Dolsot Bibimbap

	dolsot bibimbap – is an extremely popular Korean dish. Served in a large bowl with a layer of rice on the bottom, some fresh vegetables and possibly topped off with an egg or some sliced meat. All of this gets mixed together just before eating.

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Barbeque Korean Beef Recipe

Ingredients:

1 flank steak (1 3/4 to 2 lb.)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
3 tablespoons sugar
3 cloves garlic peeled and pressed or minced

How to make

1. Rinse beef and pat dry. Cut steak at a 45 angle across the grain, cutting almost, but not completely, through. Make another cut 1/4 inch from the first cut, following the same angle and cutting all the way through. Open up butterflied slices and place in a large bowl.

2. Add soy, green onions, sesame oil, sugar, and garlic to bowl; mix to coat. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

3. Spread slices open on an oiled grill over a bed of hot coals or high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 2 to 3 seconds); close lid on gas grill. Cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, 5 to 6 minutes total.

Korean Food Blogs: A Great Resource for New Korean Cooks

It’s funny how easy it is to become obsessed with Korean food.  All your life, you’re bombarded with Chinese and Japanese and Vietnamese cuisines… but at your first taste of gorgeously tender Korean bulgogi, you’re hooked. Because while his type of food may not be as well known or over-popular as some other types of Asian cuisine, some very discerning eaters consider it the very best.

Fortunately for those of us who are in love with Korean food, there are many people out there so devoted to Korean cuisine that they create entire Korean food blogs dedicated to the food they love. And if you haven’t spent time looking at some of the great Korean food blogs that are available on the net, you’re missing out.  Because some of the most passionate lovers of Korean food in the world are just a Google search away from sharing all of their cooking secrets with you.

One of the best things you can get from Korean food blogs are, of course, Korean recipes. If you’ve never tried Korean food at home before, it can be hard to know what to make and how.  But there are lots of Korean food bloggers out there who are experts at preparing Korean dishes, and many of them post wonderful recipes on their blogs. When you go to a Korean food blog instead of a regular old recipe blog, you can be sure that the recipes you use are as authentic as possible.  Which is more important than you might think, as there are tons of not-so-authentic Korean recipes all over the web.

In addition to recipes, Korean food blogs are good resources for ingredients, supplies, and how-to information.  Don’t know how to choose the right kind of bowl to make dolsot bibimbap or where to find one?  Bloggers are a great resource for understanding the simple techniques and supplies that you’ll need in order to make Korean food at home.  They can help you do anything from evaluating the best brands of specialty Korean ingredients, to buying and caring for your dolsot. Need a list of what must-have ingredients you should buy before starting to learn Korean cooking at home?  The best place to look is on Korean food blogs.

Another thing you can learn about by reading Korean food blogs is Korean culture. Food is a huge part of Korean culture, and as you develop an interest in the cuisine, knowing more about Korean culture can really help bring a special edge to your cooking.  Instead of throwing a Korean meal together, you can develop a better understanding of the history behind each dish, what it means, when it should be eaten, and what it should be served with.

Who knows… when you learn enough about it, you may decide to start a Korean food blog of your own!

The Benefits of Fermented Foods: Part 2 of 2

Korean foods and diet speak volumes about the country’s history. Korea’s geographical location and nature (being a peninsula), made it an attractive acquisition for trade purposes. Continually overcome throughout history by neighboring empires, primarily Japan and China, the country of Korea has experienced multiple cultural influences.

Interestingly enough, no matter the domination of conquering forces, Korean culture and food-identity have prevailed as absolutely unique. Every cultural practice and food item that has ever been introduced or forced upon the people of Korea by other nations has been subsumed and transformed by them to make it absolutely their own. Language, dress, traditions or food, Koreans have a distinctive cultural identity.

Domination has had another interesting effect upon Korean culture. Not only are its members fierce and driven, but nationalistic pride has contributed to the preservation of its traditional foods in ways that other Asian countries have not held onto in the face of the onslaught of the Western and greater world.

As Korean dishes and Korean foods come into the limelight, they will come up against transforming Western influences. Mass production, pasteurization, the use of vinegar and sugar will affect Korean recipes.

As traditional Korean dishes like dolsot bibimbap are made known, it becomes very important to spread knowledge of authentic Korean recipes and the true processes involved. Already Korean recipes are being changed with “Korean fusion”, ingredient substitutions, and quick and easy versions.

Dolsotbibimbap has been featured on television and is considered a Korean national dish.  Dolsotbibimbap has so far retained its traditional preparation in recipes found on the web.

A few of the fermented basics that give Korean foods their distinct flavors and provide health benefits are: choktal (fermented fish sauce), gochujang (spicy fermented bean paste), kimchee (spicy fermented vegetables), and soy sauce (ganjang.) These are staple Korean flavorings that take time to ferment and depend upon specific processes.

Ganjang, soy sauce, used to be a condiment Koreans made at home. Today, store-bought versions of the brew suffice.

Choktal, fermented fish sauce, is an ingredient in many Korean dishes. It is used like salt but with better benefits. Choktal intensifies the flavors of the ingredients it is mixed with without standing out on its own. Choktal works very well to flavor soups; upon heating the fishy taste disappears but the nutrients remain.

Choktal is rich in iodine, Vitamins A and D and benefits the thyroid gland.

It is made by fermenting fish in salt for 3 months or more and drawing off the resultant liquid. Choktal is made from anchovies in northern regions of Korea and croaker and shrimp in the south.

Choktal is the universal condiment of the ancient world. Roman soldiers used it regularly to ensure that they benefited from its nutrients. The Roman version was called garum.

Ke-tsiap was the Chinese name for pickled fish brine. Dutch traders brought the sauce from the Orient and called it kechap.

The English added mushrooms, walnuts, cucumbers or oysters. Americans added tomatoes.  Unfortunately, the health benefits of the original recipe are lost as ketchup today consists mostly of tomatoes and corn syrup and vinegar.

Gochujang is fermented soybean paste seasoned with Korean chiles, rice powder and honey. This Korean condiment has all of the following flavors: hot, sweet, salty, savory and sour. Gochujang has been shown to have anti-cancerous properties. It benefits the liver, stimulates digestion, lowers blood pressure and has many beneficial enzymes.

Kimchee can be made from any vegetable but traditionally, cabbage and daikon are used. It is important to remember to use organic vegetables as lactobacilli need plenty of nutrients for the fermentation process. Vegetables that are deficient will not activate the process.

Kimchee is becoming a very well-known and sought-after Korean dish.

Dolsotbibimbap features both kimchee and gochujang. Bibimbap was first mentioned in Siujeonseio, an anonymous cookbook from the late 19th century. It was a dish originally meant to make use of leftovers and consists of rice, namul (sautéed or seasoned vegetables), egg, beef and gochujang.  Dolsot bibimbap means bibimbap in a stone bowl. Dolsot bibimbap is a hot version of bibimbap in which the dish is served in a bowl hot enough to crisp the rice in the bottom and partially cook the egg.

The Benefits of Fermented Foods: Part 1 of 2

Fermented foods exist universally in ethnic cuisines. Korean foods rely heavily on fermented foods. Korean recipes for kimchee, gochujang (hot bean paste) and fish sauce exist as basis for the building of many other Korean dishes including dolsot bibimbap.

Dolsotbibimbap is a traditional Korean dish that includes kimchee, gochujang and fish sauce (used to make kimchee) along with rice, namul (sautéed or seasoned vegetables), beef and egg.

Dolsot bibimbap is coming into its own lately, as lovers of fine cuisine herald their praises of this Korean dish. Recipes for dolsotbibimbap are springing up all over the internet as shows like Iron Chef and others from the Food Network provide Korean recipes.

Truly traditional foods from every culture have a food or drink that is fermented. This practice stems from the necessary need to preserve vegetables over the winter months so that peoples could benefit from those properties essential to human health and continuation.

It’s an ancient practice that hasn’t evolved by chance or because of an appreciation of flavor. The survival of a culture necessarily precludes the fact that their diet has kept them here to pass it on. Recipes of extinguished cultures do not exist.

Food knowledge used to be a regular part of cultural wisdom that was taught to youth. Today we are unable to determine what is healthy and what is not. The food that is touted as the nutrition-miracle today is consequently proven to cause cancer tomorrow.

Korean food has an advantage in the fact that it consists of Korean recipes and Korean dishes that have not been readily available to Western consumers and that the making of Korean food has, up until recent times, been home-made and hand-down-through-the-generations cuisine.

Korean people have had to make their native foods themselves in order to eat the foods that they love and need. Dishes like dolsot bibimbap have only recently become more well-known in the West.

Globalization, the spread of information, healthy practices and consumer demand for information are actually detrimental to knowledge of healthy eating. No one wants to wait for a long-term study. These involve following a group of people partaking of a substance or eating practice over the course of their lifetime.

The Korean Chile Pepper—There Really Is Nothing Like It

Korean foods are finding their way into the spotlight more and more.  Recently Iron chef Mario Batali won a challenge with the Korean dish dolsot bibimbap or dolsotbibimbap and Rachael Ray of The Food Network lists Korean recipes. As more recipes for Korean dishes crop up to meet consumer demand, one of the most frequent ingredients called for is ground red pepper. Often, authors claim that any red pepper will do. This is not the case, as I found out the first time I left home.

When I moved to Vermont I was well-prepared with kimchee-making skills. What I didn’t count on was the unavailability of necessary ingredients. As anyone who has ever been homesick knows, nothing can comfort you more than that taste of home.

My first batch of kimchee was so off. I wasn’t new to the practice of making this Korean dish and soon realized that the red pepper was the culprit. I scoured the state, touring natural foods and gourmet stores. I shopped at Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese groceries. Alas, no Korean market existed. Batch after batch, and I could not duplicate kimchee from home. There was nothing to be done for it until my mother sent me a care package of Korean red pepper.

I picked up an Asian cookbook one day and read about the distinctive flavor of the Korean red chile. This author explained how the unique geography of Korea, its sea air, mountainous regions, soil and water contributed to the one and only kochu, a pepper that tastes like no other.

Kochu is a member of the capsicum pepper family. When ground it is called kochu garu, gochukaru or gokchu garu. Gokchu garu is used to make gochujang a hot pepper paste that is a common ingredient in dolsot bibimbap or dolsotbimbap, the dish most representative of Korea.

The chile was introduced to Korea in the 17th century by the Japanese, who were loathe to give up their monopoly on “japanese mustard” as Portuguese missionaries called it. They claimed that the plant could only grow in its native environments, Central and South America. Korea finally did gain the seeds to grow the chile and is now exports over 1 million kg. per year.

Before the chile, Korean dishes did not include red pepper, a now unimaginable phenomenon. Korean recipes for kimchee consisted of greens, salt and alcohol. Today, there is a claim that Koreans have the highest per capital chile consumption in the world.

Korean food absolutely requires Korean red pepper to taste authentic. Whether you’re making dolsot bibimbap/dolsotbibimbap or other Korean dishes, to really follow a Korean recipe that calls for red pepper, you must get your gokchu garu.

The Koreans Favorite Part: Nooroongji

It is without a doubt that the dolsot bibimbap is a popular Korean food both on the domestic and international level. Surprisingly though, it seems that what the Koreans enjoy about the dolsot bibimbap slightly differs from what everyone else enjoys about it.

As if the saying “the best for the last” is really true. The part that the Koreans enjoy the most is at the very bottom of the sizzling hot dish. It is pronounced as “nooroongji” in Korean.

A nooroongji is basically rice that has become hard due a long exposure to the extremely hot surfaces of the dolsot. Therefore, only the rice that is in direct contact with hot dish can “turn in” to what is known by Koreans as nooroongji. Some people might think, “Okay, what’s so good about a hardened rice?” There are a few reasons why the Koreans like it so much.

The first is, as it should be with dishes, the taste. The nooroongji has quite a different taste than the rest of the rice in the dolsot bibimbap. Because it has been hardened, the rice is quite crunchy, making the chewing more enjoyable along with the taste. Also, as nooroongjis are first steamed between the rest of the rice above it and the hot dish beneath it, a lot of the “juice” of dolsot bibimbap soaks inside the rice. Consequently, when the rice becomes dry and hard again (now called a nooroongji), it now has the taste of dolsot bibimbap inside the rice. So, when you chew on the nooroongji you can taste the scent of the whole bibimbap in a unique way.

Part of scraping the nooroongjis is fun too. As nooroongjis are first steamed and then hardened, they tend to stick onto the dolsot. Therefore, it is quite hard to scrap the nooroongjis. Koreans use spoons to scrap the nooroongjis, which often the children enjoy doing (although they’re not that good at it!).

The dolsot bibimbap is certainly a delicious dish. While many people are aware of its overall taste and look, it has a lot of unique parts to it which unfortunately many outsiders are not aware of. Nooroongji is one of them: popular among Koreans, but unfortunately not that widely known. Next time you get yourself a dolsot bibimbap, don’t forget to try the nooroongji’s before the waitress takes the dish away! You certainly will enjoy it!