Join me for Merienda: Omma's Kitchen inspired Collard Green V and GF, Bi Bim Bap Wraps

A nyoung ha sae yo! (That's the formal way to say 'Hello,' in Korean =)

I wasn't able to post the previous month due to some personal circumstances, but I am dedicating this post to the memory of my cousin Jojo. I know that she would've loved to have eaten this dish with me. She always had a great appreciation for food and for life. 

My cousin Jojo is on the right. She always had a smile on her face and was one of the kindest and most generous human beings that I have ever known in my life. 

Pinsan, these Bi Bim Bap wraps are for you =)  Mahal kita!  <3

Yes, we're going to be talking about Korean food today. I have long been a fan of Korean food because of its freshness and true flavors. I've been aware of Korean food since a very young age because of a local store that my family would frequent. Let's put it this way, I was more acquainted with Kim bap than sushi as a youngster. In subsequent years, the store would expand to include a tiny restaurant side to it as well. It's really nice to support a small and family run business and I still go to this same store/restaurant today. 

An example of lovely Jap Chae noodles =)

I think that this is somebody's idea of Kimchi heaven =)

Over the years, I've learned many different techniques of cooking from various cultures and adapted them to my taste and my personal regimen. I've been making my own Vegan (as well as Gluten Free) version of various types of Kimchi for the last couple of years as well. I mean, who doesn't enjoy a nice bowl of  Jap Chae, I just add in more shiitake mushrooms and omit the meat/seafood. 

Anyway, maybe I'll have some posts about that stuff another day, but today we're going to pay homage to Ommas Kitchen. This youtube channel features videos of a Korean Mom giving cooking lessons to her daughters. She speaks directly to them; telling them how to make their favorite dishes. It's so cute sometimes when you hear her banter with her husband in the kitchen too. In one video, she was showing how she makes Bi Bim Bap wraps with blanched collard green leaves and I wanted to give it a go myself. 

If you don't already know what Bi Bim Bap is; then you can check out the wikipedia link for it right here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibimbap

I like Omma and her kitchen. I can relate to her style of cooking because she's pretty liberal about it when it comes to ingredients and just using whatever you have on hand and adjusting it to your taste etc.

Here is the link to the original video on Ommas Kitchen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVY_m64AQiA

So, let's get down to business and show Omma, some love!

This is going to be a more show and tell type of entry as opposed to the regular recipe posts. If you have any questions, just leave them in the comments section and I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability.

Collard Green leaves you with a good feeling =)

The big difference between how I prepared the leaves, is that she blanches the collard green leaves, but I chose to steam the leaves instead because I didn't wanted to waste all that water. I washed the collard green leaves very well and then cut off the longer stem pieces and put those on the bottom of the steamer tray/basket and then carefully layered the leaves to cover the whole surface area. I then steamed the leaves for about 13 minutes. After steaming the leaves, I then put the leaves into an ice water bath for about 12 minutes and then removed them. The steaming worked well and made the leaves pliable for rolling.

I chopped up the stems of the collard greens and pickled them in a vinegar solution. I don't think that there's ever a time when I don't have some sort of homemade pickle in the fridge; so I will save the pickling liquid and use them for marinades. In this instance, I had pickling liquid leftover from some pickled garlicky daikon ribbons that I had made.

The other ban chans (vegetable side dishes that are traditionally served with Bi Bim Bap)  that I made for this version were fried tofu triangles, sauteed sesame carrots with green onion and garlic, homemade hijiki salad, a bit of korean short grain brown rice and homemade V,GF napa kimchi..

There are so many other ban chans that could've been made or gone into this version, but that's what makes it fun to eat and make. You can play around and figure out which combinations you like the best. I think that I'll probably make a marinated mung or soy bean salad and add in some shredded cucumber as well for the next version. 

Are the Ban Chan's related to Jackie Chan? =p

Another view of the Ban Chan's: Clockwise- Pan Fried Tofu Triangles, Sauteed  Sesame Carrots with green onions and garlic, Hijiki Salad, Marinated collard green stems and homemade V,GF Napa Kimchi.

Hey, we gotta go! Wrap it up, already!

The Ban Chan's at their daily meeting spot.

The two collard green wrappers: America's next top rap sensation?

Portable nourishment! Reach out and grab one! =)

If you encounter the problem of not having big enough collard green leaves to fully wrap your ingredients; you just simply overlap two leaves and problem solved! I am Jessgyver! =p

I should also,give a shout-out to some of the other Korean cooking channels on youtube that I also enjoy and those are:

Aeri's Kitchen

Korean Food with Maangchi

I hope that you try this style of Bi Bim Bap and also check out those youtube channels. I always find inspiration from everything in my life and from some of these culinary channels as well.

Wishing you good health and happy cooking =)

A nyong hee gae sae yo! (That's one of the formal ways to say 'Goodbye,' in Korean =)

Until next time....   

=)

Love,

                            Jessica