Korean Fusion: Fried Sesame Broccoli Bites

Korean Fried Sesame Broccoli Bites

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 pound broccoli, chopped into small pieces and steamed
1 teaspoon salt

Korean Fusion: Fried Sesame Broccoli Bites with Ponzu Sauce

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

2 green onion

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
generous pinch of salt to taste

3 eggs

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup panko
vegetable oil

Green onion or parsley and sesame seeds to garnish

Directions:

1. Cut the broccoli head very short from the stem. Cut the head into small florets. Peel the stems and cut into small pieces. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the salt and broccoli, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it reaches the desired tenderness. Drain, immediately blanching the broccoli. Dry well before step 2.

2. Combine the broccoli with sesame seeds, 1 green onion, sesame oil, garlic, salt and 1 whisked egg (to use as a binding agent). Toss well to evenly distribute seasoning.

3. Create breading station - flour, whisk 2 eggs, panko

4. Wash hands then spoon broccoli mixture into hands to create 2-3 inch diameter balls. Squeeze together to firmly compact into round ball.

5. Coat in flour, then egg wash, then panko crumbs. Repeat.

6. Heat vegetable oil to 375 degrees.

7. Carefully place several broccoli balls into oil for 3 minutes until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and place on cooling rack or paper towels.

8. Serve with ponzu sauce!

Happy Sunday Funday! Without further delay, let me introduce to you (finally) the recipe for my Korean fusion-inspired FRIED sesame broccoli bites! And once you pop one of these addicting bite-size snack attacks, trust me when I say this, you won't be able to stop! To add a touch of heat I made a chili ponzu dipping sauce consisting of soy sauce, orange + lemon juice, mirin and red chili pepper powder. This healthy appetizer will surely be a hit at any get-together/party/event! And even though fried foods are not the healthiest choice when it comes to eating right, there is broccoli in this fried dish so it's not all completely bad like a fried oreo for example! Ha ha! It's definitely a great way to get anyone into this green veggie, especially if you're not a fan of it!

There is one thing I highly DO NOT recommend when working with anything fried. I was so exhausted when making these broccoli bites, I had mistaken the vegetable oil for water and covered the pot with a lid! 😳 Let's just say that I definitely experienced my first grease fire in the kitchen but I handled it like a champ! Lesson learned? Don't try to fry anything when you're that sleep-deprived! You're only asking for trouble, honey! Hope y'all enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Coming up this week on the blog, a new look, and a giveaway in honor of a birthday girl (aka; me)! Stay tuned...

Love & xx's,

FOLLOW MAQ + SUZ

Korean Fusion: The Bulgogi Burger with Fried Sesame Broccoli

I haven't posted a new recipe in a couple of weeks due to brainstorming a dish I've never ever even made an attempt at before. And what is it you might ask? Well, I did my take on a Korean burger, and even though these fusion burgers have been around for nearly years (what?!) I really wanted to create my version of a bulgogi burger. For the hamburger buns, I opted for a healthier choice - sushi rice! On top of the bulgogi is a sunny side up egg, with cabbage & carrot slaw, scallions and sriracha sauce.

Close-up of the fried sesame broccoli and a top view of the burger. Look at that perfect sunny side up egg!

Korean Fusion: The Bulgogi Burger with Fried Sesame Broccoli

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 pound flank steak, cut very thin using kitchen shears

1/3 cup soy sauce

Korean Fusion: The Bulgogi Burger with Fried Sesame Broccoli.

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1-2 green onion, chopped

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp honey

Pinch of black pepper

Shredded cabbage & carrot slaw

Sushi Rice

2 Eggs

A sprinkle of sesame seeds

Sriracha sauce

Directions:

1. Combine yellow onion, white and light green parts of green onions, soy sauce, water, sugar, sesame seeds, garlic, sesame oil, and black pepper in a bowl until marinade is well mixed. Add steak slices to marinade; cover and refrigerate, 1 hour to 1 day. 4 hours is ideal.
2. Cook sushi rice in rice cooker. To make these rice buns, you simply form patties out of cooked rice (with damp hands!), brush them with a little soy sauce, and fry them until they get nice and crispy.
3. Grill meat until cooked through. Simultaneously cook the egg sunny side-up.
4. Top each patty with the bulgogi, one sunny side-up egg, shredded cabbage & carrot slaw, a slice or two of green onion,  some sriracha sauce and another rice bun.
5. Enjoy the heck out of it with some fried sesame broccoli! :)

These fried sesame broccoli bites are SINFULLY addicting! SO SO GOOD!

But the highlight of this experimental dish is the FRIED sesame broccoli. DUDE. As a child, I wasn't the biggest fan of broccoli, but when my Ma made her famous sesame broccoli as an 'Americanized' banchan, I immediately grew to love it! While coming up with a variety of Korean fusion dishes, a lightbulb went off. My mind instantly thought of frying a Korean side dish. And voila! Garnished with green onion, minced garlic and sesame seeds, the sesame broccoli is probably the best fusion dish I've made to date! I'm really proud of it and am so excited to share you my ideas when it comes to my cooking.  I'm only putting up the recipe for the burger because I'm still adding some final touches to the broccoli recipe.

Dipping sauce for the fried sesame broccoli bites - soy sauce, sriracha sauce, honey and sesame seeds.

The dipping sauce for the broccoli is simple. It consists of soy sauce, a couple of squirts of sriracha sauce and honey, with a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. I would like to try a yuzu dipping sauce for my next test-run. What do you guys think of these fried sesame broccoli bites? Are you dying for the recipe or what?! I think I'll be doing a separate post just on these lil' guys because they're way too good not to share with the world! Stay tuned...

A closer look at a piece of the fried sesame broccoli. Absolutely delicious!

And here you have it! Take a look at that monstrous burger! Regarding the rice buns, make sure that while shaping the rice into the buns you are with damp hands. Sushi rice can be very sticky so be sure to follow this rule! Also, I've heard parchment paper works well if you want to mold the rice buns this way, but I only had some wax paper in my kitchen at the moment. (Yup, I'm still really not the baking type, but I'm always working on this, though!)

Final look of the bulgogi burger! Ready to be eaten. 😊

Love & xx's,

FOLLOW MAQ + SUZ