A little tase of Korea

I used to absolutely love Korean food. The spiciness, the garlic, the incredibly pungent flavors, and especilally the side dishes. Since turning vegetarian, and mostly vegan, Korean cuisine has been pretty much out of my options. Meat and seafood are staples and the waiter-ess will look at you funny if you ask for vegan foods. So I took it upon myself to create a little sampler dish.

Tempeh and tofu mandu with gochuchang dipping sauce

Marinated sesame bean sprouts

Sweet soy kabocha squash with chives

Flour potsticker wrappers were filling with a mixture of crumbled tempeh, finely diced tofu, scallions, cilantro, tamari, a touch of sesame oil, and garlic sauteed in shaoshing wine. They were then steamed and then pan fried and drizzled with a sauce blend of gochuchang (which typically has MSG!), red miso, sherry vinegar, and filtered water.
The bean sprouts were served raw and tossed with a blend of white and sweet rice vinegar, grapeseed oil, salt, and toasted sesame seeds.
The squash was steamed then tossed with chives and a sweet soy made of raw sugar, organic honey, ginger, apple cider vinegar, and tamari.
Savory, refreshing, and sweet. A little detour on the typical Korean route of flavors.

Mostly raw bibimbop anyone?

Bibimbop is a Korean dish meaning "mixed meal". It's traditionally served in a bowl with warm white rice and topped with namuls (mixed seasoned vegetables) and gochujang, a red chili pepper paste. In most cases, the bowl is then topped with an egg and sliced meat. The dish gets a makeover in this mostly raw vegan adaptation.

Mostly raw bibimbop

The "rice" was made from pulsed cashews and jicama, sprinkled with a touch of red Hawaiian sea salt. Atop of the rice are three namuls:

• mung bean sprouts tossed with raw apple cider vinegar, a touch of toasted sesame oil, agave, garlic, red chili flakes, and scallions);
  
• blanched Bloomsdale spinach tossed with nama shoyu, toasted sesame seeds, a touch of sesame oil, and toasted garlic;
  
• and shiitake mushrooms braised in fresh ginger, mirin, and white pepper.
  

In lieu of a red chili paste, the whole dish was drizzled with gochuchang sauce made of red miso, filtered water, red chili flakes, agave, and cayenne pepper.

Take your chopsticks, mix, and enjoy with abandon!