Real African Dishes: [MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Bibimpap With Beef, Winter Squash, Spinach and Cucumber - Korean ; 31 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary

* Exported from MasterCook *

Bibimpap With Beef, Winter Squash, Spinach and Cucumber - Korean

Recipe By :Martha Rose Shulman
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Meat

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
For the beef:
8 ounces beef -- like top sirloin, thinly sliced across the grain
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar -- or brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1 garlic cloves -- to 2 cloves to taste, minced or puréed
1 piece ginger -- (1/2-inch) minced
2 scallions -- finely chopped
Freshly ground pepper -- to taste
For the vegetables:
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 large garlic cloves -- minced or puréed
2 scallions -- to 3, minced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Salt -- to taste
Korean red pepper paste -- (kochujang) to taste (available at Korean markets) (optional)
2 Persian cucumbers -- or 1/2 long European cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 pound winter squash -- like butternut, peeled and sliced or cut in 3/4-inch dice
1 bunch spinach -- (12 ounce) (1 bunch) stemmed and washed, or 1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
6 fresh shiitake mushrooms -- stemmed and sliced
Soy sauce -- to taste
1 tablespoon canola oil
For the rice and garnishes:
1 1/2 cups brown rice -- (to 2 cups) barley, quinoa or another grain of your choice, cooked (keep hot)
4 eggs -- (optional)
Korean red pepper paste -- (kochujang) to taste (available at Korean markets)
2 sheets nori seaweed -- (kimgui), lightly toasted* and cut into thin strips (optional)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds -- or black sesame seeds

1. Marinate the beef. Mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame
seeds, garlic, ginger, scallions and pepper and toss with the sliced beef.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Mix together the rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, scallions, sesame
seeds and salt to taste in a small bowl or measuring cup. Add red pepper
paste if desired. Set aside.

3. While the beef is marinating, toss the cucumber with salt to taste and
place in a colander in the sink for 15 to 30 minutes. Rinse and squeeze
dry. Place in a bowl and toss with 2 teaspoons of the vinegar and sesame
oil mixture. Set aside in the refrigerator.

4. Steam the squash over an inch of boiling water until tender, about 10
minutes. Remove from the heat and toss in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the
vinegar and sesame oil mixture. Add salt or soy sauce to taste.

5. Wash the spinach and wilt in a large frying pan over high heat. Remove
from the heat, press out excess water and toss in a bowl with 1 tablespoon
of the vinegar and sesame oil mixture.

6. Heat a wok or large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until a drop
of water evaporates immediately on contact. Add the canola oil. Stir-fry
the beef for 3 to 5 minutes, until lightly browned, and remove to a plate.
Add the shiitakes to the pan, let sit without stirring for 1 minute, then
stir-fry for another minute or two, until tender. Remove to a plate.

7. Fry the eggs in the hot pan or in a separate nonstick skillet until the
whites are set and the yolks are still runny. Season with salt and pepper.

8. Heat 4 wide soup bowls. Place a mound of hot grains in the middle of
each one and surround with the meat and vegetables, as well as kimchi if
desired, each ingredient in its own little pile. Place a fried egg and a
small spoonful of chili paste on top of the rice and garnish with the
toasted nori and sesame seeds. Serve at once. Diners should break the egg
into the rice. Pass the chili paste and add more as desired.
Note: You can also arrange the food on a large platter and serve family
style.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional information per serving: 336 calories; 16 grams total fat; 3
grams saturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams monounsaturated
fat; 28 milligrams cholesterol; 31 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary
fiber; 182 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 18 grams
protein

Advance preparation: You can do this in whatever order is convenient for
you. The grains can be cooked ahead and reheated. The cucumbers, spinach
and squash can all be prepared ahead and refrigerated, then reheated
before serving. It's best to cook the beef and mushrooms just before
serving so they're nice and hot. But since this is often a way to use
leftovers, you can also reheat.

* Toast nori sheets (if not toasted already) by quickly passing them over
a gas flame (hold with tongs) until crisp.

Beef is the most typical meat served with bibimbap. It's marinated and
quickly seared in a hot wok or frying pan.

Several years ago I wrote a book called "The Foodlover's Atlas of the
World," a research project that allowed me to try signature dishes from
just about every country in the world. One of my favorites was the classic
Korean mixed rice dish known as bibimbap.

In traditional bibimbap, a large serving of rice is placed in the center
of a hot bowl and surrounded with small amounts of meat — usually beef —
and seasoned vegetables that include a mixture of cultivated vegetables
(cucumber, carrot, daikon or turnips, spinach, lettuce, mushrooms) and
wild items like fiddlehead ferns and reconstituted dried toraji
(bellflower roots). A fried egg is often placed on top of the rice, and
diners stir everything together. In Jeonju, which along with Jinju and
Tongyeong is famous for its bibimbap, special stone bowls are used for the
dish. They are coated with sesame oil and heated until very hot so that
when the rice is placed in them, a crust forms on the bottom. The egg is
broken onto the hot rice and cooks as it is stirred in.

Bibimbap can also provide a palette for leftovers. The Korean cookbook
author Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall writes, in "Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen,"
of how her family enjoyed the dish for days after family celebrations,
when there would be many delectable leftovers on hand.

The concept of bibimbap is perfect for Recipes for Health. I've broken
with tradition and have chosen to make this week's recipes with brown rice
and other grains. You can use the recipes as templates and choose whatever
vegetables you like. The recipes call for 2 to 3 ounces of protein per
serving, as this dish is really about the grains and vegetables. But if
you are feeding hungry teenage boys, as I am, you may want to increase
those quantities.

Cuisine:
"Asian"
Source:
"Recipes for Heatlh, New York Times, Feb 20, 2012"
S(Formatted by Chupa Babi):
"Feb 2012"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 666 Calories; 30g Fat (40.3%
calories from fat); 27g Protein; 74g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 250mg
Cholesterol; 376mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 1/2 Grain(Starch); 2 1/2 Lean
Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 4 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 901365 0 0 0 0 0
0 26877 0