Sequestration Meal #24

I'm very glad I stocked up on tofu before it was sold out, because that meant I got to have this lovely vegan crispy Korean barbecue tofu from Rabbits and Wolves! Because I was making an effort at true Korean fusion, I made sure I had some banchan (반찬, "side dishes"), though I don't know what a Korean would think of my efforts: A quick corn salad of corn, Twilight tomatoes, and green pepper in Vegenaise seasoned with salt and pepper; baek kimchi (백김치, literally, "white kimchi") purchased a while ago from H-Mart that I only just found the courage to try (fortunately it lasts a long time), and cucumber slices with everything bagel seasoning.

I think there is a bit more barbecue sauce than I really needed, so I'll be trying to figure out what else to do with it soon. Otherwise, all I can say is that the recipe is a winner! It's pretty spicy even though I used "mild" gochujang (고추장, "red pepper paste"), because Koreans define "mild" quite differently than I would. Somehow, though, I've never minded the extra spiciness with gochujang. That stuff is amazing, always, and it brings back nice memories for me.

Baek kimchi is not spicy, just vinegary. It's a bit like sauerkraut. It's not my favorite thing, but I'm glad I tried it! (Be careful to read labels on kimchi, because there can be non-vegan surprises in some of them.)

I was right to think I'd want something creamy and sweet to counteract the spicy tofu, so the corn salad was a good idea! Similarly, the crisp, juicy cucumbers were also good to soothe the mouth-is-on-fire feeling. I am really glad cucumbers were available.

Comments

  1. What a lovely meal!
    I have always wanted to find white kimchi here, as regular kimchi is far too spicy for me.

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    Replies
    1. I hope you can find some sometime! Do you have a Korean market nearby?

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  2. This looks like such a great meal, and I love the little fish-shaped bowl! I'll have to try cucumber slices with everything bagel seasoning sometime!

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    Replies
    1. It's a great snack!

      Oddly enough, I haven't used my fishy bowls in ages, and now I'm using them a lot. One benefit of quarantine, perhaps? Next thing you know I'll break out my stemware for ginger ale or something.

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  3. Wow! This looks incredible!! I also can't believe how spicy the gochujang is. I have learned to have a light hand with it as well, haha! I actually like white kimchi. I don't eat it often because it's so expensive but I definitely prefer it over the spicy one!

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    1. I prefer white kimchi over red, to be sure! When I was in my early 20s I lived in a small dormitory with a bunch of Korean women. We ate together a lot, but they wouldn't let me eat with them unless I ate kimchi, and it was more or less always red kimchi. I never much cared for red kimchi, but I loved most of their food, so I ate a LOT of kimchi in my early 20s! They taught me how to cook a lot of things, but I wasn't vegan then and they weren't, either, so I haven't tried to cook Korean food much in a long time. I loved rediscovering these flavors.

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