Hello my hungry friends! I have something delicious and healthy for you today.
A Korean classic... made not-so-classic with plant-based protein. We're making BULGOGI! If you couldn't already tell by the title.
What is bulgogi? Translated to English it means 'Fire Meat'. It's a Korean BBQ dish that generally uses a high-fat marbled steak. Bulgogi is characterized by its sweet and salty flavor. The marinade is typically made of soy sauce, sugar and pear juice- we are going to spice it up a little today and use some interesting ingredients.
The first wild card to the party it an ingredient known as konnyaku, or konjac cake.
Konjac is an herb that grows in Asia and is also known as 'devils tongue'. The edible part of this plant is the starchy corm (a bulb that grows underground) it is often used to thicken and add texture to food.
Where can you find this interesting ingredient? Online HERE or, at any asian grocery store in the refrigerated section usually near the shirataki noodles- as they are also made of konjac! The konjac cake is made by combining the starch from the plant with lime water, and sometimes seaweed powder for color + flavor. It turns into a gelatinous cake that can be flavored much like tofu.
Let me forewarn you though, this ingredient can be STINKY. Bare with me here- I will teach you how-to get rid of the stank, and the correct way to cook it. If you can get past the initial seaweed smell you'll thank yourself.
How To Prepare Konjac Cake
Before using the konjac cake for any recipe it's important to boil it. Boiling the konjac is going to greatly reduce the smell and also allow the product to be more absorbent to marinating flavors. There are different ways to prepare the konjac depending on the end texture you are looking for.
For a Firm/Chewy Texture: Place the konjac cake (cut into the serving size you're going to use) into a saucepan of cool water, bring to a boil for 3 minutes and drain. This method extracts more moisture resulting in a firmer and chewier texture. Then marinade.
For a Tender/Jello-Like Texture: Place the konjac cake (cut into the serving size you're going to use) into a saucepan of boiling water. Cook in boiling water for 3 minutes and drain. Then marinade.
For the purpose of our bulgogi, we will use the cool water-to-boiling method.
After cooking for 3 minutes of boiling, rinse and drain the konjac cake of any excess water. Place the strips on a towel to dry out while you work on the marinade.
The marinade is simple and delicious, a combination of 'No-Beef, Beef Buillion' cubes, coconut aminos, gochujang sauce, molasses, miso paste, coconut sugar, ginger, garlic and sesame oil.
*Side note: if you've never tried gochujang sauce... stop what you are doing right now and go get you some!
To really penetrate the konjac cake with this delicious marinade I scored the strips on both sides using my knife. Being careful to not cut too deep into the strips because they'll easily rip. Once scored, they can now successfully marinate!
Let me just say- this is a best kept secret for weight loss. Konjac is full of fiber and has almost no calories per serving. It will keep you full all day and you can flavor it however you'd like. With that being said- they should always be paired with foods that have high nutritional value like fresh vegetables.
I'm planning to use my leftover bulgogi to make bao buns and fajitas. YUM!
Veggie Noodle Pad Thai is what we are pairing these delicious #cholesterol and cruelty free steak strips today! Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Carrots, Jalapenos, Red Cabbage and Bell Pepper... and please don't skimp on the peanut butter sauce!
(Use sunflower butter if you're allergic to nuts!)
To make the Veggie Noodle Pad Thai, I spiraled the zucchini and yellow squash, julienned the carrots and jalapeño, shredded the red cabbage and bell pepper.
Spiraling vegetables is easiest done with a machine, I use the one pictured here. But if you are one of those people who doesn't have room in their kitchen cabinets for one more gadget... try your hand in executing a Japanese roll cut! Then you can julienne your long sheets of zucchini and squash- resulting in a noodle like shape.
Learn how to cook this delicious Veggie Noodle Pad Thai + Peanut Butter Gochujang Sauce in the recipe posted below!
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