Nick and I love trying out new foods and cuisines. One of our more recent discoveries in the past year has been Korean food. Longtime lovers of Vietnamese pho, Thai curries and Japanese dishes alike, we were pretty sure we could find something we liked when we ventured to Koreatown for a quick dinner one evening. But oh, how we were wrong- we didn’t just like what we had, we LOVED it! Thick chewy rice noodles, savory beef, spicy kimchee, we stuffed ourselves silly, we couldn’t get enough of it. We’ve ventured to the Bloor Street area on multiple occasions since, but one night while I was out shopping, feeling like I was in a bit of a dinner rut, I had an idea: why not try Korean flavors at home?
I had a pound of our staple grass-fed ground beef in the fridge as usual, and we always have a variety of noodles and the like in the house. I grabbed some green onions and kimchee and headed home, with big ideas. I cooked up my noodles, sauteed up the beef with some korean-esque seasonings and topped it all off with some green in the form of scallions and cilantro. I tossed a bottle of gluten-free hoisin and some sriracha hot sauce on the table for dressing, and of course- can’t forget the kimchee. I don’t know if we’ll ever go out for Korean again. (Yeah, right)
Korean Beef and Noodle bowl
Serves 2
1/2 package rice stick or other noodles
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 small white/yellow onion
1/2 pound grass-fed ground beef
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tbsp grated ginger
red pepper flakes, to taste
1/2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
1/2-1 tbsp tamari, to taste
4 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup kimchee
hoisin sauce and hot sauce (we used sriracha) to taste
optional: fried egg for topping
1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat sesame oil over medium heat. Add onion and sautee until translucent. Add beef and cook until browned.
3. Add garlic, ginger and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, 2-3 minutes. Add brown rice vinegar and tamari and cook until liquid is absorbed. Taste for seasoning.
4. Layer bowls with noodles, beef, green onion, cilantro and kimchee. Serve with hoisin sauce and sriracha for seasoning. Optionally, serve with a fried egg on top.
