This Korean-inspired newsletter meal was modified from a Plated recipe my wife received years ago. It looked delicious, so I had to try it. Make sure to read every recipe first to make sure you have all the ingredients. The dish includes a sauce I had heard of, but never tried: Gochujang sauce. I asked a good friend of mine if I should make my own, but the surprising answer I received was to buy it from the grocery store. I found it at Dorothy Lane Market in the same aisle you’d find soy or hoisin sauce. Kroger also carries Gochujang. Let me know how you enjoy my take on this deconstructed Korean classic!
Ingredients (Serves 2)
• ½ cup jasmine rice
• 6 oz. carrots
• 1 oz. red radishes
• 1 TBS rice wine vinegar
• 1 scallion
• 1 clove of garlic (recipe calls for one clove, I think it’s better with two)
• 4 oz. zucchini
• 12 oz. ground beef
• 1 TBS gochujang (depending on your tolerance to spice, more or less sauce can be used)
• 1 TBS rice flour
• 1 TBS toasted sesame seeds
Step 1 — Cook Rice
In a small pot, combine rice, ¾ cup water, and a ¼ teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir once, reduce heat to medium low, cover pot, and simmer until water is fully absorbed, 10-12 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let stand, still covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork, then cover and set aside until Step 5. Meanwhile, halve carrots lengthwise and arrange cut side down on a cutting board.
Step 2 — Prepare Ingredients
Using a vegetable peeler, peel carrots lengthwise into wide ribbons. Thinly slice radishes into rounds, then stack and thinly slice into matchsticks. In a large bowl, toss together rice wine vinegar, carrots, radishes, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside to pickle until Step 4. Trim and discard scallion root and thinly slice, keeping whites and light greens separate from dark greens. Mince garlic.
Step 3 — Sauté Zucchini
Halve zucchini lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise into half-moons, discarding ends. Heat 2 teaspoons of canola oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add zucchini and sauté, stirring, until beginning to soften, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1 minute more. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Wipe pan clean for the next step.
Step 4 — Cook Beef
Pat beef dry with paper towel. Heat ½ tablespoon canola oil in pan from zucchini over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add beef, scallion whites and light greens, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper as desired. Cook, breaking up, until browned, for about 5 minutes. Stir in hoisin and gochujang (it’s spicy, so feel free to use less, but it’s really what flavors the beef; I used more). Keeping pickled vegetables in bowl, add pickling liquid to pan, along with ¼ cup water.
Step 5 – Crisp Rice Cakes
Bring gochujang beef to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium high and cook until liquid is reduced by half, 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, stir rice flour into pot with cooked rice until rice sticks together. Divide and shape into 2 equal patties. Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a medium nonstick pan over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add rice cakes to pan and lightly press to flatten. Cook, without moving, until golden, 3-4 minutes per side.
Step 6 – Plate Gochujang Beef
Halve crispy rice cakes and divide between serving plates. Top with sauteed zucchini, gochujang beef, and pickled vegetables. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallion dark greens. Enjoy!
