Spicy Gochujang-smothered pieces of filet meet fresh pickles and cool noodles for this easy summertime Korean-inspired noodle bowl.
Let me tell ya, summertime in Texas ain’t no joke. It’s nearly comical that so much smoked meat gets produced during the summer months – it’s stinking hot down here! We’re talking over 100 degrees most days, and no matter how many frosty beverages you may have in your hand, standing by a grill or firebox to produce a heavy, piping hot meal just won’t cut it.
Don’t think this means you need to give up red meat, though, that would just be silly! I eat red meat at least 5 times a week, and ain’t not hot weather gonna make me give that up. You just gotta think a little creatively – like these cold noodle Korean beef noodle bowls! Don’t worry, the beef is warm, it’s just the veg and noodles that are cold, and when mixed all together, it’s the perfect spicy and refreshing meal. If you’ve never had Gochujang before, it’s a hugely popular Korean sauce (that you can actually get in most grocery stores these days), and it tastes like a rad combo of miso, BBQ sauce and Sriracha. Just trust me, you’re gonna love it.
For this recipe, I used Snake River Farm’s Tenderloin pieces, which are tender (as the name would suggest!) little morsels of American Wagyu filet trim. Remember that time I told you about the Tenderloin tip? See, the psoas major (the scientific name of the muscle that filet comes from) tapers down to a thin tail at one end. These tips/tails aren’t nearly thick enough to comprise a steak, but are just as tender as every other part of the muscle, so they’re really great eating, and at a much more affordable price per lb than full sized Tenderloin. So, yay!
Best of all, this dish is actually very easy to make, more of an assembling process, really, and you can easily prepare most of it in advance. It’s fresh, tasty (and dare I say it) fairly healthy, but with all the added luxury of chunks of filet mignon! Get ya some:
Summer Noodle Bowl with Spicy Korean Gochujang Beef
Ingredients
1lb tenderloin pieces
10oz (approx) vermicelli rice noodles
2 eggs
1 oz dried Shiitake mushroom
2 carrots
1 large cucumber
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped and stems removed
2 tbsp fried shallot (or fried onion straws)
2 tbsp crushed salted roasted peanuts
1/2 cup Gochujang sauce
1 tsbp soy sauce
1 cup white vinegar
3 tbsp sugar, divided
2 tsp sesame seeds
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp fish sauce
salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat some water to a rapid boil and gently lower the eggs in. Cook 6 minutes then remove from heat and plunge into a bowl of iced water. Allow to sit two minutes, then peel and set aside.
- Place noodles in a bowl and cover with hot to boiling water. Allow to sit a few minutes until noodles soften, then drain. At the same time, place the Shiitake mushroom in another bowl and cover with boiling water to soften, around 5-7 minutes.
- Julienne the carrots into thin slices, and place in shallow bowl with white vinegar, and 2 tbsp of white sugar for a quick pickle They should sit in the vinegar mix for at least 15 minutes and up to an hour, but make sure to drain them before you add them to the finished bowl. In a separate bowl, chop cucumber into chunks, add sesame seeds and toss. Drain shiitake, slice thinly, discarding the stem. You can return them to the bowl they soaked in, and then drizzle with soy sauce and mix. Finally, in a small jar (or anything with a lid you can mix dressing in), pour vegetable oil, sesame oil, cider vinegar and fish sauce, and shake well to combine.
- Place a large skillet over a medium-high flame, and brown the tenderloin pieces. Sprinkle with a little salt, and turn the pieces after about 2 minutes per side. Add in Gochujang and stir until mixture gets thick and jammy, about 2-4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Assembly: Pour the dressing mixture over the noodles and mix with tongs. Separate the noodles into two bowls. Into each bowl, arrange the cucumber, shiitake, cilantro, pickled carrots and beef pieces. Slice the eggs in half and add to the bowl. Top each bowl with a sprinkle of fried shallot and crushed peanuts, serve immediately.
