"Clean Out the Freezer" Korean Dukboki

It is hard to believe that this is already our last week in Beacon Hill.  We have gotten a lot done to prepare for the big move but there still seems to be an endless list of things to do.  Thankfully, Bret and I have somehow managed to not sweat the small stuff and actually have managed to avoid being too stressed out by the whole process!

Although I've come to realize that we are going to have to move quite a few items from our freezer and fridge to our new home, I'm still making a valiant attempt to clean out the freezer and fridge as best as possible.  I still have another package of dehydrated Asian rice cakes in the freezer, which I last used in my Italian-style rice cake dish.  I actually got a lot of comments from people who were curious about the more traditional Korean dukboki that I usually make with these rice cakes.  I've made this dish many times but for a breakdown on how to make the dish, I encourage you to check out my first attempt at Korean dukboki from a few years ago!

On Saturday, I rehydrated the rice cakes in a bowl of water in the fridge overnight.  By the time Sunday came around, I decided to make a "clean out the freezer" version using frozen ground beef, green beans and cauliflower with my Korean dukboki instead of the more traditional version which uses ground beef, onion, garlic and peppers.  But after our huge brunch at Elephant Walk and a long day of packing, I completely lost steam to make this dinner and decided to make it on Monday night instead.

Last night, I started out by browning the ground beef in a wok with some water. 

When the beef was mostly browned, I added the gochujang (spicy bean paste) to the beef and gave everything a mix.

I then added some frozen green beans and cauliflower to the pan and gave everything a stir.

While the vegetables were cooking, I drained the rehydrated duk (Asian rice cakes) and added them to the wok.  Once again, I gave everything a stir.

The final step was to add a few more tablespoons of gochujang, along with a few tablespoons each of sugar and roasted sesame seed oil.

It was definitely not a traditional version of Korean dukboki but it was actually really good.  I think the addition of frozen vegetables added some moisture, which made the spicy bean paste sauce silky smooth.  Plus, the green beans added a nice crunch to this dish.

This clean-out-the freezer meal was the last meal that was cooked in our place as the pots, pans and utensils have all been packed up.  It feels really bittersweet, especially for this blog.  Once we get settled into our new place, there will be lots of home-cooked meal in our new kitchen!