#ssamjang

Been getting ready for tomorrow's plans by mixing up some sauce in advance, to save effort tomorrow and let the flavors blend for longer.

Ours got some fairly aged miso, partly because I have yet to see commercial GF doenjang. I also added a splash of vinegar, because the flavor balance seemed like it could use just a little acidity. Whatever, it already tasted damned good when I put it into the jar and the fridge.

I did actually make one of my kitchen sink batches of rice noodles with a bunch of veggies and some of the same ground meat yesterday--and decided to go with gochujang-based seasoning, which ended up being an awful lot like ssamjang in flavor profile. 😅 (Delicious, btw!) The seasoning sauce for that reminding me of ssamjang was what actually inspired this plan.

But, this should be sufficiently different from fried rice noodles that it hopefully won't feel too samey to Mr. C.

My plan:

We have a head of Romaine and some ground pork and beef mix that either needs used or stashed in the freezer. So, some type of lettuce wrap seemed like an idea.

Going the simple bulgogi-seasoned ground meat route, with some jasmine rice to spoon in as we like. (It'll work fine, and that's what we have right now besides basmati.) I will probably go lighter on the rice with mine, and really like having that flexibility like with the folded gimbap that I really need to pick up more ingredients for.

(Somewhat amusingly, most of the places making sushi here are run by Thai people. The local Thai N Sushi For You small fast-foody chain is really not an anomaly with what they're serving. So yeah, you're getting a lot of jasmine rice used in sushi. We're just sorta going local style with the ssambap. 😅)

Anyway, I was also going to cut up some cucumber, and pull out those white kimchi-inspired daikon and carrot pickles to add in the wraps. And of course the sauce. That'll have to be good enough.

I may also break into that small overflow jar of white cabbage kimchi which won't have had more than a day to start fermenting, for mine. That said, with this weather and how fast kimchi tends to take off anyway? I would be surprised if it hadn't started bubbling by then.

DIY Creamy Korean Ssamjang (쌈장) Pasta

This Creamy Korean Ssamjang (쌈장) Pasta was inspired by the pork belly ssam (쌈) that I always order at Korean barbecue. Succulent pieces of pork belly in a spicy, creamy, and umami pasta sauce. Topped with parmesan cheese, egg, and green onions. This recipe is so easy!

✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖

I was so happy our vacation rental had a grill - I never pass up a chance to throw a barbecue party ❤️