How to cook with CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) veggies – easy CSA recipes using fusion Korean cooking methods (week 4)

CSA cooking week 4 

July 18, 2020

CSA week 4 dishes:  (from top left) Korean spareribs braise with rainbow chards stems,
braised rainbow chards leaves with carrots, and fresh green leaf lettuce

This week I received 1 head of crisp lettuce, 1 head of green leaf lettuce, 1 head of red leaf lettuce, 3 summer squashes, rainbow chard, and basil

CSA week 4 veggies: summer squashes (zucchinis), bok choy, rainbow chards, leaf lettuces and basil

What do you do with tough stems of kale or a chard?  One difference I find between the veggies I buy at the store and the veggies I receive from my CSA farmer is that the veggies that I get from the farm come in whole—the leaves, stems, and the roots!  Since we are used to eating only the soft part, we tend to throw away the tough parts of veggies.  Chards’ stems are one example. 

Beautiful rainbow chards stems!

In today’s post, I am going to share a dish I created that makes a good use of rainbow chard’s stems.  Chards come in many different varieties (Swiss chards, rainbow chards, Fordhook chards, etc.)  and we tend to throw out the stems and use only the leafy part.  I have been thinking about how to use the stems and I decided to use them in my spareribs braise dish! :)  

Recipe #1 Braised spareribs with rainbow chards stems in a spicy gochujang sauce cooked in a pressure cooker

Ingredients:  spareribs (about 3.5 lb), rainbow chards (rinsed and chopped about 2 inches long or you can use onions instead), white wine (1/4 cup, may use chicken stock instead) , tomato paste (1 TB, optional), gochujang (about 2 TB), homemade teriyaki sauce (1/4 cup, if using soy sauce reduce the amount an add some sugar), chicken stock (about 1.5 cup), garlic powder ( 2 tsp,  or 2 cloves of fresh garlic), onion powder (2 tsp, optional), sesame oil, salt and pepper

Spareribs dry rubbed with pepper and salt and key ingredients
used in the cooking liquid: gochujang, soy sauce, and chicken stock

1. Apply a dry rub on spareribs with garlic powder, pepper, and salt.  Leave for about 8 hours.  (This is an optional step; I like to marinate meat if I have the time.  😊)

2.  Brown spare ribs in heated oil until golden brown for about 3-5 min each side.

3. Remove spare ribs from the pan (I use cast iron skillet) and add rainbow chard stems.  Add wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan (scrape the bottom of the pan to lift off the things stuck on the bottom)

4.  Add tomato paste and stir until everything is nicely combined. 

5. Now make the gochujang sauce (cooking liquid for the pressure cooker) by mixing the following:  gochujang (about 2 TB), homemade teriyaki sauce (1/4 cup, if using soy sauce reduce the amount an add some sugar), chicken stock (about 1.5 cup), garlic powder ( 2 tsp,  or 2 cloves of fresh garlic), onion powder (2 tsp, optional), sesame oil.

6.  Place spareribs, rainbow chard stems and the gochujang sauce in the pressure cooker (you can use slow cooker, or can put in a Dutch oven style pot) and cook until coming off the bone, fork tender for about 50 min.  You may have to adjust the times according to your cooker.   

Spareribs braise with rainbow chards stems in gochujang tomato sauce

 

Recipe #2:  Korean style zucchini (green summer squash) fritter (hobakjeon)

This is a very easy recipe for zucchini that you can try.  All you need an egg!  For the dipping sauce, you just need a small amount of soy sauce and seasoned rice vinegar! 

Ingredients:  zucchini (sliced about ¼ inch thick), egg (1 large size, cracked open and whisked with a fork), soy sauce and seasoned rice vinegar, cooking oil

How:

1.  Dip zucchini slices in the egg

2.  Fry the egg battered zucchini in a preheated, oil coated nonstick skillet until golden brown and then flip over to cook the other side. 

3.  Make the dipping sauce by mixing soy sauce with seasoned rice vinegar.  (Soy sauce can be quite salty, so try using 1 part soy sauce, 2 parts seasoned rice vinegar as a start.)

Zucchini fritter with dipping sauce. 
On the right is a braised chicken leg dish served with
braised rainbow chards leaves! 

 

Hope you enjoy your creation! 

Thanks for visiting my blog.  Please share your thoughts and ideas with the rest of the world!!  😊