Bento if the week 1

I love packaging bentos (japanese lunchbox), lunchboxes, dosirak's (korean lunchbox), etc. First off, I use the same 2 containers for lunch, so I know how to portion out by eyeballing them, taking out a lot of guesswork. Second, they are so easy to put together. If you have ever opened the fridge that belongs to a Korean family who cooks at home, you will find various containers full of banchan, which are side dishes. I'm sure you've seen these at any Korean restaurant. This bento would be vegetarian except I used ebi fume furikake, which contains shrimp. I don't fill up on rice, I try to fill up on vegetables first, which is what the sea tangle is for. My mom forages for this in the Pacific Northwest, but I'd advise going with a seasoned forager or expert, never assume wild seaweed is safe to eat unless you are sure of it. Also, be aware of seasons and changing waters, as they can contain many toxic waters.

I didn't have a banana for scale, but this box seems fairly small. It's actually the size of my hand, and the chopsticks are kid sized. I got them both from Daiso, and they fit perfectly in a bag I also I got from Daiso, a Japanese discount store.

I won't leave instructions on how to make each individual item, I just wanted to leave a description of what I used in the box. Sorry for the mixed measurements below, I just happen to know them off hand, but they don't match...

100 grams of steamed short grain rice

1 TBSP of furikake

100 grams of sea tangle

3 oz of pan fried extra firm tofu

1 TBSP spicy soy sauce mix

1 oz cucumber kimchi

Kimchi Ramen

Do you know what Koreans love to eat? Ramen. Spicy broth, wavy noodles, bits of vegetables and sometimes and egg. It's a bit chilly in Seattle today, so the soupy goodness goes well with the weather. The great part about ramen is that you can add almost anything you want to it. Normally I will an egg to the pot while its still bubbling, and give everything a quick stir. This will make the broth a little creamy in consistency. Today I decided to poach the egg instead, just for fun. I used the Food Networks instructions to poach the egg, found here.

The stone pot used here is used for soup and stews in Korean cooking. You can find one in a Korean market for about $5. Get the tray that is usually sold separately. This pot gets REALLY hot and I have burned through a couple pot holders on accident. 

This recipe can be made vegan by omitting the egg and using cubed tofu instead. If using the poached egg, start the egg water at the same time as the soup broth.

Check your kimchi to see if any fish products were used to make it (shrimp paste, fish sauce, etc). Vegan kimchi is often found on refrigerated store shelves, even in American ones.  If using kimchi (kimchee), the trick to well flavored kimchi food is making sure its fermented well. Normally, store bought kimchi is fermented yet still considered "fresh". If you let it age a little, the flavor deepens and the cabbage gets a little softer. In the fridge it can take a week or so, so if you are in a rush, take out some kimchi and leave it in an air tight container (don't use plastic, the smell will never come out) in the kitchen. It'll usually age in a day or so. 

Here, I halved the ramen noodles from a Neoguri package. Shin Ramen noodles also work really well. The noodles in these two packages are a little thicker than the kind you usually see in American stores (think Top Ramen). If you look at the nutritional information on the ramen packages, you'll notice that one package is for two servings, therefore I halved the noodles for this recipe. You can toss the flavoring package or give it someone who likes using it. The flavoring package normally contains some sort of meat flavoring product.

KIMCHI RAMEN

2 CUPS of water

1 tsp vegetable base

1 tsp garlic, minced

1/4 CUP aged kimchi, sliced

1 serving of ramen noodles

1 stalk of green onion, sliced

1 medium or large egg (optional)

1. Bring water to a boil. If using stone pot, bring the water up to medium heat first before going medium high. 
2. Once water is boiling, add the vegetable broth and garlic and bring to boil again. 
3. Add the noodles and kimchi to the broth. 
4. Once the noodles soften, add the green onions and egg.

Kimchee Pizza

Have you ever seen that Skittle commercial, where the Korean kid was growing up in Scotland so he had that crazy Asian-Scottish accent? Well, thats a little like kimchee pizza. The Korean flavors piled on to the Italian pizza pie is a little crazy sounding, but surprisingly delicious and very easy to make. And no, I do not find little Korean-Scottish boys tasty.

Kimchee Pizza
30 min, serves 2



1 whole wheat Flatout wrap*
2 tablespoon Gochujang
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

vegetable oil

1/2 cup zucchini, sliced

1/2 cup baby portobello mushrooms, sliced

1/2 onion, sliced

1 cup kimchee, chopped

1 teaspoon margarine

1 green onion, diced

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 350 F.
2. Lightly spray wrap on both sides. Toast in oven once preheated, do not let it lose all moisture.
3. In a small saucer, mix gochujang (spicy korean chili paste), sesame oil, garlic, and sugar together. Set aside.
4. In a frying pan, add oil and stir fry zucchini, mushrooms, and onion until soft. Set aside.
5. In the same pan, add the margarine and stir fry kimchee until soft. If it becomes too dry, you can add a little water to the pan. Set kimchee aside once cooked.

6. On the toasted wrap, add the sauce, spreading evenly. Top with stir fried vegetables, and then kimchee on top. Sprinkle the cheese and top with green onions.

7. Add pizza back into the oven until cheese begins to melt. Slice and serve immediately.

*Feel free to use any type of pizza crust. I use Flatout brand because its oval shape, nutritional value, and its tendency to toast to a thin crispy crust.

Mix it up with BiBimBap

Bibimbap
Serves 1, 30 min
I was sifting through the fridge and found some left over side dishes and vegetables that were going to go to waste. I hate watching ingredients go unused so I decided to use them all up and make bibimbap. "Bibimbap" literally translates to "mixed rice" in Korean. Traditionally, bibimbap is a mix of cooked vegetables, meat, egg, hot chili paste and sesame oil. Here, I left out the meat but kept the egg (you can leave out the egg and it still tastes good). You can pretty much take any vegetable and stir fry it or keep it fresh and have bibimbap. Try it with fresh cucumbers, blanched spinach, fresh sesame leaves, etc. Two of the ingredients used today are things you probably never heard of.


Burdock root (on left)- This is the root of a Burdock plant, better known as a thistle. Its cheap and stays for a long time. I found it difficult to cut by hand so I made even slices by using a mandolin. Once cooked, its slightly sweet and becomes softer yet stays crunchy.
King Trumpet mushroom (on right)- also known as the "almond abalone mushroom" is a large mushroom that tastes slightly buttery once cooked and its texture is comparable to an abalone.


1/2 cup burdock root
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup zucchini
1 king trumpet mushroom
1 egg
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 Tbs sesame oil
1-2 Tbs Korean hot chili paste

1.Remove skin from burdock by using a potato peeler. With a mandolin, shred burdock into matchsticks. Stir fry with little oil for 3-5 min until slightly tender. Add pinch of salt for taste.
2.Slice carrots into matchsticks and stir fry for 3-5 min until tender.
3.Chop zucchini into 1/4 inch half circles and stir fry. Remove excess water from pan and add a little salt for taste.
4.Dice the king trumpet mushroom into cubes and fry for 3 min, stirring occasionally.
5.Break egg into pan and pan fry, careful not to break the yolk. once the egg looks cooked on one side, flip the egg, again careful not to break the yolk. Don't let the egg to cook thoroughly, the yolk should stay a little runny.
6.Chop lettuce and set aside.
7.In a bowl, scoop the rice into the center, add the vegetables, and egg. Add desired amount of hot chili paste (the more you add, the spicier and saltier it will get) and drizzle sesame oil over everything. Mix well and enjoy.