little bitty girl

Everyone can always tell when I start getting ready to hibernate for the winter. Dinner invitations go out more frequently, when people ask me what I've done for the weekend, instead of saying I went to some new/cool bar/restaurant/lounge, I start talking about groceries I've been buying.

For some reason on the weekend, I was really craving this dish. I mean, c'man! The name is so cool, what is not to like? The best thing about this dish is that you can make it for both vegetarians and meat eaters both.

Whenever I try to cook something new, I always try to do as much research I can. I love the internet for this. People weigh in on other people's recipes and recommend changes. There is such a great online community when it comes to food.

This was my first time attempting to make this and all in all, I was quite satisfied with the results. To me, it tastes as true as my local Korean restaurant down the street but I am sure others will say otherwise. I think when it comes to any type of food, it all depends on the regions in that particular country one is from.

For example, people who grew up in Malacca or Penang think the rest of nyonya inspired food in the rest of Malaysia is crap. Like any other culture, your own mother's/family recipe is best and no one can say any different.

The great thing about Toronto, (which I always mention) is its great diversity. Therefore access to ethnic grocery stores to get the ingredients one needs to make authentic food is always really easy.

So here is my quick recipe on how I made my version of BiBimBap.

Zucchini (Sliced thinly)
Carrots (Julienned & blanched)
Spinach (Blanched)
Enoki Mushrooms
Mung Bean Sprouts
Egg
Minced Garlic
Cochujang (Fermented red pepper paste from Korean grocery stores)
Slices of Ribeye Steak
Rice

Make a marinate of tamari, sesame oil, rice vinegar & fresh grated ginger. Marinate beef for about an hour or so.

To make veggies, sautée separately in vegetable oil, a bit of sesame oil and salt to taste. It's fine if some of the veggies are room temperature by the time you're done because the rice will warm the dish out.

Cook steak as you wish (I tend to just sear it really quickly)

Get a large bowl and fill with hot steamed rice. Arrange veggies in bowl.

Fry an egg and put it on top.

To eat:

Put in as much red pepper paste as you'd like and stir. This is a dish that you eat with a spoon. It's not pretty but it's SUPER TASTY!

I got my banchan dishes from the store, as I am not adept enough to figure out how to make it.