Next week, the week of Christmas, Comfort Keto is bringing to you another fun meal: The Korea Bibimbap. This dish combines seasoned and sautéed vegetables, seaweed, mushrooms, chunks of tender chicken breast, fried egg, sesame oil, and the Korean chili paste sauce (gochujang) mixed in a bowl. “Bibim” means actually mixing ingredients together “bap” means rice -in our case ketogenic caulirice.
The beauty of bibimbap is that it is perfect for every season and that there is no prescribed way to prepare this nutritious, balanced, and colorful Korean bowl. There are many stories of origin for bibimbap. Hstorical Korean records going as far back as 16th century have many references to bibimbap. The one story of origin we like the most is that the Korean people would mix all the leftovers in their fridge/cooler/storage with rice (of course in our case we use cauli rice) in order to begin the new year with fresh supplies.
This iconic dish became internationally known for the first time in the 1920s. Today bibimbap is served in many Korean casual dining restaurants across Southern California.
Gochujang, the Korean Red Pepper Paste
As the world gets smaller, foods and recipes that were previously available in only certain regions can now be enjoyed everywhere. One such food is the Korean gochujang, the up-to-a-year fermented red pepper sauce. The longer gochujang is left to ferment, the more flavorful it will be.
Today, gochujang is a widely popular condiment in Korea which used in the same way as ketchup. It can be drizzled over an Asian bowl or used to marinade meats for delicious Asian dishes. Chef Janine of COMFORT KETO first marinates the meats (chicken, beef or pork) in gochujang for an hour, and then pan fries them.
Benefits of Gochujang
Based on many medical studies conducted in the recent years, it's widely recognized that gochujang can be instrumental in weight loss and the treatment of diabetes (by reducing insulin resistance), and helps reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
Gochujang is packed with nutrients that help your body in a number of ways. Some of the vital nutrients found in Gochujang include: Vitamin C, Sodium, Dietary fiber, Vitamin A and Iron.
The chili in gochujang is also rich in three main bioactive antioxidant compounds all of which slow down and prevent damage at cellular level: carotenoids, capsaicinoids, and flavonoids.
In addition, gochujang ...
improves the body's metabolic rate (active component is capsaicin.)
supports the digestive system, and
contains the digestive enzymes amylase (breaks down the starch) and protease (breaks down proteins).
Gochujang is registered with the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the international food standards organization. This nutritious Korean red pepper paste can be stored for up to 2 years if refrigerated at 40F.