Kitchen Venture #8: 'Bibimbap'

So it is about FOUR months since the last kitchen venture post. Since February and my kitchen experiments with cold soba, I have yet to actually cook or experiment in the kitchen since. No actually, since I moved in here, I don't cook very much. So I find ways to improvise and break the sandwich and cereal rut.

And somehow, I managed and survived. The life of a very lazy student. Lazy when it comes to feeding myself. And also I am impatient. Today doing groceries, I saw a frozen meal I wanted to get and then it said ready in 6.5 minutes, I thought that was too long to myself. Oh boy.

I am pretty easy going when it comes to food. I mean I like fine dining and I totally know what's the difference between for example, otoro and toro; woody undertones and fruity tones. Trust me, I eat enough to know and I am spoilt rotten by Daddy when I am home. Nevertheless, we can't always have good food. And thank god I can live on salads and stuff. But there are days I want something more.

Photo credits: mayydiaries.blogspot.com
It came to my attention (after a couple of years) that I can buy microwavable rice. Previously I don't cook rice at home nor do I own a rice cooker. I don't like rice that much unless its sushi or when I get the mood. OKAY, back to the above photo, it is my version of the Korean dish bibimbap which is a signature Korean dish. The word literally means "mixed meal." Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot. Vegetables commonly used in bibimbap include julienned cucumber, zucchini, mu (daikon), mushrooms, doraji (bellflower root), and gim, as well as spinach, soybean sprouts, and gosari (bracken fern stems). Dubu (tofu), either plain or sautéed, or a leaf of lettuce may be added, or chicken or seafood may be substituted for beef. For visual appeal, the vegetables are often placed so that adjacent colors complement each other.

I am not a fan of Korean cuisine as I have mentioned before but I make an exception for bibimbap because I love fresh raw vegetables and sunny side ups. So in my version, I use brown rice (microwavable ones if you are as lazy as I am). I shred cucumber, tomatoes, red onions and/or carrots or slice them into round shapes. Because those are my staple vegetables. So easy to eat them, no cooking involved and very minimal water rinsing.

After arranging them above the rice, I add baked beans or canned tuna or canned chicken or ham or pork floss. ANYTHING you like basically. You can be hardworking and fry up some minced meat and stuff. At most, you should put two of the items named in this paragraph. Because anymore would really be overkill to the rice.

After all that, you top it off with a suuny side up with a runny yolk. The yolk HAS to be runny so the rice and meat can properly soak it up when you break it. That's the best part as it adds a new level of flavour to the meal.

There, done in minutes and minimal waiting around for something to cook. As long as I am kept busy, I have no complaints. I really liked the dish being kept fresh with all the raw vegetables. Like a rice salad thing. And filled with my favourite food. You can definitely do it too. Such child's play! I would imagine a kid loading it up with M&M's and chocolate sauce or something HA HA HA.

Till my next kitchen venture, Mayy xo

Kitchen Venture #1: Sunnyside ups

I remember over 2 years ago I did not know much about the kitchen and the work one can do in it. I did not know how to crack an egg. I really have not even boiled any water before, so I can't even do instant noodles/cup noodles. Who would have thought I needed to go study overseas and learn to feed myself eh?

I stayed at my first house with 2 really kind landlords. Marcus was patient and I used to go grocery shopping with him. He taught me little things and big things. If I had any questions about food storage, I could ask him. One important thing I learnt was: The best guide to storing food of any kind (if not indicated on package) is to store the item based on how you found the item in the supermarket. I would watch him cook dinner in the evenings. I would watch Adeline bake when she started her obsession a year later. I guess I do have their influences in my cooking nowadays. I learnt to use different kitchen utensils based on different needs.

The very first food I set out to conquer was the egg. I have since learnt to crack them without apprehensiveness and fear. Just use a teaspoon and knock the middle of the egg and create a thin line horizontally about 2cm and then use hands to crack into a bowl before the pan. After that, try with a tablespoon, spatula, knocking against the bowl/pan to create the crack. I am even able to crack them with one hand at times. Watch Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina, it instills this sense of confidence in me! I love eggs. I can do them in so many ways too. I also love big brekkies, you know with sunny side ups, baked beans, bacon etc. So a month from the time I moved to Perth for university, I cooked a nice big hot brekkie (complete with kaya toast) for my dinner in the cold winter. Yes, breakfast for dinner is one of my many quirks.

Photo credit: mayydiaries.blogspot.com

To make sure its well cooked through, the whites should be bubbling and crackling. You can use the spatula to slowly slide the eggs onto the plate so the yolks don't break. Or you can flip the egg and cook both sides well, wrapping the yolk within the whites.

I am hardly the expert chef. But for the clueless cooks out there like I was and still am, maybe this will all make you all that bit more confident to try. If I can do it, you can too.

Till my next kitchen venture on eggs, Mayy xoxo

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