Korean Shiitake-Beef Lettuce Wraps

It’s NaBloPoMo on Unfussy Epicure!

NaBloPoMo is National Blog Posting Month. Bloggers who choose to participate post to their blogs every day. As with NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month, where participants write a minimum number of words every day – it’s a little hard to pin down what month actually is the official month for NaBloPoMo. Maybe there isn’t even an official month. I don’t know. But I saw something yesterday – which, of course, I can’t find now – that said it was November (and a guide I found online says November is the biggest month, with “prizes and everything,”), and I’m ready to roll, so here we go!

I love meals that are assembled at the table from bowls presented family-style. It seems a little odd, I guess, to want to cook in the kitchen and then do it more during the meal, but the relaxed conviviality of such meals is such a joyful way to eat. I’ve loved tacos since I was a kid, in part because we always ate them that way.

Korean flavors have become some of my favorites to work with, so when I had a huge package of fresh shiitakes from Talin and needed to use them up, I threw this recipe together. I had lettuce in the crisper and ground beef in the freezer, and I wanted something that felt fresh and healthy but still had some heft to it. It goes together quickly once the ingredients are assembled – and there really aren’t that many ingredients to get together. Serve with a side of rice; if you have the time, try frying some leftover brown rice with chopped kimchi. So good!

Use a lean ground beef if fat is a concern, since the method doesn’t include draining off the fat. (But if you think there’s too much in the pan after the beef and mushrooms are fried, by all means spoon some off before adding the seasonings.)

Do take the time to find prepared gochujang. It comes in squeeze bottles, and as Korean food becomes more popular, I’ve been seeing it everywhere. You can probably find it in the Asian foods aisle of most well-stocked supermarkets. Annie Chun’s makes a popular variety, but I’ve tried several brands and all supplied the sweet, bright heat that makes the savory filling pop. You could use sriracha, but the flavor is more vinegary and it’s hotter – and the flavor won’t be Korean!

Incidentally, if you don’t have shiitakes on hand, or if you’re vegetarian or just cooking like one, you can easily use all beef or all mushrooms instead of the mixture. This is a homestyle recipe; to give it a classier feel, substitute thinly sliced beef for the ground beef.

You may be tempted to leave out the pinch of salt, since you’ll be adding soy sauce later, but I learned recently that a pinch of salt makes onions soften more quickly when frying. It really makes a difference!

Korean Shiitake-Beef Lettuce Wraps
Serves: 3-4, with a side dish Time: 30 minutes Hands-on: 30 minutes

8 ounces ground beef
Pinch of salt
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms
1/2 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced or grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Several grinds black pepper
1 head lettuce (Boston or red leaf are good), leaves rinsed and dried whole
1/2 cucumber, skinned if waxed and sliced
1 carrot, grated, optional
Gochujang (or sriracha, in a pinch) for serving

In a large skillet, start browning the ground beef. (If using only mushrooms, heat a tablespoon of neutral oil.) When it starts to exude liquid, add the salt, mushrooms, onion, and garlic, and fry until the meat is done and the mushrooms are soft.

Push the meat and mushrooms back from one edge of the pan and add 3 tablespoons of soy sauce. The sauce should bubble up, starting at the edge and moving inward; this step caramelizes it and concentrates the flavor. When it has all bubbled, stir into the filling mixture along with the sugar, ginger, sesame oil, and pepper. Taste and add more soy sauce, sugar, or pepper to taste

Scoop the hot filling into a bowl and place on the table with bowls of lettuce leaves, cucumbers, and carrots, and the bottle of gochujang. Encourage diners to select a lettuce leaf, stuff it with the filling and garnishes, and top with chile sauce.

NaBloPoMo 2014 Post #1

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