Judy Joo shares 2 easy Korean-inspired dinner recipes
Looking for an easy way to turn one dinner into two delicious meals? Chef and cookbook author Judy Joo has you covered with a Korean-inspired twist on two crowd-pleasing dishes.
Joo stopped by "Good Morning America" to share recipes for beef bulgogi and loaded nachos from her new cookbook, "Mukja: Let's Eat!", which features more than 80 recipes inspired by K-pop, Korean dramas and films.
Check out both recipes below.
'Highway to Heaven' Bulgogi
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 pound (450 grams) thinly sliced bulgogi beef or ribeye steak (or other prime cut of beef), trimmed
1/2 cup (120 milliliters) soy sauce
1 small (200 grams) ripe Asian pear or Bosc/Conference pear, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
3 large (15 grams) garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon (15 grams) ginger, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) roasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon (15 grams) dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) fish sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons (22 milliliters) mirim (cooking rice wine)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt or kosher salt
1 medium (150 grams) onion, thinly sliced
To serve:
1 green onion (15 grams), finely sliced
1 teaspoon mixed black and white sesame seeds
Steamed short-grain white rice
Kimchi
Ssam (leafy greens for wraps)
Directions
Grab thinly sliced bulgogi meat from a Korean grocer or prep your ribeye steaks by chilling them in the freezer for about 2 hours. Once they're partially frozen, channel Taeyong's precision and slice the meat with a sharp knife into 1/8-inch (1/4-centimeter) slivers. Place the sliced meat into a large bowl, ready to harmonize.
Hit the high notes in a food processor by blending together the soy sauce, pear, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, brown sugar, fish sauce, and mirim until it's smoother than Jaehyun's vocals.
Add the pepper and season with a bit of salt. Pour this marinade over the beef, mix and remix by hand, massaging the meat. Cover and let it chill in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight, then toss in the sliced onion.
Crank up the heat to high on a griddle pan or set a bulgogi pan over a chargrill. When it's sizzling like a WayV comeback, cook the bulgogi in batches, letting each piece hit its peak doneness in about 2 minutes. Plate it up with a sprinkle of chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
Serve with rice, kimchi, and ssam (leafy greens)... not your "Regular" Sunday dinner!
'Me Like' Loaded Nachos
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
For the guacamole:
1/4 medium (60 grams) white onion, roughly chopped
1/2 red Korean chili or serrano chili, seeded and roughly chopped
2 tablespoon roughly chopped cilantro leaves
1 1/2 tablespoon (20 milliliters) fresh lime juice, or to taste
2 large ripe Hass avocados (about 200 grams each), peeled and pitted
Sea salt or kosher salt
For the spicy cheese sauce:
2 ounces (55 grams) cheddar, shredded
2 ounces (55 grams) Monterey Jack, shredded
1/2 tablespoon (12 grams) cornstarch
6 ounces (177 milliliters) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon (7 grams) gochujang (hot pepper paste), or to taste
For the nachos:
1 1/2 cups (about 230 grams) canned refried pinto beans
2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) water
1 1/2 cups (350 grams) "Highway to Heaven" Bulgogi (page 140) with juices
20 ounces (567 grams) corn tortilla chips
1/4 cup (28 grams) shredded Monterey Jack
1/4 cup (30 grams) crumbled cotija or feta
1/4 cup (60 grams) crema Mexicana or sour cream
1 1/4 cups (300 grams) Kimchi Salsa (see page 156)
1/4 cup (30 grams) pickled jalapenos
3 tablespoons (6 grams) chopped cilantro leaves
Directions
First, kick off the guac groove by firing up a food processor with the onion, chili, cilantro, and lime juice -- pulse it precisely like Jay's vocal runs, until it's a silky paste.
In a spacious bowl, nestle those creamy avocados and mash 'em fierce with a stiff whisk, and then weave in the onion paste. Season with a heavy salt drop (taste it like you're critiquing a comeback single) and more lime for that zesty lift if it calls to you.
Stir till it's chunky-cohesive, evoking the raw edge of a freestyle cypher. Drape plastic wrap flush over the surface (removing all the air bubbles, no room for off-beat vibes), and stick it in the fridge.
Now, amp up that spicy cheddar sauce to drip like Jay's effortless charisma. In a hefty saucepan, mix and mingle your cheddar and Monterey Jack with the cornstarch, then stream in half (3 ounces/85 grams) of the evaporated milk plus the gochujang for fierce umami swagger. Low-heat it and whisk relentlessly, melting it slowly and seductively till it thickens.
Ease in the remaining milk bit by bit to nail your velvet consistency. Pull off the heat and put in a warm place, keeping the rhythm unbroken.
Scoop the refried beans into a medium bowl and fold in the water for that unexpected fluidity -- think a mid-track switch-up that flips the energy without missing a beat. Heat 'em gently in the microwave or in a small pan over medium-low heat until they're piping and pulsing. Park 'em aside.
Colander the bulgogi over a deep bowl, draining its juices and capturing every drop. Splash those savory drips into your warmed beans and blend for a seamless collab that hits different. On a cutting board, dice the beef into 1-inch (2 1/2-centimeter) pieces, sharp as a lyric twist. Set aside and keep warm.
Crank the oven to 375 F (190 C), rack centered. It's time to assemble: Cascade tortilla chips across a giant baking sheet, then blanket with Monterey Jack and a lavish cheese sauce pour. Nudge and remix the layers for balanced coverage. Oven-blast for 5 to 6 minutes, till cheese pools molten with those toasty char flecks -- pure pyrotechnic finale energy.
Haul to a broad platter (or serve straight from the tray for unfiltered grit), then stack the chopped bulgogi, cotija cheese, crema swirls, kimchi salsa scoops, and guac globs. Tempt with extra pickled jalapenos for the daredevil spike and a final flourish of cilantro leaves. These nachos? On endless replay, that you'll serve over and over again.
'GMA' kitchen picks
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Mukja: Let's Eat! Fan-Favorite Recipes from K-Pop, K-Dramas & More by Judy Joo, Jessica Do and Ryu Soo-Young
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