Posted on

{Macrobiotic March Recipe} Sauteed Sesame Fern Bracken / Fiddlehead Ferns

A few weeks ago when my in-laws were visiting we ended up out in Flushing. Flushing (a town in the eastern part of Queens) has a huge Korean and Chinese population. We stopped into H-Mart (a Korean grocery store) just before heading back to the city and I ended up with quite a large haul. Queens prices < Manhattan prices.

One thing I picked up (it was on sale and I was curious) was ‘fern bracken’.

bracken-fiddlehead-fern-bag

When I got home I discovered that ‘fern bracken’ is actually just another term for fiddlehead ferns. Fiddleheads always pop up at the farmers’ market around April. It’s good to know I can get them year round at H-Mart if I need to. If you’re familiar with Korean food, these bracken ferns / fiddleheads show up in Bi Bim Bap as well – they are the brown pieces of veggie.

Fiddleheads are high in antioxidants, and are a source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. As most vegetables, they are high in fiber. They also happen to have vitamin A, niacin, vitamin C, riboflavin, phosphorus, and even iron.

Sauteed Sesame Fiddlehead Ferns (Bracken Ferns) – Macrobiotic Recipe*

Method (keep reading for recipe ingredients and instructions…)

washed-fiddlehead-bracken-fern

bracken-fiddlehead-fern-marinating

sauteed-bracken-fern-wok

grinding-black-sesame-seeds

fiddlehead-ferns-bracken-ground-black-sesame-final-recipe

We had our ferns with breakfast. I opted for eggs, ferns, takuan (Japanese pickle), and avocado. I believe Bobby had the same but with white rice, too.

     fiddlehead-fern-macrobiotic-breakfast-egg-takuan-avocado

(Eggs technically not macrobiotic; don’t think the avocado is either – but it sure was tasty!)

*Inspired by {this recipe}.

Sauteed Sesame Fern Bracken / Fiddlehead Ferns

IMG 0013 150x150 {Macrobiotic March Recipe} Sauteed Sesame Fern Bracken / Fiddlehead Ferns

  • Prep time:
  • Cook time:
  • Total time:
  • Yield: 3-4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Recipe type: appetizer, side

Ingredients:

  • 1 bag of boiled bracken fern (750 grams or 1.65 pounds). I know they sell bracken fern in a dried form, but I have not tried this recipe with the dried fiddleheads.
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (or more, to taste)
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or more, to taste)
  • 1 tablespoon of ground black sesame (toasted pre-grinding). Feel free to substitute regular sesame seeds, and the grinding is optional.

Directions:

  1. Drain the bracken ferns and thoroughly wash them.
  2. Chop the fern pieces into 1-2 inch pieces. Add the garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and make sure all the pieces are coated in the sauce.
  3. Heat a wok on high heat. You do not need to add any oil, since there is oil in the ferns already. Saute on high heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently (I like to use chopsticks for stirring).
  4. Add about 3-4 tablespoons of water to the cooking ferns, turn the heat down to medium, mix again, and cover the wok. Let the ferns cook for 10 more minutes to get nice and tender.
  5. At the end, there may be a little bit of water left – you can either continue cooking to let it boil off (uncovered again, and high heat), you can leave it in, or you can dump it out. It’s ok for this dish to have a little bit of water.
  6. Turn off the heat under the ferns. Grind your black sesame.
  7. Serve the fiddlehead / bracken ferns topped with sesame; mix before serving.

Have you had fiddlehead ferns? What’s your favorite way to prepare them?

Posted on

Korean Shrimp Bulgogi Recipe

Blogger ate my photos! A pictureless post today.

I think this may be my first attempt at Korean cooking. I have to say, it came out very nicely. At our favorite Korean restaurant, one of the Bobby’s favorite dishes is beef Bulgogi. Tonight I decided to do it with shrimp and lots and lots of vegetables. I love vegetables.

The bulgogi sauce came out a little thinner than it does at the restaurant (Four Seasons in Ithaca, if you’re interested). But, I think I might be better this way – it’s too gooey at Four Seasons.

As for the shrimp, we bought a big bag of frozen ones at Wegmans – precooked and deveined – and they’re incredibly easy to work with. Before you start making the marinade, just take out however many you need and defrost them in cold water. Change the water every time it gets really cold – maybe 2-3 times – and the process will only take about 10 minutes. Just enough time to make your marinade!

As always, you can definitely sub the shrimp for something vegetarian – I like using chopped up seitan. Extra firm tofu would also be GREAT, but you might want to make more marinade because it really soaks up the juices.

Korean Shrimp Bulgogi Recipe

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 8 ounces of shrimp (or seitan, or extra firm tofu)
  • 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup of chopped pepper (I used red, but green is more common for bulgogi)
  • 1/2 cup of chopped onion
  • 1 tablespoon butter (or oil), for sauteing
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
  • crushed pepper, to taste
  • steamed rice, for serving

Marinade

  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
  • 2 scallions, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ginger juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Directions

  1. First make the marinade – mix all the ingredients well. (Defrost shrimp while you do this.)
  2. Soak the shrimp, mushrooms, pepper, and onion in the marinade for at least 30 minutes, covered, in the refrigerator. (I let it soak for 2 hours.)
  3. Toast the sesame seeds – I like to do this in the toaster oven, but it’s also easy to broil them in the oven. Just place them on a baking pan and roast for 7-8 minutes.
  4. Drain off the liquid of the marinade (there won’t be much). Heat the butter (oil) in a pan over high heat until it’s melted, then add the shrimp and veggies. Saute for 4-5 minutes, or until the marinade caramelizes.
  5. Arrange on lettuce leaves and serve with rice. Sprinkle with pepper and sesame seeds.

Enjoy 🙂 This recipe for Korean shrimp bulgogi was really easy, but it seems pretty exotic. It’d be great for parties because you can prepare everything beforehand and just toss it on the stove – then it’s ready in 5 minutes.