kruizing with kikukat

Monday, November 10, 2014

Namul: Korean Bean Sprout Salad

This is probably not a good time to be posting a cold vegetable picture and recipe.  But I MUST.  After all the feasting over the weekend (feasting actually began on Friday), I realize I need to scale back a bit.

But I HAD to celebrate on Friday.  No, not because it was my birthday, but something else happened...something I've been waiting a whole year to happen.  I hadn't expected it to turn out so deliciously well, but it did.  Thank you, 3M for making IT happen and for allowing me to be there to witness it all.

Sometimes assholes really DO get what they deserve!

I had a great lunch on Friday, and it was followed by an onolicious dinner at Miyo's.  I got to eat fried oysters.  Even better, the Ds were with me.  I didn't hafta share them this year.

On Saturday, The Help suggested we make it a double buffet day.  On one of his 10k-step walks, he noticed a breakfast buffet being served at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel.  It wasn't crowded, and the bacon was crispy.  It was definitely NOT the Hawaii Prince breakfast buffet, but for Hilo, it was pretty good.  The bread pudding was delicious, and there weren't too many raisins to pick out.  Have I ever made it clear how much I hate raisins?  It is right up there on the list, a few notches away from the devil's condiment.

The second buffet was something I've been wanting to try but always found the near-$100/person pricetag daunting.  Leave it to The Help to surprise me with a drive out to the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel for the Clambake.  Wow!  Among other things, I consumed a dozen oysters and 2 lobster tails and a set of lobster claws.  I love lobster!  The Help likely ate only a fraction of what I did, eating mostly shrimp cocktail and sashimi, and he even managed to sneak in some salad selections. There was a guy on the next table who definitely beat me.  He ate 3 whole lobsters.  I know because I watched him (couldn't help it...he was in my line of sight).  He also had a slab of prime rib in between all that.  I don't expect to get back to the Clambake any time soon, after all, I can't be going there with D1!  But now, I'm excited to try the Let's Go Crabbing buffet at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.  Its a fraction of the price (under $70 for adults) and features all kinds of crab.  Maybe when D1 goes on her spring break trip. . .

So after all that feasting and pigging out, it's time to lay low on the food, especially the cholesterol.  I soaked some chicken in a kal bi-type marinade, and I made some namul.   There is nothing better to eat with hibachi food than namul.  "Namul" is what I call Korean bean sprout salad, but I know namul actually refers to various vegetable dishes served as banchan, those small dishes with tasty morsels served at Korean restaurants before the meal comes.  All I know is they never give enough namul, and the bean sprouts is what I always hope to hoard!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

     1/2 - 1 lb mung bean sprouts
     1 1/2 tbsp green onion, chopped
     1/2 tsp sugar
     1 tbsp sesame oil
     1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
     3 tbsp shoyu

Clean bean sprouts and wash in cold water.  Boil water in a medium saucepan.  Add bean sprouts to boiling water and leave in for 1 minute (Can also steam over water for 5 minutes in the microwave...high power).  Drain, rinse well in cold water, and drain well.  Add remaining ingredients and chill thoroughly before serving.

While all this was going on, it was a rather disappointing sports weekend.  All the teams/individuals I was cheering for did not prevail:  high school football, college football, professional football, Formula One.  On the other hand, I did manage to attempt knitting again. . .I had lots of time to sit and give it another go.
And after spending the better part of an hour taking stuff apart, I'm asking myself why I choose to take part in such torture.

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