I'm kind of on a Korean kick lately!
Ingredients:
4 portobello mushrooms
1 lb lean ground beef
1 bunch scallions, chopped fine
1 tsp garlic powder or equivalent minced garlic
3 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari
2 tsp dark sesame oil
2 ounces firm tofu
Tempura batter (my recipe is very loose - I dump some flour or cornstarch into a bowl, add a pinch of salt, then add water until it is the right texture. That is to say, thick enough to coat but thin enough that it drips freely. I make more as needed and don't get fussy about it.)
Optional:
Canola oil, enough to fully coat the bottom of a skillet
Wash the tops of the mushrooms. Remove the stems, and use a butter knife to gently scoop out the gills.
Mix the beef and seasonings and tofu together until well combined. You're less worried about overmixing than usual because the tofu and mushrooms keep it moist - go ahead and mash it together fully.
Stuff the mushroom caps with the beef mixture. Pack it in tight so they stay together.
Now, if you are going to fry them, then heat the oil to medium-high heat. Dip the mushrooms in the batter and fry until golden, about 5 minutes on each side. This is not for the faint of heart. If you cook the mushrooms a little too long, they will suddenly do what mushrooms do best and release their liquid. This will cause oil to spatter everywhere and is both dangerous and scary. Do not leave them unattended while cooking, and cover your hands with oven mitts so you can quickly move the pan if necessary without getting spattered by oil. The payoff for this is a delightfully crispy, dumpling-like dinner which you can then dip in soy sauce like a pot sticker!
If you don't want to fry them, then heat the oven to 450. Dip the shrooms in the batter and lay them on a heat-safe baking sheet. Note that most non-stick baking sheets are NOT safe at such a high heat and should not be used above 400. If you don't have a non-non-stick baking sheet, just use tinfoil. Spray them with cooking spray, then bake them for 12 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. If you overcook them they will be wet from the mushrooms, but it is less of a problem than if you were frying them.
You can also bake them with no batter at all, but you can't fry them without batter.
These make incredible lunches the next day. I like to dip them in a sauce made of chopped scallions and soy sauce, like what you dip dumplings in at a chinese restaurant.
Showing posts with label korean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label korean. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Bibimbap (Korean One-Bowl Meal)
This iconic Korean dish has many incarnations and is excellent for using up extra bits of vegetables, though I usually go out to shop especially for it since I have favorites and want to be sure I have the stuff I like. This is healthy by almost anyone's standards, except for the sugar which can be left out if necessary (but is delicious).
Ingredients:
Seasoned spinach
1 box fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1/2 tbsp dark sesame oil
t tbsp garlic powder or 8 cloves minced garlic
Cooked brown rice
Eggs
You'll notice I didn't specify a number of eggs or an amount of rice. This is because there's one egg per serving, and the number of servings depends on how much each person will eat. Also, the amount of rice depends on how much rice you like. I only eat about 1/2 cup of cooked rice but Koreans eat way more.
To prepare the spinach, thaw it and then gently saute over medium heat in its own liquid until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the seasonings and set aside.
To prepare the cucumber, just mix it together and set it aside, separately. Incidentally, to make matchsticks, you will first cut the cucumber in half to make two shorter pieces. Then cut the pieces lengthwise into planks, then stack the planks two or three high and slice them into thin strips. Then shorten them by cutting crosswise once or twice.
Prepare the carrots by cutting them the same way, then steaming in a small amount of water for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Set aside.
Prepare the beef by sauteing over high heat until it's well browned. Then add the sugar, garlic, and soy sauce or tamari. Simmer until the liquid is thick enough to coat the meat in a nice sauce. Set aside.
In the same pan, lower the heat to medium and crack eggs over it. Fry them sunny-side-up to your desired degree of doneness. I like to break the yolks and spread them out so they are totally opaque and cooked, because I think liquid yolks are gross, but it is more authentic for them to be liquid, so if you like your eggs that way then by all means, go for it.
Serve the meal by placing some rice in the bottom of the bowl. Then spoon some of each thing over the rice in little piles around the bowl: spinach, cucumber, carrot, mushrooms, and beef like a tasty rainbow. Place a fried egg over the top of each bowl and serve.
You're supposed to break up the egg and stir it together when you're ready to eat it. If you have a liquid egg yolk, the yolk forms a sauce that would be tasty if you like that sort of thing. This is also supposed to be served with sriracha or korean hot sauce. If you like it, then go for it; otherwise, it's also good without the heat.
The leftovers are even better. It's delicious as lunch the next day, even cold.
Ingredients:
Seasoned spinach
- 1 frozen block of chopped spinach
- 1 tsp dark sesame oil
- 1 tsp reduced sodium tamari / soy sauce
- 1 english cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp rice or cider vinegar
1 box fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1/2 tbsp dark sesame oil
t tbsp garlic powder or 8 cloves minced garlic
Cooked brown rice
Eggs
You'll notice I didn't specify a number of eggs or an amount of rice. This is because there's one egg per serving, and the number of servings depends on how much each person will eat. Also, the amount of rice depends on how much rice you like. I only eat about 1/2 cup of cooked rice but Koreans eat way more.
To prepare the spinach, thaw it and then gently saute over medium heat in its own liquid until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the seasonings and set aside.
To prepare the cucumber, just mix it together and set it aside, separately. Incidentally, to make matchsticks, you will first cut the cucumber in half to make two shorter pieces. Then cut the pieces lengthwise into planks, then stack the planks two or three high and slice them into thin strips. Then shorten them by cutting crosswise once or twice.
Prepare the carrots by cutting them the same way, then steaming in a small amount of water for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Set aside.
Prepare the beef by sauteing over high heat until it's well browned. Then add the sugar, garlic, and soy sauce or tamari. Simmer until the liquid is thick enough to coat the meat in a nice sauce. Set aside.
In the same pan, lower the heat to medium and crack eggs over it. Fry them sunny-side-up to your desired degree of doneness. I like to break the yolks and spread them out so they are totally opaque and cooked, because I think liquid yolks are gross, but it is more authentic for them to be liquid, so if you like your eggs that way then by all means, go for it.
Serve the meal by placing some rice in the bottom of the bowl. Then spoon some of each thing over the rice in little piles around the bowl: spinach, cucumber, carrot, mushrooms, and beef like a tasty rainbow. Place a fried egg over the top of each bowl and serve.
You're supposed to break up the egg and stir it together when you're ready to eat it. If you have a liquid egg yolk, the yolk forms a sauce that would be tasty if you like that sort of thing. This is also supposed to be served with sriracha or korean hot sauce. If you like it, then go for it; otherwise, it's also good without the heat.
The leftovers are even better. It's delicious as lunch the next day, even cold.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Korean Meatballs
Based on this recipe from Cooking Light, these meatballs are easy, fast, and delicious. I'm a big fan of the Korean sweet-and-garlicky meat style, but find it difficult to incorporate into everyday meals, so this was pretty awesome. I've made a few changes to make the recipe even easier and faster.
Ingredients:
1 package ground meat, any kind will do. About a pound or a pound and a half.
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp tamari
Mix with a spoon, and then form into meatballs with your gloved hands while a nonstick pan heats over medium-high heat. Also be heating the oven to 375.
Form the meatballs, about the size of ping-pong balls. Add a teaspoon of peanut oil or canola oil to the pan, and add the meatballs. Press down on them gently to flatten a little bit. That's so they cook more evenly and don't stick.
Cook for 3 minutes on each side, long enough to brown. Then, move to the oven and cook for 5 minutes or until done. Serve with Sriracha (chile paste with garlic).
Changes I made, and why:
1. MEAT: Recipe calls for grinding chicken breast in the food processor, and I was like WHAAA? No way! So I used ground turkey, but I think ground beef or pork would also be very good, and more authentic, too.
2. Sugar and molasses: You could also use 3 tbsp brown sugar, but I prefer to use raw sugar and then added the molasses for moisture and flavor. It's just a personal preference.
3. Garlic powder: Recipe called for tons of chopped garlic. I dislike chopping garlic, and anyway the garlic wouldn't have integrated very well into the meat, so I chose to use garlic powder for its smooth, fine texture and ease of use.
4. Tamari: Recipe called for salt + low-sodium soy sauce. That's just silly. Tamari has a better flavor than soy sauce, so if we're going to be adding salt anyway, we might as well use the better-tasting Tamari. It's a good idea to keep low-sodium soy sauce on hand anyway, though, because when making sauces that recipe volume, it's better to use the low-sodium sauce instead or it will become too salty.
5. Flattening the meatballs: Rolling meatballs around to brown them always causes them to fall apart, at least for me. Flattening them means they can be cooked like mini hamburger patties. they hold their shape, are easy to flip, and don't stick. The only sacrifice is an oblong meatball instead of a spherical one, which doesn't bother me.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 package ground meat, any kind will do. About a pound or a pound and a half.
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp tamari
Mix with a spoon, and then form into meatballs with your gloved hands while a nonstick pan heats over medium-high heat. Also be heating the oven to 375.
Form the meatballs, about the size of ping-pong balls. Add a teaspoon of peanut oil or canola oil to the pan, and add the meatballs. Press down on them gently to flatten a little bit. That's so they cook more evenly and don't stick.
Cook for 3 minutes on each side, long enough to brown. Then, move to the oven and cook for 5 minutes or until done. Serve with Sriracha (chile paste with garlic).
Changes I made, and why:
1. MEAT: Recipe calls for grinding chicken breast in the food processor, and I was like WHAAA? No way! So I used ground turkey, but I think ground beef or pork would also be very good, and more authentic, too.
2. Sugar and molasses: You could also use 3 tbsp brown sugar, but I prefer to use raw sugar and then added the molasses for moisture and flavor. It's just a personal preference.
3. Garlic powder: Recipe called for tons of chopped garlic. I dislike chopping garlic, and anyway the garlic wouldn't have integrated very well into the meat, so I chose to use garlic powder for its smooth, fine texture and ease of use.
4. Tamari: Recipe called for salt + low-sodium soy sauce. That's just silly. Tamari has a better flavor than soy sauce, so if we're going to be adding salt anyway, we might as well use the better-tasting Tamari. It's a good idea to keep low-sodium soy sauce on hand anyway, though, because when making sauces that recipe volume, it's better to use the low-sodium sauce instead or it will become too salty.
5. Flattening the meatballs: Rolling meatballs around to brown them always causes them to fall apart, at least for me. Flattening them means they can be cooked like mini hamburger patties. they hold their shape, are easy to flip, and don't stick. The only sacrifice is an oblong meatball instead of a spherical one, which doesn't bother me.
Enjoy!
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