Instagrub: Sticky + Garlicky Korean Beef Noodles

And here's the last recipe to kick off our week of Asian dishes! Remember how I mentioned on Wednesday that I would post my Sticky + Garlicky Korean Beef Noodles? Well, here they are! There are very few recipes that we make more than once. My husband hates me for that because I'll make something so delicious, and then when he requests it again, I have to tell him that I've already made that and I'm a food blogger who needs to constantly come up with new recipes for all of my followers! However, there are a few exceptions to that argument, and one of them is certainly this Asian pasta dish. We have made these Korean Beef Noodles every week for the last six months! We think it's pretty easy-peasy to make and it makes enough to feed an army! The sauce is pretty straight forward, as I already went into how to make it on my post for the Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Sweet + Salty Sauce (literally, it is the exact same sauce). As for the pasta, I really love to use Trader Joe's Pappardelle Pasta for this recipe, but honestly, any kind of noodles will do! The most important cooking process is by far the beef component. I start off by cooking the ground beef in a cast iron skillet until it has just barely finished cooking, and then I drain the excess fat out of the pan, using a pasta strainer. While the beef is separating from the extra fat and liquid, wipe down the cast iron skillet, so that it is completely dry. Return the skillet to your stovetop and crank up the heat to as high as it will go. Once it is screeching hot, add the ground beef back in, along with the minced garlic. Quickly pour in half of the sweet + salty sauce and stir to coat the ground beef. I find that if you cook this at a very high heat, the sauce will perfectly caramelized onto the meat and deepen the flavor. Really all that is left to do is to combine all of the components... al dente pasta, caramelized onions, charred green onions, minced green onions, sweet + salty sauce, caramelized ground beef, + seasonings. We really like to overdo it with the minced, dried garlic, toasted sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes, so I'll leave that up to you on how much you want to put in. Now all you have to do is eat the Sticky + Garlicky Korean Beef Noodles while they are still hot!! Enjoy :)

For the Sweet + Salty Sauce:

1C Light Brown Sugar

½C Soy Sauce

¼C Hoisin Sauce

1T Toasted Sesame Oil

1-2T Sriracha (depending on how spicy you like it)

1T Rice Wine Vinegar

1t Freshly Grated Ginger

1t Red Pepper Flakes (less or more to your preferred spiciness)

4 Large Cloves of Garlic, Minced

For the Caramelized Onions:

2 Vidalia Onions, Sliced

4T Unsalted Butter

2T Vegetable Oil

1t Kosher Salt

1T Sugar

For the Korean Beef Noodles:

1T Canola Oil

2 Bunches of Green Onions (1 bunch finely sliced + 1 bunch cut into 1-inch pieces)

1T Toasted Sesame Oil

2-3lbs 80/20 Ground Chuck

4 Large Cloves of Garlic, Minced

16oz Pappardelle Noodles (I like Trader Joe’s brand, but really any kind of pasta will work)

2T Korean Chili Seasoning

Prepared Sweet + Salty Sauce

Prepared Caramelized Onions

2T Minced, Dried Garlic (or to taste, but we love adding a bunch to this pasta)

1T Toasted Sesame Seeds

1t Red Pepper Flakes (this is optional, but you can add more or less to your liking)

Directions:

1. For the Sweet + Salty Sauce: In a small pot, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until it is well incorporated. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-low heat, making sure to continuously whisk. Reduce to a simmer and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the sauce cool for a few minutes. Repeat this process of bringing it to a boil and simmering the sauce three more times. After you have done this, allow the sauce to cool while you make the Korean Beef Noodles.

2. For the Caramelized Onions: Heat the butter and oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add in the sliced onions, salt, and sugar. Cook for 10 minutes, and then reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to caramelize, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes. The onions should be browned and caramelized. If at all during the cooking the onions begin to darken or burn, just add a few tablespoons of water. After they are done, turn off the heat and leave the caramelized onions in the pot.

3. Charring the Green Onions: In a cast iron skillet, over high heat, add in the canola oil. Take the one bunch of green onions that were cut into 1-inch pieces (leave the other bunch of thinly sliced green onions uncooked) and put them in the searing hot pan. Stir the onions around for a minute or two until they have begun to char and slightly soften. Remove the charred green onions from the pan and place them into the pot with the caramelized onions.

4. Preparing the Pasta: Boil your pasta according to the package directions. Once they have cooked to al dente, strain the noodles and add them into the pot with the onions. Sprinkle the Korean chili seasoning on top of the pasta and toss to combine all of the ingredients in the pot (that way the noodles won’t stick together).

5. Cooking the Ground Beef: Heat 1T of toasted sesame oil, in the same cast iron skillet that you charred the green onions in, over medium-high heat. Add in the ground beef and cook until just browned, about 5 minutes. Make sure to crumble the beef as it cooks, so smaller pieces form. Drain the excess fat out of the pan. Return the cast iron pan to high heat. Once it has gotten extremely hot, add the cooked, crumbled beef back into the pan, along with the garlic. Stir this mixture around for 1-2 minutes. Quickly pour half of the sweet + salty sauce over the ground beef and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Cooking at such a high temperature will help the sauce to caramelize into the beef and deepen the flavor.

6. Finishing the Korean Beef Noodles: Pour the sauced, caramelized beef over the pasta in the large pot, and then drizzle in the remaining sweet + salty sauce and add in the finely sliced green onions. Using tongs, toss together all of the ingredients until they are evenly incorporated. Season the pasta with the dried minced garlic, toasted sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes. Mix everything together and serve while the noodles are still hot!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Sweet + Salty Sauce

We've been on a real Asian kick this week when it comes to cooking dinner. Sometime in the next few days, I'll post my Garlicky Korean Beef Noodles, which have become a weekly meal for the last 6 months. But today, we're going to talk about chicken lettuce wraps. Lettuce wraps are a must for me whenever we go out to a restaurant, so why not make my own version at home? This recipe is pretty easy when it comes to cooking other dishes on my food blog, although you will do a lot of chopping. But if you have another person helping you, y'all will be done in no time! I started off by making my go-to sweet + salty sauce (that also goes on the Korean Beef Noodles) and all you have to worry about is bring it to a boil, reducing it to a simmer, whisking continuously, and letting it cool. You'll repeat that cooking process 3-4 times until the sauce is smooth and has reduced slightly. After you have done that, just let the sauce cool in the small pot until you are ready to pour it over the chicken. Now, I have a pretty firm belief that everyone likes chicken, but if you are that one person who doesn't, then just trade out the ground chicken for ground pork and ground beef. Now let's talk about all the vegetables. We were recently eating out at one of our favorite thai restaurants and they have the most glorious chicken lettuce wraps. Something a little different that they include are red + green bell peppers. Both my husband and I enjoyed that addition so much, that I had to put some peppers into my chicken-vegetable mixture. It is important though, that you dice up the sweet onions and bell peppers to the same size, so that they will all cook for the same time. Once those vegetables have become slightly softened and somewhat translucent, throw in the minced fresh garlic, diced water chestnuts, minced green onions, fresh basil, minced dried garlic, toasted sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil, and some red pepper flakes. Stir it all together and let it cook for a minute or two. Now, all that is left to do is to pour some of the sauce over the chicken mixture until everything is coated. I would suggest starting with half the sauce and working your way up because you don't want an overwhelmingly large amount drowning your chicken + veggies. The goal here is to add just the right amount of sauce to your liking, that way the chicken lettuce wraps taste light and delicious. All that there is left to do is to assemble them. Get a piece of butter lettuce, spoon in some of the sauced chicken mixture on top, drizzle with a little bit of extra sauce, and garnish with a pinch of minced, dried garlic, red pepper flakes, and toasted crushed peanuts. Voila, you have made yourself a real crowd pleasing recipe! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 

For the Sweet + Salty Sauce:

1C Light Brown Sugar

½C Soy Sauce

¼C Hoisin Sauce

2T Toasted Sesame Oil + 2T Sriracha

1T Rice Wine Vinegar

1t Freshly Grated Ginger

1t Red Pepper Flakes (less or more to your preferred spiciness)

For the Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps:

Prepared Sweet + Salty Sauce

4T Vegetable Oil (separated)

2lbs Ground Chicken

2 Sweet Onions, Diced

1 Red Bell Pepper + 1 Green Pepper, Diced

1t Salt

8oz Sliced Water Chestnuts, Diced

8 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

2 Bunches of Green Onions, Minced

¼C Fresh Basil, Minced

2T Minced Dried Garlic (plus more for garnishing)

1T Toasted Sesame Seeds (plus more for garnishing)

Red Pepper Flakes (to your preferred spiciness)

1T Toasted Sesame Oil

1-2 Butter Head Lettuce

Toasted, Crushed Peanuts, For Garnishing

Directions:

1. For the Sweet + Salty Sauce: In a small pot, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until it is well incorporated. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-low heat, making sure to continuously whisk. Reduce to a simmer and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the sauce cool for a few minutes. Repeat this process of bringing it to a boil and simmering the sauce three more times. After you have done this, allow the sauce to cool while you make the chicken lettuce wraps.

2. Cooking the Chicken: Heat 2T oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add in the ground chicken and cook until just browned, about 5-7 minutes. Make sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks, so smaller pieces form. Drain the excess fat out of the pan and set aside the cooked chicken while you sauté the vegetables.

3. Making the Asian Chicken: In a large pot, heat the other 2T of oil over medium-high heat. Add in the diced onions, diced red bell pepper, diced green pepper, and the salt. Sauté these vegetables for about 5-10 minutes, until they have cooked down and gave become translucent. Next, toss in the diced water chestnuts, minced garlic, and minced green onions. Stir everything so that it is all mixed together. Bring the heat up to high and let it cook on that temperature for a minute. Drizzle in half of the reduced sweet + salty sauce, stirring to make sure the lettuce wrap mixture is completely coated in the sauce. Lastly, finish off the dish by throwing in the fresh minced basil, minced dried garlic, toasted sesame seeds, as much or as little red pepper flakes that you like, and toasted sesame oil. Turn off the heat and taste the sauced, ground chicken-vegetable mixture. If you think the chicken needs more sauce, salt, or red pepper flakes, then add it to your liking.

4. Assembling the Chicken Lettuce Wraps: Pull off the individual leaves of butter lettuce and wash and dry them. Place the lettuce leaves onto a plate, and then spoon some of the chicken mixture into each leaf. Garnish the top of the chicken lettuce wraps with a drizzle of the sweet + salty sauce, dried minced garlic, pinch of red pepper flakes, and some toasted, crushed peanuts. Enjoy the lettuce wraps while they are still hot (but they are just as delicious if you serve them cold)!