Bi Bim Bop (Korean)

When Joshua came back from Seattle after his 2L year, he had a thing for Korean food. So, I tried some recipes, and this is now one of his favorite dishes - it was a big hit with fellow law students as well. It's terrific, but does take quite awhile to prepare because of cutting all the cucumber and radishes. I recommend sharpening your knives beforehand, and then recruiting your husband to help prepare the veggies :)

Bi Bim Bop
1 pound or your preference, sirloin tip steak
1 cup teriyaki sauce (see recipe)
3 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1/2 pound (8 ounce) bean sprouts
8 to 10 ounces fresh spinach
2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 large radishes
2 cucumbers
2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 eggs
Hot chile paste, to serve on the side

Freeze the beef for at least 1 hour to make it easier to handle. Slice, cutting across the meat's grain, into 1/4-inch-thick strips, or smaller.

Marinate beef strips in the teriyaki sauce for about 3 hours or overnight.

About 30 minutes before you want to eat, begin cooking the rice according to package directions.

Meanwhile, bring two pots of water, about 2 quarts each, to a boil.

When water boils in one pan, drop in sprouts and allow to cook for only 20 seconds, then remove the sprouts and rinse under cold water (to cool them enough to stop the cooking process). Drain on paper towels. Then, cook the spinach the same way in the second pot.

In a small bowl, mix the sprouts with 1 or 2 tablespoons of the vegetable sauce and half the garlic. In a second bowl, do the same with the spinach. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together sugar, salt and vinegar. Set aside.

Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise, then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Chop in half horizontally, then slice each half into long, thin, matchstick pieces. Marinate in enough of the vinegar mixture - a little more than half - to coat all the cucumber pieces. Slice the radishes into thin strips and marinate in the rest of the vinegar mixture.

Heat sesame oil in a large, wide skillet over medium-high heat. Drain the beef, discarding marinade, and add beef to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beef cooks through, 2 to 5 minutes, depending on how thinly the pieces are sliced. Set aside and keep warm.

Into the same skillet, crack the eggs and fry each egg about 5 minutes on one side. Then flip over and fry for 30 seconds on the other.

Divide rice among serving dishes. Spoon beef, sprouts, spinach, cucumber and radish into their own discrete areas decoratively on top of the rice. Top each with the fried egg. If you wish, spoon some chili paste into each serving and stir the ingredients together. Or let each diner mix his or her own bowl.

Serves 4.

Teriyaki Sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup rice wine (not rice wine vinegar)
1 teaspoon black or white pepper
Pinch salt

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Makes 1 1/2 cups

Vegetable Sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black or white pepper

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Makes 3/4 cup.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Sesame Chicken

Joshua and I absolutely love Asian food, particularly Sesame Chicken, and this recipe is better than any Sesame Chicken we have had (even in restaurants). My tips: Be careful, the sauce looks like it won't thicken, and then it does extremely quickly. This recipe makes more than enough sauce (you could make less sauce or add more chicken in my opinion). Lastly, we often skip frying the chicken and just sauté it in order to save money on peanut oil, time on frying, and calories in eating :) However, frying does give it that perfect touch. Enjoy!

Ingredients
3 whole boneless chicken breasts

Marinade
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon cooking wine or dry sherry
3 drops sesame oil
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Sauce
1/2 cup water
1 cup chicken broth
1/8-1/4 cup white vinegar or rice wine vinegar (depending on how sweet you want the sauce)
1/4 cup cornstarch1 cup sugar (we use 1/2 cup sugar but the original recipe called for 1 cup)
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili paste (or more)
1 garlic clove (minced)

Frying
peanut oil (3 1/2-4 cups)

Serving
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Directions

• Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Mix the marinade ingredients (the first 9 ingredients listed) and marinate the chicken for 20 minutes.
• To prepare the sauce: Mix together all of the sauce ingredients. Pour them into a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Turn the heat down to low and keep warm while you are deep-frying the chicken.
• To deep-fry the chicken: Add the marinated chicken pieces a few at a time, and deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and then place chicken in warm oven (130 degrees) while you continue frying. Repeat with the remainder of the chicken. Just before you are finished deep-frying, bring the sauce back up to a boil.
• Place the chicken on a large platter and pour the sauce over. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve the Sesame Chicken with rice.

Chicken with Thai Peanut Sauce

Talk about out of my comfort zone. While my hands thrive on good ol home cooking, my pallet (and my husbands) often long for something unusual. So we decided to try out some recipes for
Chicken with Thai Peanut Sauce over Rice it was a hit! Here's the recipe we liked and had mostly what was already in the cupboard.

Blend:
4 t. oil
1/2 c. onion (minced)
2 T. garlic (minced)
1/2 t. hot chili pepper

Add:
1/3 c. peanut better
1 c. water

Simmer 10 minutes

Add:
2 T. sugar
2T. vinegar

Simmer 2 minutes.

Pour over barbecued chicken and rice.


After making this I would recommend more peanut butter and a good hard squirt of lime juice.