• Food and Gastronomy -> International cuisine and ethnic cooking

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Can you share a recipe that uses lesser-known ethnic ingredients?

Isiah Lindeboom

Sure, I'd love to share a recipe with some lesser-known ethnic ingredients! I love trying new foods and flavors, so it's always exciting to discover something new.

One dish that I've been really into lately is a Korean dish called bibimbap. It's a rice bowl that's loaded with all sorts of toppings - veggies, meat, eggs, and usually a spicy sauce to tie everything together. There are a ton of different variations on it, so it's a really fun dish to experiment with and personalize to your tastes.

The key to bibimbap is the gochujang sauce. Gochujang is a fermented chili paste that's widely used in Korean cooking. It's thick and slightly sweet, with a nice kick of heat. You can find it in most Asian grocery stores, and sometimes even in regular grocery stores if they have a decent ethnic section.

To make the sauce, mix together a couple tablespoons of gochujang with a tablespoon of rice vinegar, a tablespoon of soy sauce, and a teaspoon of honey. Taste it and adjust the seasonings to your liking - you can add a bit more vinegar or honey if it needs a little something extra.

Now for the toppings! I like to use carrots, spinach, bean sprouts, and shiitake mushrooms, but you can really use whatever veggies you have on hand. Slice everything thin and cook it separately in a little oil until it's tender. For the beef, I like to use thinly-sliced sirloin, which I marinate for a little while in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, and brown sugar. Cook it up in a hot skillet until it's nicely caramelized.

To assemble the bowls, start with a base of steamed rice in each bowl. Arrange the cooked veggies and beef on top, and top with a fried or poached egg if you like. Drizzle the gochujang sauce over everything, and garnish with some chopped scallions and sesame seeds.

I hope you give bibimbap a try - it's a really satisfying and flavorful dish that's a bit different from your typical rice bowl. And don't be afraid to experiment with the toppings and sauce to make it your own!