Recipes from Around the World – Part 2

Recipes from Around the World – Part 2

Cooking is one of my favorite ways to spend time, and international recipes are my absolute favorites to cook! I love putting together unexpected ingredients and ending up with something delicious and adventurous. In this second installment of my ...

Author

Lehman's

Ingredients

• 2 cups medium-grain Korean rice (or Japanese rice)
• 1 large cucumber (sliced into thin strips)
• 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts (parboiled and squeezed of excess water)
• 1 1/2 cups spinach (parboiled and squeezed of excess water)
• Dash of sesame seeds
• 2 carrots (julienned)
• 4 shiitake mushrooms (rehydrated if dried and then sliced)
• 1 zucchini (sliced into thin strips)
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil (divided)
• 2 teaspoons salt (divided)
• 1/2 pound meat, optional (both raw and cooked ground meat work well)
• Fried egg, optional
• Gochujang, for serving (red pepper)
• 3 ounces whole ginger root
• 3 tablespoons doenjang (Korean soybean paste)
• 1 onion (quartered)
• 4 scallions (white parts only, roughly chopped)
• 6 garlic cloves (smashed)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon gochujang (Korean chile paste)
• 2 1/2 pounds skin-on pork belly
• 2 tablespoons doenjang
• 1 tablespoon gochujang
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic (finely grated)
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 8 ounces Korean white radish (peeled and julienned)
• 2 tablespoons Korean apple vinegar (or rice vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground Szechuan chile peppers
• 1 clove garlic (finely grated)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Steamed white rice
• Whole leaf lettuce

Directions

1. Fully cook the rice in a rice cooker or on a stove.
2. Next, give the cucumber strips a saltwater bath for 20 minutes. Drain the cucumbers using a sieve.
3. Then, season spinach with 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and a dash of sesame seeds.
4. Season bean sprouts with 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and a dash of sesame seeds.
5. You’ll then need to sauté the carrots, mushrooms, and zucchini with a dash of salt, until soft.
6. Then, place the cooked rice in a large bowl and arrange vegetables on top. If desired, beef, tofu, and/or a soft fried egg can be added.
7. Serve each helping with small bowls of gochujang and sesame oil.
8. To eat, add a small amount of oil and desired amount of gochujang to your bowl and mix everything together with a spoon.
9. Finely grate 1 ounce of the whole ginger, and cut the other 2 ounces into a few large chunks.
10. Add the prepared garlic, doenjang, onion, scallions, garlic cloves, honey, gochujang, and pork belly to a 5 quart (or larger) pot with lid. Add water to cover the pork belly.
11. Stirring occasionally to distribute the ingredients, bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 2 hours.
12. To prepare the optional but delicious pickles, simply combine white radish, Korean apple vinegar, sugar, ground Szechuan chile peppers, clove, and Kosher salt in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
13. Preheat oven to 350 F.
14. When the pork belly is done, transfer the meat to a foil-lined baking sheet. Discard the cooking liquid along with the aromatics.
15. Roast the pork in the oven for about 30 minutes. While the pork is roasting, steam your rice.
16. Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
17. Wash and dry the lettuce and perilla leaves. Arrange on platters.
18. When the pork belly is caramelized, slice as desired and serve immediately with all accompaniments.