Bimbimbop for the In-laws.....someone have steak and potatoes on stand by

I love my in-laws (Still can't believe I am married)!  They are sweet and wonderful!  They both are huge fans of steak and potatoes. My Father-In-Law LOVES spicy foods which has inspired a spicy pot roast, spicy mac & cheese, spicy taco meat and a multitude of spicy twists on classic dishes. However, it has meant the world to me that over the past few months they have allowed me to try prepare different out of their normal eating habit foods for them like couscous, ground turkey and crabs (my Mother-In-Law hates fish) in their kitchen.  Well, last night they let me take them to Korea.  Or a modified version of Korea.....by making one the cheapest meals for four people 

Bimbimbop

Traditional Bimbimbop (as seen in the photo to the left) is white rice with pickled and raw vegetables, a fried runny egg or yolk, chili paste and meat/ fish (optional).  Soy sauce served on the side.

Now me, I turn this meal into leftovers night since I always have rice and eggs on hand.  Hence the cheapest meal EVER.  I saute whatever vegetables I have in the refrigerator and dice up whatever proteins.  Then served the cooked veggies and warmed up meats on plates around the table.  I made a big pot of rice then fry up an egg per person. Because I don't keep chili paste in my kitchen, I substituted with hot sauce. Whatever is on hand.  And put soy sauce on the table.  

TA-DA Americanized Bimbimbop!!!!

Well, I almost had a heart attack when my Mother-In-Law agreed to try my Korean fusion dish after watching a cooking show together where they served Korean style rice.  However, I was not going to ask twice or double check. So, I went full steam ahead and made it for dinner two nights later.  In the fridge I found half a bag of shredded carrots, half a napa cabbage, 2 onions, head of garlic, two jalapenos and two steaks left over from dinner two nights ago (see pic right) . Again, this is a great recipe because you use what's in your refrigerator and pantry.  This recipe is even good with just the rice and fried egg.

So for the rice which the husband made (things involving measuring he tends to take over).  Normally for the two of us we make 2 cups of rice and save half for making fried rice.  However, when cooking for 4, we did 4 cups of rice.  So, the hubby melts 4 tbsps of butter (one for each cup) then add the rice. This toasts the rice and brings out the nuttiness. He added garlic, salt and some MSG.  When the rice is nice and warm, he added the water and cooked as the packaged described.

Well, while the hubby did that, I did the chopping.  I diced two onions. When I onions were nice and tiny, I put them in a pan with a little oil and butter to sweat out until they were clear.  While the onions cooked, I cut up 4 cloves of garlic and the ENTIRE half of the napa cabbage.  Once the onions were clear, I added 2 cloves of  garlic and the cabbage along with more butter (don't call me Paula Deen) and soy sauce.  I let the cabbage cook, only stirring occasionally until the rice was ready.  Then I diced up the two jalapenos and steak.  I sauteed both the steak and jalapenos separately with a clove of garlic each.  By the time all this was done, I had 3 minutes left on the timer for the rice.  So I started frying eggs.  For my Mother-In-Law, I scrabbled two eggs since she does not like runny egg yolks.

And

They enjoyed it. They ate it ALL up!  My Mother-In-Law actually asked if i would make the dish again!

OMG my sweet southern in-laws went Korean and loved it.  Next step, introducing Moroccan!  But we will save that battle for another day.