Entrees

 Last night, Javi and I had two of my favorite peeps over for dinner.

Dave   -  I used to work with Dave at SMG .  He is one of the most hilarious, creative  people I have ever met.   He likes to write and sing songs about man boobs.

Neva -  Neva is Dave’s pretty girlfriend.  She is an amazing person who always seems genuinely interested in what you have to say.  I love people like that. 

Dave lived in Korea and has been raving nonstop about a Korean dish called Bibimbap (Korean pronunciation: [pibimpap]).  The word literally means “mixed rice.” Being that we live in Boise, ID, there are not too many Korean restaurants and Dave insisted that it is the best hangover food ever.  Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong about the Korean restaurants in Boise. 

Dave sold me a camera lens and I was a jerk and didn’t write the check for enough $.  He told me not to rewrite the check, but I would need to repay him with Bibimbap.  I agreed to take on the challenge. 

This is the description of Bibimbap from Wikipedia: “Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating.^[2] It can be served either cold or hot. 

After a little bit of research, I decided on a recipe from a Bobby Flay episode. The recipe was written by his friend Jenn Lee.  Which you can find here.

The reviews looked good and the recipe seemed simple enough.  The one ingredient not commonly found at the grocery store is Gochuchang.  This is a spicy paste made from red peppers and bunch of other ingredients.  Don’t even try to make Bibimbap without this.  It is essential and amazing!  Who is that dashing young man holding the Gochuchang?

Neva was able to find the Gochuchang at the Orient Market on Emerald St. in Boise.  She looked up a picture of it on the internet first because she was too embarrassed to ask for it at the market.  I thought that was cute.  She also picked up another Korean condiment – Black Bean Paste.  I thought this stuff was kind of weird tasting. 

So anyways, I started out the night before by marinating the steak cut into thin strips.  I used flank steak instead of ribeye.  Everyone felt the steak was the best part.  The marinade was incredibly good and in the future I will use it to marinade everyday steak.  The best part is that it uses 7-up!

Then about an hour before we wanted to eat, I put the rice in the rice cooker

I grilled the meat about 7-8 minutes on low. 

Then sautéed the spinach, carrots and Shiitake mushrooms in some sesame oil and salt. 

Then I fried some eggs (over easy) and made the Gochuchang paste.  When mixed up, the yolk from the eggs coats the other ingredients and makes it soooooooo good!!

Here is the finished bowl all stacked up. 

 I left the Gochuchang paste on the side for people to add their own since it is super spicy.  We had a large mixing bowl at the table where everyone mixed up their own dish and preferred level of Gochuchang. 

I would HIGHLY recommend this recipe.  It was really simple with great flavor.  Dave even said it tasted authentic!  I blushed.

I also made some Oi Moochim (seasoned marinated cucumbers) from the same episode.  You can find the recipe here.   Equally as good! 

Dave brought PLENTY of Miller Lite tall boys to accompany the meal.  Not to mention the 3 bottles of wine we drank.  It was a night filled with lively conversation and debauchery.

Thanks Dave for introducing me to some fabulous cuisine!  I will definitely be making this often.

Love,

Lindzee