Mapo Ragù
I came across this recipe for Mapo Ragù in the online New York Times Cooking magazine, I love scrolling through their ideas for inspiration, apart from great photography they have easy to follow and tasty recipes. With this dish the chefs Chefs Chang and Tien Ho (from New Yorks Momofuku) have fused the cuisines of Italy, China and Korea into a super flavourful dish.
The original version is Mapo Tofu which has an umami-packed sauce with gochujang and Szechuan peppers. This version is combined with an Italian inspired pork or beef ragù. It combines the mouth-tingling goodness of Szechuan cuisine, the richness of an Italian meat sauce, and throws in a Korean twist with gochujang. Gochujang is a fermented chili paste that’s equal parts smoky, sweet, and spicy. The result? A sauce so addictive, you’ll want to put it on everything.
Serve it with white rice, steamed bimi and toasted sesame seeds. Mapo Ragù is the kind of dish that makes you realise how exciting fusion cooking is.
Mapo Ragù - Korean Spicy Minced Pork
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 3 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
- 2 large onions, peeled and sliced
- Pinch of sea salt, or to taste
- 1 pound ground pork (I used 50/50 beef & pork)
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 2 cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 3 tbsp gochujang (Korean chili-bean paste)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns (optional) - roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 bunch bimi or any hearty cooking greens, roughly chopped
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced, for garnish
Instructions
Steam or cook the rice as mentioned on the packaging (I boil it for 8 minutes in salted water, drain and then let steam in the pan for another 8 minutes or until the rest of the food is done).
Heat the oil in heavy based pan set over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add the onions and the pinch of salt.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have released their moisture and are starting to brown, approximately 8 minutes.
Then turn the heat down to low, and continue to cook, stirring every few minutes, until they have turned golden brown and sweet, an additional 20 minutes or so.
While the onions are sautéeing you can start preparing the rest.
In a bowl mix the sauce ingredients: gojuchang, soy sauce, sugar, Szechuan peppercorns (if using) and water, set aside.
Add a tablespoon of oil to a wok and then add the pork and beef mixture.
Cook the meat, breaking it up with a spoon, until it is just cooked, but not yet browning, approximately 10 minutes.
Add the cooked meat to the onions and set aside.
Return wok to stove over medium heat and cook the garlic and ginger in fat remaining from pork (add an extra splash of neutral oil if necessary).
When the garlic and ginger soften, add the sauce mix and stir through.
Return the mince and onions mixture to the wok and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Bring sauce to a simmer, and add the chopped bimi, then stir to combine and cook until they have started to soften, approximately 7-8 minutes.
Serve the ragù with steamed rice and garnish with the sliced scallions.
1 Comments
Kitchen Adventure #26 from Korea: Mapo Ragu (Korean spicy minced pork) | Silk Road Scuttlebutt
16 October 2024 at 19:54
[…] amount of Korean food. No joke…shameful amount. Soooo…armed with the recipe from A Pinch of Saffron, and a drool bucket, the adventure […]