All recipe posts are written by our co-founder Jennifer J. Yoo unless otherwise noted.
Bean sprouts(young, sprouted mung beans) are hugely popular in Asian cooking and pops up all over from stir fries to soups. You may have also noticed it make an appearance as a topping in your bibimbap or as part of the array of banchan during your last Korean BBQ outing. I have started to use this super healthy (packed with Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Iron) vegetable at home more often - it adds a great crunch to stir fries, makes a lovely banchan/side dish when simply poached and seasoned, and brings a refreshing, light flavor to your broth. This dish is my take on a bean sprout and bacon stir fry I encountered at my local Izakaya(Japanese pub). Should you have any left over, heat it up and add a fried egg on top for a hearty breakfast.
TIME 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 200g bean sprouts/mung beans
- 1/2 - 3/4 lbs pork belly or bacon*
- 1/2 onion(red or yellow; we used red for this but both works)
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 4-5 garlic cloves, sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon infrared roasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon brown riced vinegar
- 1 tablespoon infrared roasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon ganjang soy sauce or 3 year aged ganjang
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon mirin or cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon ganjang soy sauce or 3 year aged ganjang
- 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
INSTRUCTIONS
- Rinse cucumber and slice it into thin discs. Add the cucumber slices into a warm bowl of salt water and let it sit for at least 5-10 minutes.
- Cut beef into thin slices. Add beef into the bowl and add all of the beef marinade ingredients. Set aside.
- Drain cucumber and gently squeeze to get excess water out. Too much water will make your salad into a gooey mess so make sure you get as much water out as possible. However, be gentle as you want to make sure the cucumber slices keep its shape.
- In a heated pan, add cucumbers and cook for about 3 minutes. Because the slices are thin, it will cook fairly quickly. Cucumber slices should still have a bite. Once cooked, set cucumbers into a mixing bowl and set it aside.
- Cook the marinaded beef slices into the pan and cook until beef is no longer pink. Add into the bowl alongside the cucumber slices.
- Mix it all together, finish it with sesame seeds and salt and pepper to taste.
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