausage is browned, add the kimchi plus a some juice, gochujang, soy sauce and sugar and pepper powder. Stir-fry over low heat until kimchi is slightly soft
3. Add cooled/cold rice and break it up to thoroughly to incorporate the kimchi sauce. You can add more kimchi juice if it seems a little dry
4. Mix in the green part of the spring onions and drizzle in sesame oil
5. Place in a bowl. Garnish with fried egg, sesame seeds and crushed seaweed flakes!

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Gochujang Peppers & Onion Penne with Chicken Sausage

I've been so tired this week and all I've been doing is whining 😅. Can't wait for this week to be over. Although, I have a 24hr call this Friday :( 

On the other hand, we've also started wedding planning! I didn't realize how much money I'll be hemorrhaging this year on my resident salary. Looking at all the costs that go into getting married has been somewhat stressful.  I wish I could get a city hall wedding, but I think my parents would disown me 😰.

Anyway, I've been making quick and easy meals at night, so I can get some snooze in before waking up at the crack of dawn. I was sent to try Al Fresco's Pasta Night Mild Italian Style Chicken Sausage and I love how there are peppers in the sausages themselves! I threw together something quick with Korean Pantry items like Gochujang (Korean Chili Paste) and more peppers and it was delicious.

They're already fully cooked, so I just browned the sides to give it a nice color, chopped it up and then added it to the pasta. The sweetness of the peppers and Italian herbs in the sausage played so well with the gochujang tomato sauce with a little bit of kick from the Korean chili powder.

Gochujang Peppers & Onion Penne with Chicken Sausage

3-4 servings

1 box penne pasta (4 servings)
1 pack Al Fresco's Pasta Night Mild Italian Style Chicken Sausage
1 small onion
3 bell peppers (assorted colors)
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
2 tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
1 cup canned crushed tomato
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley garnish

1. Bring a pot of water to boil and add a pinch of salt and a little bit of olive oil. Cook penne in boiling water according to package. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain pasta and set aside
2. Add a little oil to a frying pan on medium heat and brown chicken sausage. Remove from heat and cut diagonally. Set aside
3. Saute in oil the onions and garlic until partially translucent, add bell peppers and cook until a little softened. Add back the sliced sausages and add the chili powder (gochugaru) and saute for 1-2 minute
4. Add 1/2 cup of pasta water to the frying pan and then add gochujang and crushed tomatoes. Add in the dried parlsey. Allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. 
5. Lastly, add in the pasta until heated through. Garnish with fresh parsley

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Creamy Kimchi Penne with Chicken Apple Sausage

There's been a lull in the SICU and in the general floors lately due to the nurse's strike in NYC that's supposed to happen next week. I love the nurses for what they do, but it's definitely going to be a difficult time in the hospital when we have travelling nurses, who don't really know how to manage surgical patients. I'm already dreading the day and stocking up on ice cream and chocolate...

Also, now that it is my last week on ICU, I'm making a batch of easy lunch meals, because I won't have a lot of time to cook 😔. Here's, creamy kimchi pasta that I made lighter and without the use of heavy cream. The sweetness of the apples in the chicken sausage goes well with kimchi! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Creamy Kimchi Penne with Chicken Apple Sausage

serves 4

8 oz penne pasta
3 chicken apple sausage, diced bites-sized (Johnsonville brand)
1 cup kimchi, diced bite-sized
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

1.5 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup kimchi juice
4 tbsp cream cheese (I used neufchâtel, low fat)
1 cup milk (I used 1%, and it was still creamy)
1/2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp gochugaru (Korean chili pepper)
1/4 cup parmesan
1/2 cup mozzarella
salt and pepper
1 bunch chives

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain and set aside
2. In a large pan, brown chicken apple sausage in a little bit of olive oil and set aside. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in same pan on medium flame, fry kimchi, onions and garlic until onions are slightly translucent (about 2-3 mins)
3. Add to pan, chicken stock and kimchi juice and bring to boil. Then turn down heat to simmer for 3 mins. Add cream cheese (cut into cubes) and stir until melted
4. Add dried parsley, cooked sausage and pasta. Then pour in milk and stir. Stir in parmesan and mozzarella until the sauce is thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. If the sauce becomes too thick, you can add more milk.
5. Serve immediately with chives

This post was sponsored by Johnsonville. I was compensated for this post, but all opinions are completely my own and not endorsed. Thank you for supporting products that keep this blog running!

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Creamy Kimchi and Sausage Pasta

I'm back in Richmond!! When I first landed here, I was pretty surprised that LA had been colder and rainier than Richmond :\. I was all prepared with my down jacket, scarves and wooly hat...but when I got off the plane, I was sweating and huffing and puffing when I got to the baggage carousel haha. I actually wished it was colder so I could put some of my winter clothes to use! I totally take that back now though! I have to walk to school fairly early in the morning and it has been bitingly cold to the BONE. Like -7 celsius (still can't get used to Fahrenheit)!! As someone who has lived at the equator most of her life and now in sunny southern California, I can't get used to this freezing weather! I feel like the Michelin tire white puffy man everyday.

I'm glad my mum has packed a suitcase full of food for me before I left, yay! I can seriously say I don't have to go food shopping for a few months :D. Unless, I have to buy eggs, which I do...because eggs are life :P. I put this kimchi pasta up on instagram a few days ago and got a lot of demands for the recipe. Yes, I did make it last year...and it is finally up now :]. At that time, I really needed to get rid of my kimchi before I left for 2 weeks...but, I didn't expect it to be so good! The sausage and herbiness really goes well with the sharp bites of kimchi and parmesan. This dish is best enjoyed with friends and a hearty appetite!

Creamy Kimchi and Sausage Pasta

serves 4-5

1/2 lb bow tie pasta
1/2 large medium onion, sliced thinly into half moons
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, finely diced (optional)
1/2 lb sausage, sweet Italian
1 cup napa kimchi (slightly aged/sour), chopped into 1" squares
1.5 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp white wine
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
3 tbsp freshly chopped parsley (or 2 tbsp dried parsley)
salt and pepper

1. Boil pasta according to directions on the box, but about 2 mins before al dente or your desired texture. Rinse with cold water and set aside
2. Heat large frying pan with some oil and sauté onions, garlic and jalapeño until onions are slightly translucent. Place sausage in and break it up into bitable bits with your spatula. Add in the kimchi when the sausage isn't too pink on the outside. Heavily add pepper and a little bit of salt.
3. After adding the kimchi and frying it around for about 2-3 mins, pour in the heavy cream and stir. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the white wine and then the pasta. Stir to coat. The sauce should thicken in a few minutes. Gently fold over pasta once in a while until all the pasta has warmed up and is to the texture you like, sprinkle in the parsley and parmesan cheese. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
4. Garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan and serve hot.

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Mini Scotch Egg Hand Pies

I'm currently packing my bags to go back home to LA (yay)! I'm bringing one suitcase filled with MILDLY cold weather clothes and two empty suitcases. Lol, why the empty suitcases?? Because, my mum usually takes one week out of her schedule to make me a ton of my favorite foods and keeps them frozen, so I can bring it back to Richmond. YAS, she is the best. And, I can seriously fill 2 suitcases no problem. In fact, I'm usually stuck at the check in counter with my mum bringing stuff back home because my suitcases are too heavy -_- Sometimes, the frozen rice cakes and soondae (Korean blood sausages) I bring has to be hand carried. I always have to get my carry ons personally checked by TSA security and I get weird weird looks when they hold up my vacuum sealed sausages.

Haha. I also have no shortage of embarrassing stories in the airport. There was this one time I bought a gigantic Costco pack of lady supplies and I just took it out of the box package since it was bulky and put it in the zipper front compartment of my suitcase. So, I land in Richmond and I just happen to be on a plane with a bunch of military men. I'm waiting for my suitcase at the baggage carousel with my bf, when we spot it. Somehow while my bf picked up my suitcase, the zipper got stuck on the rotating band so he yanked on it... At least 20 pieces of lady supplies came flying out of the bag and landed on the military men's combat boots and on the carousel!! I was in so much shock it took me a minute to register what had happened and then I scrambled to pick up all the fallen stuff and had to chase some that was rotating away. I literally wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury myself in it. AND I couldn't just walk away since I had to wait for my other suitcases UNGH. An old lady next to me even patted my shoulder and said that it happens to the best of us. (SERIOUSLY?? I don't think that ever happens to anyone)

I blame it all on my bf! Haha, retelling this story really makes me cringe inside again :(  Anyway, getting back to this recipe... I've always wanted to make scotch eggs, but I still have this fear of deep frying things and getting splattered by grease. I'm just clumsy like that! So, I made a hand pie version of it. They are so cute since I've made them with quail eggs and then wrapped them up in puff pastry. They would make great appetizers for your Christmas holiday dinners! Also, they make great airplane food and I'll be bringing them on the plane. I hope my neighbor doesn't mind the flaky pastry falling all over him... :P

Mini Scotch Egg Hand Pies

adapted from bbc.co.uk
makes 6 mini pies

6 quail eggs (plus 1 extra if you think you'll bust one!)

1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage meat

1/4 onion, finely diced

6 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

2 tbsp parmesan, finely grated

pinch of salt and pepper

2-3 tbsp dijon mustard

1 puff pastry sheet, thawed

flour for dusting

1 chicken egg (for egg wash)

1. First, soft boil the quail eggs: bring small pan of water to boil. Add quail eggs gently and cook for 3 mins. Then place in ice water for about 5 mins. Peel eggs carefully as they will be soft inside. Place in fridge (I did this step the night before)
2. Preheat oven to 400F and take out your puff pastry sheet to thaw out. Mix (using your hands) sausage, chopped onion, parmesan and chopped parsley together until well blended. Season with a pinch of salt and a lot of pepper
3. Open the thawed sheet of pastry onto a floured surface. Roll into 12x12" square. On one side, divide into 4 strips (two that are 2.5" wide and 2 that are 3.5" wide).  And then divide the other side by 3. So you have 2.5x4" and 3.5x4" rectangles. Roll the smaller rectangles a little wider so they are more like 3x4".
4. Spread a thin layer of dijon mustard on the smaller rectangles. Then pat down a small spoonful of the sausage mixture over the mustard, leaving a 1/2-1cm border around the edges. Blot quail eggs with kitchen paper to get off the moisture and place in the center of the sausage. Cover eggs with a thin layer of sausage 
5. Beat a chicken egg and brush along the borders of the pastry bottoms. Lay the larger 3.5x3" pastry over the filling. You may have to roll it a little bigger to get it to cover the filling. Use a fork to press the borders together firmly to seal
6. Transfer the unbaked pies onto a lined baking tray. Brush the pies with the beaten egg and cut small slits on top for steam to escape. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden and cooked through. Leave to cool a few minutes before gobbling.

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