FRONT BURNER: Loving the parts without sum success

Sweet and Spicy Beef Bowl
Sweet and Spicy Beef Bowl

My criteria for judging whether my husband and I will like a new dish is pretty simple: do we like all of its ingredients?

Most of the time this is spot-on. But every once in a while, I come across a recipe that I'm sure we'll both love, only to make it and discover I was wrong. Well, about the we part, anyway.

That was the case with this Korean-inspired-but-not-in-any-shape-or-form-authentic beef dish. I loved it. My husband did not. He didn't even like it. Why not is a mystery because he likes all of its components. He's eaten -- and enjoyed -- dishes with all of these ingredients combined before. But not this time.

I thought it was delicious -- spicy, sweet, cooling, crunchy, beefy. It has almost everything going for it. It's equally good made with pork. And though I haven't tried it with ground chicken or turkey, I bet those would be great, too.

Even the leftovers were good -- cold from the fridge, stuffed into lettuce leaves and topped with dry roasted peanuts.

Sweet and Spicy Beef Bowl

1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons water

3 small cloves garlic, minced and mashed into a paste OR 11/2 teaspoons garlic paste

2 teaspoons sesame oil OR stir-fry oil

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 pound lean ground beef

2 green onions, thinly sliced, white and green parts divided

Sesame seeds, for garnish

Hot cooked rice, for serving

1 cup matchstick-cut carrots

1 cup matchstick-cut cucumber

Small handful fresh mint leaves

Small handful fresh cilantro leaves

In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, soy sauce, water, garlic, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger; set aside.

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks, until well browned. Drain. Return to skillet and stir in brown sugar mixture and green onion whites and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens and coats meat. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onion tops.

Serve over rice topped with carrots, cucumbers and fresh herbs.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from damndelicious.net

Food on 06/21/2017

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