Bibimbap

Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, my husband had the opportunity to serve a two-year full-time mission for the church. Missionaries serve all over the globe, preaching the restored gospel in strange lands, sometimes speaking a foreign language that took them 3 months to learn. In the MTC (Missionary Training Center), young men and young women who are called to serve in a foreign speaking mission spend their days learning and practicing how to carry conversation and teach gospel lessons in a language not their own. One thing, however, that the MTC does not prepare missionaries for is the DIET!

Tanner tells me that his first couple of weeks living in Korea we rough. All that sushi, spicy cabbage, rice, rice, and more rice put a toll on his digestive system. Don't misunderstand, though - he thought the food was delicious! Just his body was not used to it.

If it weren't for Tanner, I don't think I would have ever EVER tasted kimchi or eaten hotteok or drank hot bori cha. But because of him, I've come to love Korean food. (Just to be clear, I don't love it all - some of it is too spicy or too chewy or too raw for my taste.) But I love it. And I love to cook it too.

One of the most simple things to make at home would be bibimbap, which is essentially a bowl of rice topped with cooked vegetables, gochujang (red pepper paste), beef, and a fried egg. Interestingly, bibimbap was Tanner's very first taste of Korean food as it was the meal offered on his flight into Seoul. If they are serving it at 30,000 feet, it is safe to assume it's a signature dish. It's my favorite, by far.

I made bibimbap for supper on Sunday, and it was the best I've made yet. I'd share the recipe on the blog but it's involved and I'm too lazy. But I will share my recipe (which comes from http://blissfulbblog.com/) for the sesame spinach, which is a delicious side in itself (pictured below, top left).

Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds baby spinach, washed
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon rice vinegar (I just used regular vinegar. Shhh, don't tell.)
½ teaspoon sesame oil

Method:
1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.  Fill a bowl with ice water.  Blanch the spinach for 10 to 20 seconds in the boiling water and transfer to the ice water bath using tongs.   Drain and gently squeeze out the excess water.   Chop coarsely.

2. Combine the soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the rice vinegar then stir in the sesame seeds. Toss the dressing with the spinach until it’s all lightly coated with the dressing.

3. To serve drizzle with the sesame oil and reserved sesame seeds.

"Bon appetit!"

oh . . . wait . . .