Hello! It's the weekend, and it coincides with the 79th monthiversary of me and my wife being together. Because of this, I decided to prepare her favorite food.

Although we're not Korean, we love eating Korean foods like ddukbokki, samgyeopsal, gamja jorim, and many others.

Sometimes I try to learn how to cook these dishes. I really enjoy setting our table when we eat. So this weekend, I prepared a simple Korean Dinner. There are only two of us eating, so the servings are small, but I've still prepared a generous amount for us to enjoy.

I didn’t cook any Korean dishes from scratch, most of what I prepared was instant, while some were easy to make.

Preparing the Beef

First, I boiled a rib-eye steak until it became tender. This steak only cost $1.93. I boiled it to make it tender, adding some seasoning for extra taste.

Once it was done boiling, I cut it into strips and set it aside to fry later.

Korean Sausage

I also bought some Korean sausages for $2.23 per pack. I only cooked a small portion worth $0.78 because one pack is a lot for just the two of us.

I fried these sausages alongside the boiled rib-eye steak. Once fried, I set them aside because I’ll use some of them as toppings for the instant bulgogi I’ll make.

Cheesy Ddukbokki

I bought a pack of cheesy ddukbokki because my wife requested it. I boiled it in the beef broth from the steak I boiled earlier. To save electricity, I also steamed some Korean vegetable dumplings that I bought for $3.37. I only cooked a small portion worth $0.68 since one pack contains a lot. I also had some leftover fish cake in the freezer, which I cut into triangles and mixed with the cheesy ddukbokki because my wife loves it. I bought the fish cake for $2, with each piece costing $0.25. Once cooked, I set it aside to top with mushrooms later.

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Instant Bulgogi

This was easy to prepare since it's instant noodles. I boiled it for a few minutes, and while it was boiling, I steamed some mushrooms on top to use as toppings for the ddukbokki I made earlier. The noodles came with a vegetable pack that I included in the boiling process. Once cooked, I strained the noodles and set aside the mushrooms for the ddukbokki. I mixed the bulgogi sauce with the noodles and topped it with Fried Garlic and some beef and sausage pieces.

Cola

I bought a Coke from a 7/11 convenience store, and amusingly, when I grabbed a can of Coke Zero, it turned out to be a Limited Korean Edition Coke in a can. Hahaha!!!

So I arranged my table spread, and here’s what I served:

• Stir-Fried Beef: $1.93
• Korean Sausage: $0.78
• Cheesy Ddukbokki with Fish Cake: $1.03 + $0.25
• Instant Bulgogi: $1
• Kimchi: $1
• Korean Dumplings: $0.68
• Crunchy Seaweed: $0.27
• Coke: $1.54
• Ssamjang for dipping
• Sesame Oil for dipping

For a total of $8.48.

That is a lot of savings for us because when we usually go out to eat at a Korean restaurant, we spend a minimum of $51.36.

It's a good thing our daughter is still young (10 months old), so we don’t eat out because if we did, we wouldn’t be able to eat properly since one of us would have to hold the baby (she's not used to a high chair yet).

I hope you enjoyed my dinner prep for this weekend. It was simple and cheap, but we really enjoyed it and finished everything.