Korean Diet Banchan Plate 3. Today, our diet plate revolves around one of my favorite banchans - Spicy Korean Cucumber Salad (Oi Muchim). These cucumbers walk the line between Kimchi and Salad. It's not fermented - so technically not Kimchi. But the marinade is quite close to Kimchi. Regardless, the cucumbers are very tasty, refreshing and get the saliva in your mouth running. To balance the spicy tartness, we'll also blanche fresh squid and chop them up like sashimi. Then make a simple stir-fry cabbage with imitation crab to replace our 'rice'. Not to mention our perilla-oil fried tofu. Combine all four and you got yourself a low-carb, protein-rich, get-happy meal. Let's go guys! 🏃♂️
Some cooking notes:
- For the cabbage stir-fry, cook on a high heat. We want the cabbage to sweat quickly and release its natural juices - before mixing-in the oyster sauce.
- Keep a timer going when boiling the squid - we want 45 seconds (over-boiling will turn the meat too firm and chewy)
- When making the spicy cucumber, you don't have to include asian chives (ok to skip). Also, I purposely used teaspoon measurement to make just enough sauce for 2 cucumbers. If you're making a larger batch, swap out to a Tablespoon measurement.
Feel free to mix and match with any of the other diet banchans - Plate No. 1, Plate No. 2!
Are you guys enjoying these diet banchan ideas? For me, I've lost around 3kg in the past month. But now, I've plateau'd at around 68 kg (~150lbs) for the last 2 weeks.
Perhaps I gotta stop sneaking in these late-nigh desserts. It's hard as Katie gets 0ff work and enjoys sampling these new macaron shops in our neighborhood!
I shall persist - Daniel out! 🤠
Ingredients
Spicy Cucumber Salad
- 2 whole Cucumbers
- 4-5 pinches Kosher Salt (For salting cucumbers)
- Small handful Asian chives (optional)
- 3 teaspoons Vinegar
- 2.5 teaspoons Gochugaru
- 2.5 teaspoons Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
- 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
- Few shakes Sesame Seeds (optional)
Blanched Squid Sashimi
- 1 whole Squid
- Few dashes of Mirim (For seasoning water)
- Few dashes of Vinegar (For seasoning water)
Pan-fried Tofu & Dipping Sauce
- 1 block Tofu (200-300 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Perilla Oil (Sesame Oil is fine too)
- 2 stalks Green Onion (Or Scallions)
- 1 teaspoon Gochugaru
- 4 teaspoon Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
- 1 teaspoon Water
- Few shakes Sesame Seeds
Simple Cabbage & Crab Stir-fry
- 2 Handfuls Chopped Green Cabbage
- ½ cup Imitation Crab Meat
- 6-8 shakes of Black Pepper
- 2 cloves of Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
- Small handful of Diced Green Onion (For Garnish)
Instructions
Spicy Korean Cucumber Salad
- Wash all three cucumbers and skin each cucumber with a peeler. Do not peel-off all of the skin, rather make uneven peels.
- Cut Asian Chives into small bite-sized pieces (optional)
- Chop cucumbers into half inch circles.
- Sprinkle 4-5 big pinches of kosher salt onto the cucumber slices and give them a good mix with your hands. Set the cucumbers aside for 30 minutes and they will slowly release water. After 30 minutes, check that they can bend without snapping. Then thoroughly rinse off all the salt under running water and let them drip off excess water.
- For the marinade: Thoroughly mix Vinegar (3 teaspoons), Gochugaru (2.5 teaspoons), Sugar (2.5 teaspoons), Soy Sauce (1 teaspoon), Minced Garlic (1 teaspoon) and Sesame Oil (1 teaspoon), Sesame Seeds (few shakes).
- Dress the cucumbers (and asian chives) in the marinade. Get in there with you hands and coat all of it!
Blanched Squid Sashimi
- Clean the squid (reference video). Then fill a pot with water. Add in a few dashes of mirim and vinegar to the water - to eliminate any seafood smell in the squid.
- Once the water is boiling, set a timer for 45 seconds. Then drop the squid in. After 45 seconds, take it out. Give it about 5 minutes to cool down. Then use a knife and cut the tube and tentacles into bite-sized pieces. Set aisde.
Pan-fried Tofu & Dipping Sauce
- Cut tofu into bite-sized pieces. Then pat it down with a paper towel to get rid of excess water. This helps the surface crisp up when frying.
- Dice your green onion into small-slices.
- Now, let's make the topping sauce: Add Gochugaru (1 teaspoon), Soy Sauce (4 teaspoons), Sesame Oil (1 teaspoon) and Water (1 teaspoon). Give it all a good mix. Then add in a handful of the sliced Green Onions pieces, and a good amount of Sesame Seeds (3-4 shakes).
- Place a frying-pan on medium-high heat. Place in some Vegetable Oil (1 Tablespoon), as well as some Perilla Oil (1 Tablespoon). Once hot, place the tofu pieces in. Cook the pieces until they get a nice crispy texture on both sides. Then place each finished piece onto a paper towel. Finish by placing a dab of the topping sauce on each tofu piece.
Simple Cabbage & Crab Stir-fry
- Dice a section of your cabbage into bite-sized pieces (reference video for measurement).
- Use your fingers to rip the imitation crab into small bite-sized strips
- Next, give the green cabbage pieces a quick rinse under water. We want some water droplets on the cabbage so that they don't burn in the stir-fry.
- Place frying pan on high heat. Then add some oil in. Once hot, add in the cabbage pieces. Sprinkle on some black pepper (5-6 shakes). Then add in the minced garlic (2 cloves worth). Stir-fry everything for 30 seconds or until you see the cabbage start to sweat.
- Once the cabbage starts to sweat, add in the crab meat. Next, add in 1 Tablespoon of Oyster Sauce. Stir-fry everything for another 20-30 seconds. It's done. Garnish with chopped green onions. Bon Appetit!
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