Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ya-ta Boy]

(The fuddy duddies who were criticizing the Thai Pizza as �just chicken satay on a pizza�, while right about the description, are still fuddy duddies for not trying it. Stay away. This thread is obviously not for you.)

Cool people, please continue:

If you love pizza and sometimes yearn for a bit of variety in your pizza-eating ways, I�m here tonight to rescue you. A few weeks ago I was in that mood and went online in search of a new taste delight to tickle my taste buds. And I hit the jackpot�a veritable treasure trove of pizza ideas. AND a super easy way to make the dough without yeast and kneading and waiting for it to rise.

I�ll give you that recipe first so you see how easy it is�and then share some of the fast, easy toppings I�ve been sampling for the last few weeks. It�s called Crazy Pizza Crust.
All you need is:
� 1 cup all-purpose flour or a bit more
� 1 teaspoon salt
� 1 teaspoon or more of dried oregano and/or basil
� 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
� Crushed garlic (the more the better)
� 1 egg, lightly beaten
� 2/3 cup milk
� Corn meal (optional, but tasty�this is the ONLY corn you will see on this thread!)
1. Heat your oven to 200 degrees C and lightly grease your pizza pan (or use Teflon) and sprinkle liberally with corn meal.
2. Mix everything else in a bowl and pour in the pizza pan.
3. Bake 10 minutes and take out of the oven and put the toppings on, then put it back in the oven and bake 15 minutes or so till the cheese is melted and getting slightly brown on top.

See how easy that is? If you want thin crispy crust, use a big pan; if you want it chewier, use a smaller pan.

What to put on top? According to cooks, there is a whole lot more to pizza than just tomato sauce. Here are some that I found to be really yummy.
I. Buffalo Wing Pizza
� chicken breast, cooked and shredded
� melted butter
� Tobasco sauce (and cayenne if you like it)
� Bleu cheese salad dressing
� Cheese

1. Mix as much of the Tobasco as you like in the butter (keep tasting it till it�s hot enough) then stir in the shredded chicken.
2. When the pizza crust has baked for 10 minutes and is set, take it out of the oven and spread as much Bleu cheese dressing on it as you want, spread out the chicken and top with the cheese.
3. Bake again till the cheese is done.

Get your beer out and get ready to eat.


II. Mediterranean Pizza

� 1 teaspoon dried basil
� 1 teaspoon dried oregano
� 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
� 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
� 1/4 pound thinly sliced deli ham, (I just use ham lunch meat�it works fine)
� 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
� 1 cup chopped ripe olives
� 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1. When the crust is set after 10 minutes, take it out and brush with oil and sprinkle on the herbs (that you already mixed)
2. Sprinkle half the cheese on, then spread out the ham, tomatoes and ripe olives, top with the rest of the Jack cheese and crumble the feta on top.
3. Bake until done.

It�s truly yummy.

III. White Pizza with Roasted Garlic and Green Olives

� a lot of garlic
� some oil
� a jar of green olives, sliced
� cheese
� I put some chicken, mushrooms, bell pepper and green onions on mine since it wasn�t white anymore after I put the green olives on it.

1. Make a �bowl� of aluminum foil, fill it with garlic and some oil and fold it closed. Roast in the oven about 15 minutes.
2. When the crust is half cooked (10 minutes) take it out and pour the oil from the garlic on and spread it around with the bottom of a spoon.
3. Decorate the top with whatever you want and bake it.


Ahhhh, me. Proving once again that you can live in Korea and still have fun in the kitchen.

If anyone else has a cool and nifty, but somewhat unusual, pizza idea, please share.

[Rteacher]

My guess is that at least 80% of native English teachers in Korea don't have ovens in their apartments ...

The most practical way to make pizzas in a studio apartment is to use pita bread, toast one side, flip it over, add some thick slices of Tillamook Monteray Jack cheese, cover (with a lid of some sort) for a minute-or-two till cheese starts melting, then add some Classico Tomato Basil sauce, olives, oregano leaves ..., then cover again, cook for another minute or two, then shut off heat, but leave lid on for a couple more minutes...

Since I have a microwave oven, I often just melt cheese on brown rice cakes (about 15 seconds for three ...) then add some sprouts and Louisiana Hot Sauce ... Carbonated mineral water (I finally found at a Lotte supermarket...) mixes well with grape juice to wash the cheese down - then I make and eat at least three more (I'm not what you'd call a starving Armenian...)

[Ya-ta Boy]

Dear Mr. non-starving Armenian,

I'm sure you are right about most not having ovens, but that doesn't (shouldn't) prevent some adventurous sort with a toaster oven figuring out how to do good things. I lived for years with just an electric skillet and figured out how to make a bunch of stuff that was not immediately obvious. I once pulled off a faux-Thanksgiving turkey dinner with only an electric skillet back in the days when only turkey legs were semi-available (what the heck Koreans did with the rest of the bird remains a mystery).

I think if I were living in a shoe box with no oven and a hankering for something more than a ramyeon and pb&j sandwich diet, I might make a visit to the local bakery to pick up a baguette and see what I could do with the recipes. I'm of the Alice's Restaurant School of Cooking...be creative!

[JAWINSEOUL]

I think most people atleast have a mini-oven. I'll give this a try Ya-ta Boy, thanks.

[jennateacher]

For most of us buying an oven is easier than finding pita bread. That said I have an oven and am looking for a pita bread recipe.