Bibimbap

Bibimbap

 

Yum

Bibimbap

We've tried a number of bibimbap recipes and this one from My Korean Kitchen is hands down our favorite. It's easy enough for a weeknight meal and can be loaded with a ton of veggies. Plus it makes more than enough for lunch the next day! We had to make a few tweaks because we had trouble finding all of the ingredients regularly, but even with the modifications, this dish is filling and delicious!
Cuisine Asian
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

Meat and meat sauce

  • 1 pound ground beef we like 80/20 for this - you need the fat!
  • Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp sugar – we went with the original recommendation of brown sugar and decided dark brown sugar tastes best!
  • 1/4 tsp minced garlic

Bibimbap sauce

  • The original recipe suggested this sauce might be only enough for 3 servings if you like eating it spicy and it holds true!
  • 2 pinch Tbsp gochujang (in awe've used Sriracha sauce not the same
  • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • 3 small carrots
  • 1 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds
  • 1 Tbsp sugar we use brown again here
  • 1 tsp vinegar I'm partial to this addition!
  • 1 tsp minced garlic

Vegetables and other

  • Couple of handfuls spinach we use one handful per person
  • Bag of bean sprouts (f you can find them. If not don't go with canned, it isn't worth it!)
  • 1 package shiitake mushrooms sliced
  • 2 peppers we use a mix of red and green or whatever we have on hand
  • 1 small onion sliced
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt 1/4each will be used when cooking shiitake mushroom and carrots, You can also use Kosher
  • 3 to 4 serving portions of steamed rice
  • 3 or 4 eggs depending on the serving portion
  • Some cooking oil to cook the meat mushroom, carrots and eggs (We use sesame oil)
  • 1 Tbsp sugar we use brown again here
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • 1 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp vinegar I'm partial to this addition!
  • 1 tsp minced garlic

Instructions
 

  • For meat, mix the ground beef with the meat sauce ingredients. Marinate the meat for at least 30 minutes while you are working on the other ingredients. We usually make the meat mixture first and let it sit while we chop the veggies.
  • Then chop the veggies into julienned strips. We usually combine the carrots, peppers and onion but leave the spinach and mushrooms to their own pans.
  • Mix the Bibimbap sauce ingredients in a bowl.
  • Add some sesame oil and 1/4 tsp of fine sea salt in a pan and cook the carrots, peppers and onion on medium-high to high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or longer if you liked them more caramelized.
  • Remove the carrots, peppers and onion from the pan and place on a plate. Add some more sesame oil, another dash of salt and a bit of garlic and saute the spinach and mushrooms.
  • Cook until the spinach is wilted.
  • Remove from the pan and add to the plate with the other veggies.
  • In the same pan, add some more sesame oil and cook the meat on medium-high to high heat. It takes about 5 to 8 minutes to thoroughly cook it. When the moisture has evaporated and the meat is cooked through, remove from heat and drain.
  • In another pan (trust me on this one do not try to reuse the same pan you sauteed the mean in!) make fried eggs. (As the original recipe stats and is spot on: "While sunny side up is common, you can make them per your preference.")
  • Ladle the rice into bowls and add the vegetables, meat and egg. Cover with the sauce!

Notes

My opinion:
I've eaten this dish three days in a row and I'm still not sick of it! You can also substitute ground pork or chicken for the beef. If you plan to use ground chicken, make sure you get ground chicken thighs. The ground chicken breast is too dry.
p.s. even our toddler likes this without the spicy "sauca."
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Cheesy “Pantelones”

Cheesy Papillons
Cheesy Papillons

These aren’t actually cheesy pants (obviously). When J and I were putting together our Thanksgiving menu, I misread the Cheesy Papillons from this Serious Eats recipe as cheesy pantelones and after laughing until I couldn’t breathe, the name stuck.

Cheesy Papillons are simple, delicious and perfect appetizers. While best right out of the oven, they are just as tasty after they’ve cooled.

Ingredients:
Flour
2 puff pastry sheets (17 ounces total) (We found this hidden in the freezer isle!)
Coarse sea salt (such as Maldon or fleur de sel)
2 cups grated Gruyère (about 6 ounces. My new favorite cheese!)
1/4 teaspoon piment d’Espelette (since we don’t have this glorious spice, we used a substitute of half paprika and half cayenne)

Directions:
Follow the package directions for defrosting the puff pastry. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Dust the countertop (or the cutting board) with some flour. Unfold the puff pastry, dock lightly with a fork and season with a generous pinch of sea salt. Scatter 1 cup of cheese evenly over the top and use a rolling pin to gently press it into the pastry (this is important to keep the cheese from falling off as you roll). Top with half of the piment d’Espelette. Repeat with the second sheet of pastry and the remaining ingredients.
Use a ravioli cutter (we just used the pizza cutter) to slice the pastry in strips about 1-inch by 3 inches. Twist each strip in the middle to form a bowtie (a bowtie meant the cheese fell out for us, so we rolled into crescents with the cheese on the inside.).
Place strips, spaced out, on a parchment-lined baking sheet (you may need to do this in two batches). Bake until puffed and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

My opinion:
So wonderful. I’m glad we had friends over to help me eat these because I would have eaten the whole batch myself.

Poisson Cru

Some people call this Tahitian Salad. I call it a taste of Hawaii. I had this delicious dish at Halei’wa Joe’s on the North Shore. I ordered it on a whim and was so very thankful I did. This is a modified version of the epicurious recipe found here.

Ingredients:
1 pound high-grade ahi tuna, diced in 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup coconut milk (fair warning, this does separate)
1/2 cup diced peeled and seeded cucumber
4 to 5 scallions, green and white portions, split lengthwise and minced
3/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste (sea salt works best!)
Freshly ground pepper
1 medium tomato, diced

Directions:
Combine in a medium bowl (we used glass) the tuna, lime juice, coconut milk, cucumber, scallions, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour. Mix in the tomato and serve right away.

My opinion:
This is wonderful alone and just as tasty with tortilla chips. I could seriously eat this every day.

Homemade Chips and Guacamole

I love chips and guacamole, even a little more than chips and salsa. While thanks to an excellent restaurant on the San Antonio Riverwalk, Boudros, I’ve nearly perfected my guacamole recipe, the chips part has eluded me.

I’ve tried flour tortillas and corn tortillas, but the ones that seem to work best and hold up to the heavy guacamole are the whole wheat ones.

Tortilla Chip Ingredients:
whole wheat tortillas, cut into 4 to 6 pie pieces (depending on how big you want your chips)
oil (we used vegetable)
sea salt

Tortilla Chip Directions
Heat the oil. (We used a cast iron skillet.) Put the tortilla pieces in individually. Depending on how hot your oil is, you might need to flip after just 10 seconds. You’ll see the edges start to brown. Flip. Wait another 10 seconds and remove from heat. We drained on paper towels.

My opinion:
These held up very well to the heavy guacamole. They aren’t as tasty or thin as store-bought or restaurant made chips, but are still lovely. I’ll be sure to add the salt when the chips are still hot next time.

Guacamole Ingredients:
one or two diced avocados
roasted tomato (we used diced fresh when we can’t find roasted)
1 serrano pepper, minced
roughly chopped cilantro (to taste)
1 tbs fresh lime juice (bottled is fine if you don’t have fresh)
1 tbs fresh orange juice (bottled is fine if you don’t have fresh)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Serve.

My opinion:
As I mentioned before this is my absolute all time favorite guacamole ever. If you want to up the spice level, add another serrano pepper. Delicious!