Simply Healthy Korean Recipes
I’m not a huge meat eater. But I’ve been eating red meat more often lately.
I’m not crazy about cooking and handling raw meat. I’m a bit of a germaphobe. But more importantly, I really liked the idea of having a positive impact on the environment by curtailing my meat consumption.
Continue Reading Bulgogi Ddukbokki (Non-Spicy Sautéed Korean Rice Cakes) . . .
I don’t know one Korean who doesn’t like Mexican food. (OK, I’m sure there is at least one; I just personally don’t know one.) Even my mom who isn’t crazy about non-Asian cuisines loves Mexican food. There is just something about the cuisine that suits the Korean palate. I guess pico de gallo, salsa, and pickled jalapenos are akin to the Korean kimchi; and they balance out the richness that may be overwhelming for some.
But have you tried Korean-infused Mexican food? It’s truly delectable! Top your burrito or taco with some gochujang sour cream or guacamole; add some kimchi and bulgogi to burritos, tacos, or quesadillas; stir in some sautéed kimchi in some Mexican rice; and so on. Exceptionally delicious!
Ssamjang directly translates to wrap sauce or wrap paste in Korean – “ssam” means wrap and “jang” means sauce or paste. Just as the name suggests, it’s a condiment commonly used when assembling Korean wraps. It is usually made with gochujang (Korean chili pepper paste) and doenjang (Korean soybean paste) as its base. But there are no rules when it comes to ssamjang. You can add anything to your heart’s desire. I’ve seen it made with lots of garlic, cooked minced meat, chopped sautéed mushrooms, crushed tofu, and so on. You can go wild. Really.
I had some marinated bulgogi in the refrigerator. And I was really craving some ssam (Korean lettuce wrap). I could have had it with gochujang sauce, but I wanted something different – a new treat for my palate. I decided to make some ssamjang.
I love garlic, roasted or sautéed/grilled garlic in particular. So I decided to make the ssamjang with some sesame oil-sautéed minced garlic. And I upped the garlic quotient by sautéing some sliced garlic for additional topping for my ssam. The result? Sublime…
Continue Reading Ssamjang (Gochujang-Doenjang Sauce for Wraps) . . .
I grew up eating bulgogi (a.k.a. Korean BBQ or Korean Barbecue) on a regular basis. It was a mainstay at family dinners, picnics, community gatherings, and so on. Sometimes we would barbecue bulgogi using charcoal. Sometimes we would cook it on a stove top using a pan. And other times, we would eat it as a stew with a little bit of broth. No matter the situation or the method of preparation, it was always so delicious and satisfying.
Admittedly, I don’t eat bulgogi nearly as much I used to. But I still enjoy it whenever I have it. I am also a little more health conscious than I used to be. So I no longer go on the carnivorous binges I used to. And I try to make healthier versions of my childhood dishes without sacrificing the taste.
Bulgogi is usually made with very thinly-sliced rib eye steak. But I decided to make a healthier(not to mention much more economical) version of the dish by using grass-fed eye round steak. Eye round is a much leaner cut than rib eye. Rib eye comes from the underbelly, the site of the fattiest cuts. And the eye round comes from the back leg area, the site of the leanest cuts; however, eye round can be very tough because it has virtually no fat. But it works for this dish because the eye round is cut into very thin slices and also marinated. Just as insurance, I am also adding a kiwi to tenderize the meat. Raw kiwi is rich in actinidin, a protein-dissolving enzyme. Useful as it is, kiwis can make meat mushy. So you need to be careful when using it in a marinade. A little goes a long way (very quickly).
I’ve been laid out by a cold for over a week. And I’ve been subsisting on soups to nurse my sore throat. When I was finally ready to reintroduce some solids into my diet, bulgogi seemed like the perfect choice. I figured lean protein and the iron should do me some good while the flavor satisfies my taste buds. And it really hit the spot. I was so pleasantly surprised by the texture and the taste of this dish. It was healthy and tasted so very decadent.
This is one of my favorite ways to prepare boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They’re moist, tender, and, more importantly, so flavorful. If you are familiar with Korean cuisine, the chicken breasts are marinated in a bulgogi-like marinade. It has the right amount of salty and sweet to make it the perfect accompaniment to plain steamed rice.
Some people may believe that they need to resign themselves to dry and/or tough boneless chicken breasts. They are healthy, in part, due to their low fat content, but this also causes them to be dry and tough if not cooked correctly. So by marinating the chicken breasts in a soy sauce-based marinade, you are effectively soaking them in a brine solution; this makes the chicken breasts juicy. Now I really want to break into a discussion about osmosis and osmotic pressure – some of the science behind why brining works the way it does. But I will suppress the urge, lest I bore you to death and give myself away as a giant science geek.
Believe me though, this dish is extremely juicy and flavorful.