Dinner Banchans 5. Tonight's menu is Beef Asparagus Stir-fry, Sweet Crispy Tofu, and Yangnyeom Gejang. I will show you how to make the first two from scratch. The last one is store-bought - also a recipe we're working on at the moment. But I still want to introduce you to it in case you come across it at a Korean grocery mart. Well, you must be hungry! Let's get live 🕺
Beef Asparagus Stir-fry.
Asparagus. I like it grilled - you know, next to a nicely-grilled steak. But lately, I've been throwing it into stir-fries. And now, it's become my go-to veggie for stir-fries. In this beef asparagus stir-fry, the key flavor variable is corn starch. By coating the beef with corn starch, it thicken the sauce into a glaze. The consistency is perfect - a good companion to spread over rice 🙂
Crispy-Sticky Tofu.
This is a no-brainer dish for tofu newbies. Rolling the tofu pieces in starch powder provides an extra crispy skin. Then comes the sauce. Yes, it's the same sauce we use in marinated Korean-fried chicken. Salty, slightly-sweet and tangy. Once anything is covered in this sauce, its game over! This dish is a hit 🙃
Few cooking notes:
- Microwave the tofu pieces first to get alot of the water out. Then pat it down with paper towels to soak up any leftover moisture on the surface. This is important to prevent oil from splattering everywhere when frying.
- When reducing the soy-sauce glaze, make sure not to burn the soy sauce. When the sauce comes to a boil, reduce your heat to a medium heat and let it gently simmer for 2 minutes. At this point, the sauce may still look watery - but place the tofu pieces in then. Toss them around for 30 seconds and it will turn sticky.
Yangnyeom Gejang:
What is Yangnyeom Gejang? It's fresh raw flower crabs that are pickled in a spicy gochujang-based paste. (There's also a non-spicy, soy-sauce version called ganjang gejang). Both of them are very special banchans in Korea. Expensive but coveted, and usually seen only during the fall. We saw some fresh ones in our nearby mart for sale, and couldn't resist.
So how do you eat it? You crunch down on the soft shell and suck out the raw meat. It tastes similar to raw shrimp sashimi. A slightly sweet taste, mostly eaten for the texture rather than the flavor. The majority of the flavor actually comes from the marinade. As mentioned, we've never made this banchan at home before. It's our homework for this year 🙂
Dinner Banchans V: Beef-Asparagus Stir-fry & Crispy Sticky Tofu
Ingredients
Beef-Asparagus Stir-fry
- Beef - 200 grams use any cut you like
- Asparagus - 7 stalks
- Onion - 1 whole small
- Orange Bell Pepper - ¼ a whole
- Yellow Bell Pepper - ¼ a whole
Beef Marinade
- Salt - few shakes
- Black pepper - few shakes
- Mirim - 1 Tablespoon
- Starch Powder - 1.5 Tablespoons
Stir-fry Marinade
- Minced garlic - 1 teaspoon !
- Soy Sauce - 2 Tablespoons
- Mirim - 1 Tablespoon
- Sugar - 1 Tablespoon
- Salt - few shakes
- Black pepper - few shakes
- Sesame oil - ½ teaspoon !
- Sesame seeds - few shakes
Sweet Crispy Tofu
- Tofu - 340 grams more or less
- Corn starch - ½ cup
Sticky Soy Sauce Glaze
- Water - 4 Tablespoons
- Soy Sauce - 4 Tablespoons
- Sugar - 1 Tablespoon
- Honey - 1 Tablespoon
- Vinegar - 1 Tablespoon
Instructions
Beef-Asparagus Stir-fry
- Cut the ends off the asparagus stalks. Then cut each into small bite-size pieces.
- Cut onion in half and julienne each half into thin strips.
- Julienne both the bell pepper pieces into thin strips.
- Cut beef piece into thin, long strips. Then place into a mixing bowl.
- Marinate the beef by adding in: Salt (few shakes), Black Pepper (few shakes), Mirim (1 Tablespoon), and Corn Starch Powder (1.5 Tablespoons). Mix it together with your hands.
- Next, place the frying pan on a medium-high heat. Place oil in. Once it's hot, place the beef pieces in. Let the beef pieces cook on one side until they get brown. (Note: The beef pieces will stick to the pan due to the starch - its okay!). Use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape them off and turn it over. Cook on other side until there is good browning on the meat pieces. Set aside.
- Clean frying pan out. Then add some more oil back in. Place on a medium-high heat. Once it's hot, place in Minced Garlic (1 teaspoon!) and Onion Slices. Stir both around for 15 seconds. Then add-in the Bell Peppers and Asparagus. Stir everything around for 2 minutes until the asparagus gets cooked.
- Finally add in the beef pieces. Stir it around. Now, add the seasoning in : Soy Sauce (2T), Mirim (1T), Sugar (1T), Salt (few shakes) and Black Pepper (few shakes). Stir it around and turn off the heat.
- Garnish with Sesame Oil (½ teaspoon!) and Sesame Seeds (few shakes)
- Serve with some hot rice. Bon Appetit!
Sweet Crispy Tofu
- Open package. Drain tofu. Cut tofu block into small bite-sized cubes.
- Place tofu pieces into a microwave-friendly bowl. Place in microwave for 2 minutes. Empty out the residual water left in bowl (careful, it's hot!).
- Place the tofu cubes onto a few pieces of paper towel. Then take a few more paper towels and gently pat each cube down (to remove moisture off the surface). Don't forget this step!
- Next take out a plate. Place corn starch powder on it. Take a few cubes at a time and roll it into the powder. Then, take each cube and gently tap it against the plate to shake off any excess powder (Important - we want a thin layer of powder!)
- Then take out a small frying pan. Place oil in. Once hot, place each tofu piece in. Make sure to give enough space between each piece. Fry until light golden brown (no need to over-fry them!). Set aside.
- Next, let's make the glaze sauce. Thoroughly mix: Water (4T), Soy Sauce (4T), Sugar (1T), Honey (1T), Vinegar (1T)
- Place frying pan on a medium-heat. Once the frying pan is hot, give the glaze sauce one more stir before adding it in. Then pour into the pan.
- Once the sauce begins to boil, stir it around for another 2 minutes. It should begin to thicken up like a glaze. (Important - don't reduce the glaze too much or the soy sauce will burn). Add the cubes in and toss them in the sauce.
- Garnish with few slices of almond if you like. Bon Appetit!
Notes
- See video below for more details
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