plate 11: korea

So I felt a little blah yesterday, and you know what pulled me out of my funk? Cooking plate 11. I know gazillions of people swear by the formula: me + kitchen = relaxation, but I'm only finally realising this for myself. Not only am I excited by this, but I'm sure my mathematician dad will be pleased I'm learning a new formula, too, years after I've left school. See, maths still does have a place in society. Don't get me wrong, I love cooking, but I think because I've always been so rigid with following recipes to the letter that it's often been more of a stress than it should be.

But back to plate 11. Bulgogi (said "bull-goh-gee") was first up on the menu. This is famous barbecued beef that's been devoured in Korea for thousands of years. It literally means "fire meat" (bul meaning fire and gogi meaning meat). The key to its success is how long you leave it in the marinade - the more time it marinates, the more tender, flavoursome and all-round awesome it's going to be. You also have to make sure you cut the meat into really thin slices - some say you should partially freeze the meat first to make this easier, but I found you didn't need to. Just make sure your knife is sharp and you'll be fine.

I hadn't had lunch, so luckily bulgogi doesn't take long to cook. All it needs is a quick sizzle on the barbecue - traditionally it's cooked over coals or you can use a tabletop hibachi grill if you have one) - and it's ready. We loved it. The delicious flavours from the marinade - lots of garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and honey - made it super tasty. It was fun to eat, too - you just wrap up the meat in a lettuce leaf and smear on some Korean red pepper paste (if you can't find this in Asian supermarkets, use chilli sauce) and you're away.

Second course was bibimbap - it's such a cute little word, isn't it? Bibimbap. I love saying it. The Koreans love it so much that in a city called Jeonju there's actually a bibimbap museum. I hope the museum is filled with information about the dish and not hundred-year-old bowlfuls of it!

 A bowl of bibimbap has rice at the bottom and is topped with marinated meat, a mixture of raw and cooked vegies (I used carrot, cucumber, shiitake mushroom and spinach) and a fried egg. It's a lovely mix of colours, tastes and textures and it's so great because every time you dive in with your chopsticks you get a different flavour hit.

As for dessert, it came from a box. This is normally a no-no and I actually wasn't planning on sweets for this meal, but a bright yellow packaging and the distinctive Korean script caught my eye in the Asian supermarket, so I took it home to try it out. The surprise inside was mini peanut-flavoured cookies. Not too sweet, but just the right end to the meal. x