The Old “I’m Sick of Cooking!” Cooking Post

Just another manic Monday, friends. Welcome back, I hope you’re all well. I have some exciting news in my personal life: I’ll be getting my first vaccine dose this Friday! Whoo! Freedom! I can’t wait. I’ve been feeling some pretty extreme cabin fever lately.

This of course spills over into cooking, especially of dinners. I may have bellowed “That’s it! I quit! I’m never cooking again!” a few times over the last little while. It’s more that I’m sick of cooking the same things in the same place, ad nauseum. My creativity has been sapped.

So, why not switch it up a bit? You don’t always have to have a plan in mind, and sometimes a little off the cuff cooking can be just what you need, no matter how it turns out.

As I looked at the flank steak in the fridge, I said no to searing to medium-rare and butter-basting. No to the potatoes, vegetables and salad that usually accompany it. No to cooking that steak the same way I always do. I may not have had a plan and the dish that was brewing may not have had a name, but dammit we had gumption and moxy.

What ended up happening was some kind of vaguely Korean inspired rice and beef bowl. I say vaguely because really the only Korean inspiration is the fact that there’s kimchi up in the mix, and that Koreans like their beef. The truth is though, that you don’t need to label a dish with a region for it to be tasty.

And it was tasty. Salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami all come together. It looked different than my usual. It smelled different than my usual. And most importantly, it TASTED different than my usual. Enough so that I’ll be able to work it into the weekly rotation a few more times before I get sick of it.

Rice and Beef Bowl

Ingredients:

• 700g (1.5lbs) beef flank steak, patted dry with paper towel, at room temperature
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 180g (1 cup) long-grain rice, rinsed
• 454g (1lb) white or crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed through a garlic press or minced
• 1 2” knob ginger, peeled and finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely diced
• 1/2 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced, white & light green parts separate from dark green
• 5mL (1 tsp) Shaoxing wine
• 15mL (1 tbsp) soy sauce
• 237mL (1 cup) nappa cabbage kimchi, liquid included

Method:

1. Heat a large cast-iron or heavy bottomed pan over high heat. Add a film of canola oil and season the steak well on both sides with salt and pepper. Once the oil is hot sear the steak, 2-3 minutes per side, then set aside on a plate to cool.
2. While the steak is searing add the rice to a small pot with a large pinch of salt and cover with 355mL (1.5 cups) of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to as low as the burner will go and let cook for 10 minutes, taking the pot off the burner but keeping covered until needed.
3. Once the steak is seared and resting, add another film of oil to the pan if needed and add the mushrooms. Add a large pinch of salt to the mushrooms and leave to cook undisturbed for 6-7 minutes, until they’ve given up their liquid and have begun to brown.
4. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and red pepper to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium. Stir well to combine and cook until the vegetables have softened, 3-4 minutes.
5. Slice the steak with the grain into 2-3 chunks, then slice each chunk across the grain into thin slices. Add these to the pan with whatever juices have accumulated on the plate and the white and light green parts of the green onions. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
6. Add the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and kimchi. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the mixture simmer for 3-4 minutes.
7. Uncover and fluff the rice with a fork. Spoon some rice into bowls. Top with the beef and kimchi mix. Garnish with the dark green parts of the green onions

This dish wasn’t hard. It doesn’t really have a name or place of origin other than my kitchen. Is it Korean? Chinese? Pan-Asian? Who cares! I’m not an expert, and I’m not trying to pass myself off as one. All I know is, it’s delicious and just what I needed to kick-start my creativity and love for cooking at home again.

How about you readers? In a rut for dinner ideas? I mean, that’s maybe why you come here. Let me know in the comments below or by email what you’re cooking these days to stay motivated. Maybe I’ll take on one of your recipes! Until next time!