BIBIMBAP (Korean Mixed Rice with Meat and Assorted Vegetables)

Bibimbap is probably one of the most well-known and beloved Korean dishes
to many people. Even if people dont know anything about Korea, its not too
difficult to find people who had Bibimbap sometime in their lives. Bibimbap
simply translates to mixed rice with meat and assorted vegetables. You can
make endless variations to this dish depending on your preference and
dietary requirements (e.g. Saessak:(micro leaves) Bibimbap and various
Bibimbap toppings) and also based on the dish/bowl it is served in (e.g.
Dolsot:(hot stone bowl) Bibimbap and Yangpun Bibimbap). More traditional
and authentic versions of Bibimbap are served with raw beef and raw egg
yolk along with other vegetables.
Ingredients:

Meat and meat sauce

100g beef mince
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar - I used brown sugar
tsp minced garlic
Vegetables and other
200g mildly seasoned spinach
350g mildly seasoned bean sprouts - (You don't have to use them up if
you think it's too much but I love having lots of vegetables on my

Bibimbap!)
100g shiitake mushroom
120g carrots (1 small)
1 tsp ground salt (1/2 tsp each will be used when cooking shiitake
mushroom and carrots)

3 to 4 serving portions of steamed rice

3 or 4 eggs (depending on the serving portion)
Some vegetable oil to cook the meat, mushroom, carrots and eggs - I

use rice bran oil.

(Optional) Korean seasoned seaweed, shredded (long thin cut)

Bibimbap sauce - The below sauce might be only enough for 3 servings if you
like eating it spicy.

2
1
1
1
1
1
1

Tbsp gochujang
Tbsp sesame oil
Tbsp sugar - I used raw sugar
Tbsp water
Tbsp roasted sesame seeds
tsp vinegar - I used apple vinegar
tsp minced garlic

Procedure:
Prepare and cook ingredients as below.
- For meat, mix the beef mince with the meat sauce listed above. (You can
leave the marinated meat for about 30 mins while you are working on other
ingredients to enhance the flavour.) Add some vegetable oil into a wok and
cook the meat on medium high to high heat. It takes about 3 to 5 mins to
thoroughly cook it.

- Spinach and bean sprouts per linked recipe.

- Clean/wash the shiitake mushrooms and thinly slice them. Add some
vegetable oil and tsp of ground salt in a wok and cook the mushrooms on
medium high to high heat until they are all cooked. (It takes 2 to 3 mins.)
- Wash, peel and julienne the carrots. Add some vegetable oil and tsp of
ground salt in a wok and cook the carrots on medium high to high heat for 2
to 3 mins.
- Make fried eggs. (While sunny side up is common, you can make them per
your preference.)
- Mix the Bibimbap sauce ingredients in a bowl.
Put the rice into a bowl and add the meat, assorted vegetables, seasoned
seaweed, egg and the Bibimbap sauce on top of the rice. Serve it.
Mix the ingredients well in the bowl and enjoy!

Shrimp Tempura
Tempura is one of the most popular type of Japanese food that is widely
enjoyed around the world. Among all kinds of tempura, shrimp tempura is
probably most common one as you see on menus in Japanese restaurants.
Besides being a standalone dish, shrimp tempura is also served as part of
donburi (Tempura Donburi) or soba/udon noodle soup (Tempura soba/udon).
Ingredients
10 large shrimps
Corn starch for dusting
Oil for deep frying (vegetable oil : sesame oil = 10 : 1)
Tempura Batter (rule is egg water:flour=1:1)
1 cup (240 ml) egg water (1 cold large egg (40ml) + 200 ml ice water)
1 cup (240 ml) cold all purpose flour
Tempura Sauce
cup (200 ml) dashi (or cup water + 1 tsp. Hondashi)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. mirin
2 tsp. sugar

2" (5 cm) daikon radish, grated and squeeze liquid out

Instructions
1. To make tempura sauce, combine dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in
a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Then lower the heat and let it
simmer until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and set
aside.
2. To prepare shrimp, read step-by-step instructions with pictures on How
To Prepare Shrimp for Shrimp Tempura to make shrimp straight.
3. In a deep fryer, heat 1" (3 cm) of the oil to 338-356F (170-180C). You
can check the temperature with chopsticks or with a thermometer.
When you see small bubbles around chopsticks, its pretty much ready
for deep frying. If you want to read more about deep frying method,
4.
5.
6.
7.

please read How To Deep Fry Food.

To make tempura batter, sift the flour into a large bowl.
Add the egg into very cold water.
Whisk the egg mixture vigorously and discard the form on the surface.
As you slowly pour the egg mixture into the flour, mix the batter but do
not over mix. It's okay to leave some lumps in batter. Keep the batter

cold all the time.

8. Dust corn starch on top of shrimps.
9. Coat the shrimp in batter.
10.
Deep fry until golden brown. Do not crowd the fryer with shrimps;
leave at least half of oil surface empty. Transfer cooked shrimp
tempura to a wired rack or a plate lined with a paper towel to drain
excess oil. Between batches, remove the crumbs which will burn and
turn the oil darker if left in fryer.

11.

Grate the daikon and squeeze the liquid out. Serve shrimp

tempura with warm tempura sauce and grated daikon.

Tempura Onion Rings

INGREDIENTS

5 to 6 cups vegetable oil

1 large egg yolk

1 cup ice water

1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 large onions (white, yellow, or red), thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS
1.

STEP 1

In a wok or large pot, heat oil until a deep-frying thermometer registers 370
degrees. In a medium bowl set over an ice bath, stir yolk with chopsticks or a
whisk; add ice water, stirring to combine. Sift flour and cornstarch into egg
mixture, stirring to incorporate. Don't worry about a few remaining lumps in
the batter.
2.

STEP 2

Coat onion rings with batter, letting excess drip back into bowl. Fry onion
rings in the hot oil in small batches, turning once, until just beginning to
color. Drain on paper towel. Repeat process, skimming oil of tempura batter

bits as necessary until all onion rings have been fried. If oil becomes dark,
begin again with fresh oil. Serve immediately.

KABOCHA TEMPURA
Tempura are battered and deep fried dishes, which are commonly eaten in
Japan and I think tempura kabocha is the best one of all. If you want really
crispy tempura, its recommended that you use ice water for the batter. Its
also good to make the batter right before frying tempura as preparing the
batter ahead of time is not recommended. If you want to add extra crunch
use panko breadcrumbs. From my kitchen.
Ingredients
1 egg
1 C all-purpose flour, sifted
panko bread crumbs (optional)
kabocha squash
Procedure

Cut kabocha in half, end to end, and scoop out seeds & pulp (save
seeds for roasting). Cut the pumpkin into 1/4-1/2 slices.

Beat an egg in a bowl. Add ice water in the bowl. Be sure to use very
cold water. Add sifted flour in the bowl and mix lightly. Be careful not to over
mix the batter.

Dip each piece of pumpkin in the batter, then in panko breadcrumbs if

using. Fry, 3 or 4 pieces at a time, in hot oil. Transfer to a plate lined w/ white
paper or paper towel, serve immediately with salt or tempura sauce.
Kappamaki
Cucumber rolls are called kappamaki in Japan. It's one of the most popular
sushi rolls and is easy to make.
INGREDIENTS

4 sheets of nori (dried seaweed), cut in half

6 cups prepared sushi rice

2 Japanese cucumber, cut into long sticks

Procedure
Put a half-size nori on top of a bamboo mat (makisu). Spread about 3/4 cup
of sushi rice on top of the nori. Place cucumber sticks horizontally on the
rice. Roll up the bamboo mat, pressing forward to shape the sushi into a
cylinder. Press the bamboo mat firmly with hands. Unwrap the bamboo mat.
Make more rolls. Wipe a knife with a wet cloth before slicing sushi. Cut the
sushi roll into bite-size pieces.
Makes 8 rolls

Cabbage Nori Rolls

(serves about 4 as a side dish)

Ingredients
1/2 head Napa or Chinese cabbage
1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
6-8 ounces baked tofu, cut into 1/4-inch wide strips
baby corn
4-5 sheets toasted nori
pickled ginger, soy sauce and wasabi, for serving
Instructions
Cut the cabbage into half lengthwise. Cut one half into 4 wedges lengthwise. Place the wedges in a
steamer basket with the carrots and steam until tender, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.
Once the cabbage has cooled, dry it thoroughly by placing it on a kitchen towel or sushi mat covered
with paper towels. Roll up in the towel or mat, squeezing lightly to remove excess moisture. Remove
any thick, tough pieces and set them aside.
Place a piece of nori on the sushi mat, and have a small bowl of water nearby. Lay a thin layer of
cabbage starting about one inch from the bottom and stopping 2 inches from the top. Be sure the
cabbage stretches to the side edges. Near the bottom end, lay a strip of tofu, carrots, and baby corn
or any combination of the three.

Lift the mat at the edge closest to you and bring the bottom edge of the nori over the tofu and other
fillings. Roll forward to tightly wrap the nori around the fillings. As you approach the far edge, dip
your fingers into the bowl of water and use them to moisten the top inch. (This will help the nori to
seal.) Complete the roll. Place it seam-side down on a cutting board. Repeat with remaining

cabbage, and cut rolls into 6-8 pieces with a sharp knife. Serve with pickled ginger, soy sauce, and
wasabi.

Purin (Custard Pudding) Recipe

Purin is a flan-like cold custard dessert in Japan. The name Purin obviously comes
from pudding (perhaps more obvious in Japanese), but it is not the same thing as the
gooey pudding in the US at all. It has a firmer texture similar to Mexican flan and also
has caramel sauce on top. It is a very basic sweet but everyone in Japan adores it.

Ingredients
Caramel

1 cup (200g) sugar

3 Tbsp (50ml) water

Custard

2 cups plus 1 Tbsp (500ml) milk

3 eggs

1/2 cup (100g) sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
Caramel Syrup
1.

In a heavy pot, put in sugar and water, but do not stir. Put it on the stove
at medium heat until the water and sugar turns to dark brown. Pour the syrup
into 8 small (3" diameter x 2" high) pudding cups or ramekins (may have
some leftover).
Custard

2.

Heat milk until just before boiling. Whisk together eggs and sugar, and
add hot milk very slowly to avoid eggs curdling. Strain the mixture to make
the liquid smooth, and add vanilla. Pour the mixture over the hardened syrup.

3.

In a baking pan such as 13x9x3, place purin cups, and pour hot water
around the cups (not in the cups!) about 3/4 up the side of the cups.

4.

Bake at 350 F for 40-45 mins or until custard sets.

5.

Refrigerate at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. You could decorate

with whipped cream and cherries before serving if you wish.