Ambitious Delicious(ness)

This is a quick and easy recipe that I created while exploring some ban chan (side dish) ideas. I am a huge fan of shiitake mushrooms (stems and all) and wanted to lightly season it so that it can complement other dishes when served as a part of a meal.

At the last minute, I decided that this dish needed some more color. I quickly grabbed a piece of carrot. I washed and peeled it but the thought of julienning carrots was unappealing to me at the moment(lazy, I know). So I used a cheese grate to make little carrot pieces. Voila! Efficiency win!

And honestly, I would totally mix this in rice, sesame oil and some gochugaru, for a 5-minute meal when I’m by myself.

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Do you ever find yourself eating just rice and seaweed as a meal? It’s actually one of my favorite quick dishes to eat! But it’s kind of sad when seaweed is the only thing to accompany your rice! That’s when I realized that it’s been a long time since I’ve made any sort of ban chan (Korean side dish), so I decided to try my hand at making something new.

Fish cake (aka o-deng) is similiar to imitation crabs in the sense that it’s been processed to have hints of fish flavor, but not quite. I’m sorry but I have no idea what is really in it. Isn’t that comforting to know?

One thing I forgot to do is to lightly poach the fish cake by dipping it boiling water for a minute. This will soften the fish cake by adding moisture, as well as to clean out the “toxins,” according to my mom.

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How is it Wednesday already? I’m embarrassed to say that this is only my first post for the week. But this is a very comprehensive post so I hope you will forgive me. Why don’t I just entice you with a photo?

Am I forgiven now?

Bibimbap literally means “mixed rice” in Korean. It is a delicious way to eat rice and vegetables. There are a traditional bunch of vegetables that go into this dish (root vegetables), but I’ve seen a lot of variety as well. It’s basically a bunch of side dishes rolled into one, with a spicy sauce.

When I was growing up, my mom made this a lot and I looooved it. I was completely happy with eating it for 3 days straight! I will always associate great memories with this dish. My mom used to add grilled onions which I skipped, because I just think it overpowers the other flavors, and cold onions are gross to me.

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Every traditional Korean meal contains dishes of ban chan (or side dishes). Ban chan usually consists of different meats or vegetables that are often boiled and then seasoned. Even when you eat at a Korean restaurant, you will notice that every restaurant has different ban chan, depending on the day.

The dishes are smaller in portion, and I often hear people calling it “appetizers.” Technically, this is not the case since it is eaten as a part of your meal, like a side dish, as opposed to before the entrée.

I could eat this dish alone with rice and I’ll be a happy camper. When I was in college, this was one of the must-have items that I would bring back to school.

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For those of you who eat Korean food on a regular basis, you know that there are a bunch of side dishes that accompany every meal. Ban chan can vary, depending on what kind of produce is available that day. There is a variety of vegetables that are sauteed, boiled, and/or flavored. And of course, Kimchi is served with every meal.

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