Sanchae Bee Bim Bap - Healthy Korean main course coming your way

I personally hold the opinion that Asian cuisine is one of the healthiest of all - of course provided that you cook them at home and not at restaurants. You could say the same for any cooking, but my choice, again among those, would be Asian cooking one of them being Korean. My personal exposure to Korean food is not very vast except for the famous and popular dishes and few not so well known from my research of the cuisine. Among the popular ones, Bee Bim Bap (or Beebimbop,bibimbap) holds a prominent place. It is one dish meal with layers stacked one on top of the other and is predominantly made with beef.



Sanchae Bibimbap which means Fresh Vegetable Bibimbap uses lots of vegetables along with the meat. I have this recipe from an Authentic Korean Cooking cookbook ( I misplaced the author’s name) from which I adapted this recipe to make it meatless and added a wee bit more ingredients to suit my palate. It’s pretty simple to make and instead of the Portobello mushroom which I used to replace the meat, non-vegetarians can use Beef to do the same process (simply marinate for more time than what is specified in this recipe)

Ingredients


• 1 cup small red radish, cut into thin slices
  
  
• 1 medium daikon radish, peeled and sliced into thin strips
  
  
• 1 carrot, sliced into strips
  
  
• 1 cucumber, sliced
  
  
• approx 4-5 cups spinach, washed with stems discarded (baby spinach works v well)
  
  
• About 4-5 large portobello mushrooms,cleaned and chopped
  
  
• 1 small yellow onion,sliced
  
  
• 2-3 cups cooked Jasmine rice
  

For the Marinade


• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
  
  
• 3 tsp sugar
  
  
• 4 tsp spring onions/scallions, finely chopped
  
  
• 2 tsp minced garlic/garlic paste
  
  
• 2 tsp coarsely ground toasted sesame seeds
  
  
• 2 tsp sesame oil
  
  
• 1 tsp Rice vinegar
  
  
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
  
  
• salt taste ( make sure to add less salt that your usual amount since Soy sauce also contains sodium)
  
  
• Korean hot chilli sauce to serve (optional)
  

Method

In a bowl, add all the ingredients for the marinade.



Add the chopped mushrooms, give it a toss and close it with a plastic wrap and let it sit for at least 30 min.



Steam all the vegetables except the spinach and onions. Just 2-3 minutes before removing the vegetables add the spinach and let it wilt. Alternatively if you dont like your cucumbers steamed, then prepare a marinade with little Vinegar,sugar and salt and marinare your cucumbers in it until before serving. In a pan, cook the onions until soft.



Now add the mushroom along with the marinade until cooked. They look just like beef dont they ? ;) Alternatively prepare fried eggs, if you like eggs. They are optional.



Next set the plate. The first layer is the cooked jasmine rice



Top it off with steamed vegetables



layer that with the cooked mushrooms



Finally place the fried eggs on top of them.



Tada, you just made the popular Korean dish at home, made healthier, wealthier and with no major effort. And yes you save quite some money by not selecting to eat at the restaurant. The ingredients cost quite less too :)

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This main dish finds its way to the event close to my heart A.W.E.D hosted by dear PJ this month with Korean as its theme. Thanks PJ for the beautiful theme.

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Kadambam Rice - Simple one pot South Indian dish with vegetables galore!

Some dishes never fail to remind you of home, of the warmth of mom's touch - in short that luxurious comfort which we never thought we will leave. But life moves on, and so do we. The ache slowly is replaced by new responsibilities and in accommodating new changes in our lives - but BAM! a spoonful of that special dish, one fine day, teleports your memory cells back to the days bygone. And this is exactly what happened when I made Kadambam(mixture in Tamil) Sadam(rice)




Usually on the last day of Pongal - for Mattu pongal, we have a custom of making flavored rice like coconut rice, lemon rice etc. Few households also make this rice. It is an excellent option esp. if you like me get this sudden urge to throw everything you have in the fridge into a pot! If you like Sambar Rice and if you like Bisi Bela Bath, then this is another likable option for you, since I think this dish is between those two dishes. This is my mom's version which was given to her by her elder sister who is an excellent cook herself.

Ingredients


• 1 cup rice
  
  
• 1/2 cup Bengal gram (channa dal)
  
  
• 1 cup pigeon peas (toor dal)
  
  
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
  
  
• approx 3 cups of mixed vegetables chopped (ex. ladies finger, taro root, potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplants, capsicum, peas, green pumpkin, drumsticks etc)
  
  
• 1/2 - 1 tbsp Sambar powder
  
  
• salt to taste
  
  
• few sprigs of curry leaves, cilantro and 1 tsp of sesame oil/ghee for garnish
  
  

Method

1. Cook rice with 3 cups of water. Meanwhile cook both the lentils together until cooked. Set aside. Par boil the vegetables for approx 10min.



2. Mix the tamarind paste in 3 cups of water and bring to a boil in a pan. Add salt, sambar powder, curry leaves along with vegetables and let it cook for 5 min. The vegetables are par boiled since they are further cooked again here.



3. Add the lentils mixture and stir for another 2-3 min.



4.Finally add rice



and gently mix making sure not to mash the vegetables.


5.Garnish with cilantro and sesame oil/ghee and serve hot with papad.



This is my entry to Harvest : the festival of Rice event. ( Thank you siri for letting me know :) )

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Some foods are our best friends, may be not so much for our taste buds ;-) but surely deeply loved by our body. Among such is Oats. Want to know more about Oats - the types available, how to cook the different varieties etc? Check my article about the same at Daily Tiffin

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Pongal - Simplest and heartiest soul food ever!

After Idli, the next common dish oft seen at a South Indian breakfast table is Pongal - a savoury pudding made with beautiful combination of lentils and rice tempered with spices and nuts sauted in Ghee. The taste is mind blowing to say the least and filling. It is also one of the simplest dishes to make which does not need constant attention and gets done in matter of minutes - say approx 15min! with nada preparation. This is also called as Ven Pongal (meaning white pongal)/ Khara Pongal (meaning spicy/hot Pongal). This also has a major role to play in the celebration of Indian festival also called as "Pongal"



I make this not just for breakfast but also when I am short on time or when I am not so much in the mood to make anything fancy! Better this than eating out, or use any instant mixes laden with preservatives and god knows what else.



This is also a soul food for me, since it reminds me so much of home :) This is also one of those rare recipes for which not many variations are available. It has few standard ingredients without which one couldnt possibly relate this to Pongal otherwise.:)

Ingredients


• 1 cup short grained rice
  
  
• 1/4 + 2tbsp split green gram/moong dal ( I like it with more lentils)
  
  
• salt to taste
  

To Temper


• 1 tsp whole peppercorns
  
  
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
  
  
• 1" inch ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
  
  
• pinch of asafoetida
  
  
• few sprigs of curry leaves
  
  
• few unbroken cashews
  

Method

1.Wash and clean rice and lentil well until the water runs clear.



Mix them both and add 5 cups of water. Place them in a pressure cooker and cook for 10-15min - or until 3-4 whistles (Indian cookers)



2.Meanwhile in a little ghee, temper first the ginger slices, then add peppercorns and cumin. Saute till aromatic and reddish. In the very end, add curry leaves and asafoetida, stir it for 2-3 seconds and remove with a slotted spoon



3.In the same pan, add the cashews and roast them till reddish color.



4. Now along with salt, add the tempered spice/nut mixture and mix well. Serve hot.



Alternate Method : Cooking using Stove top

I have also witnessed few families using the stove top method to make Pongal. In this method, saute the rice and lentil in little ghee in a pan and when lightly toasted, add salt and water and close the lid. Meanwhile temper the ingredients like above and add it to the rice-lentil mixture just before removing from heat.

This is my entry to FIC : Yellow hosted by Sunshinemon

Suggested Accompaniments

1. Eggplant Gotsu

2. Sambar

3. Coconut Chutney

4. Onion Chutney