Our friend Kourtney Paranteau developed a swoon-worthy recipe for us and we're so honored she shared this story and drool-worth recipe with us.
I grew up a confused mixed-race baby of a Korean adoptee and a caucasion (like loves-The Beatles-more-than-anything caucasian) father. When a Korean family moved to my school in the second grade, I made my first best friend and through weekly dinner’s at her house, I began to form a pride in my Korean-hertiage. While I could go on and on about our matching Sanrio sleeping bags, how Aemi showed me to make an origami box, or how much I envied (and still do) her brilliance and patience, I’ll instead gift you with my versions of the two dishes I fell for at first sight- a bowl of bibimbap and savory pancakes. ~
Serves 4
For the bibimbap:
- 2 cups mung bean sprouts
- 4 cups fresh spinach, rinses and dried
- 1 large carrots, peeled and mandolined on a paper thin setting
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly with their stems kept on
- ½ cup sesame oil
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- ½ cup Napa kimchi
- 1 can Fishwife Wild-Caught Albacore Tuna
- 4 eggs, sunny side up
- 2 green onions, slices thinly on a bias
- Red hot sauce of your choice
- 2 teaspoons Organic Seaweed Seasoning
Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat and toss in your bean sprouts. With a wooden spoon, stir the sprouts while cooking to ensure none stick to the bottom of your pot. After three minutes the sprouts should appear slightly wilted but also snap when you test them between your fingers. Remove from heat and staring into a colander and shock with cold water from the tap. Set aside to cool.
In the same pot, bring another pot of water to a boil and this time rain your spinach leaves into the water. Stir again with your wooden spoon but only cook for thirty to forty second before draining into a colander, shocking with cold water and setting aside to cool.
Now, in a wok or cast iron pan, heat 2 teaspoons of sesame oil over medium heat and stir fry your carrots until they’re soft but still hold their shape. Remove from the pan with a wooden spoon and allow to cool in a small bowl. Repeat the process with mushrooms and return to your spouts and spinach.
With both boiled produce, squeeze any moisture you can from small portions using your bare hands. You might want to repeat this process a couple times to get any remaining water out.
Split your toppings into four bowls; sprouts, spinach, carrots and mushroom, pour an equal amount of remaining sesame oil and soy sauce into each bowl. Divide the garlic amongst the spinach and mushroom. Toss each banchan with your bare hands until each piece of vegetable is coated in oil and soy sauce
Build your bibimbap bowl by dividing white rice amongst four bowls and arranging each banchan (including kimchi) in a circle at the center of your own. Gently crown each bowl with an egg and garnish with Organic Seaweed Seasoning, scallions and hot sauce before serving.
