Author: I WON I WON I WON! I'm so subtle, I know. I'm sure you have heard by now, but if not, Canadian Lentils chose me, along with 4 other awesome bloggers to go film a cooking show in P.E.I. with Food Network Star Chef Michael Smith. Oh boy, was that an experience!
My entry was this YouTube video where I featured one of my favourite lentil recipes, Lentil Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce. Apparently, the recipe and my quirky personality were well received, as before I knew it, I was on a terrifying little plane on my way to see Chef Michael Smith.
A full day of filming was dedicated to just little ol' me! At first, I wondered how in the world, it would take so long to film a 15 minute recipe, but the day quickly flew by.
Filming in front of this giant crew and eight (yes eight) cameras pointing at me, was such a fun/stressful/scary/amazing/exciting/awkward experience... and I absolutely loved it. Someone give me a cooking show please. I want to do this all the time!
That's not to say it was easy, because it certainly wasn't.
The director and Chef Michael Smith would give me a 627 instructions (or something like that): look here, say this, don't say that, don't talk about what you're doing, but talk about something, don't say that you are chopping an onion, tell me why you're chopping an onion... "errr... so that it's chopped?"
It went on like that. Then they follow up all of these instructions by saying "act natural". See how natural I am ↓↓↓ haha! 😁
I would be chopping up an extremely underripe mango (apparently the camera can't tell) and then suddenly someone would run in to do a close-up of my mango chopping skills (which are hugely lacking p.s.).
Meanwhile, I'm inching away from the camera afraid of injuring the expensive technology with Michael's large chef knife and the camera man keeps chasing me getting closer and closer to my awkward chopping.
Regardless of my chopping skills, and lack of knowing what to say, I seemed to work my way through filming, and I was even able to break the entire crew at one point and make them all burst into laughter when they weren't supposed to. FINALLY!!
Hardest part for sure was that there was a roomful of people that I was having a completely one-sided conversation with. I literally couldn't tell if anyone was remotely interested in what I was yabbering on about, because they couldn't respond.
At least I know that everyone enjoyed the food. After every cut, the crew would swarm my tacos and quickly devour them all. Wooing the world one delicious vegan meal at a time. Muhahaha!
I can't reveal all the secrets, because there were some fun (and slightly evil) surprises they had in store for us, but I just can't wait to see/ I am terrified to see the final videos!
Update: You can now see the final video here.
Isn't that a lovely looking crew?? It's so much fancier than the crew I am used to (me, myself, and I).
To celebrate the end of the festivities, Chef Michael Smith taught me how to use a knife to cut the top off of a champagne bottle.
A big thank you to Ethan from Food Bloggers of Canada for taking all of these photos (and driving my hungover self around P.E.I. the day after the shoot).. what... champagne... And to Rachel from Canadian Lentils for filming this video (and just generally being awesome).
I wanted to share a recipe in celebration of this super fun event, and since I already posted the Lentil Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce, I decided to make a brand spanking new lentil recipe, cause can you ever have too many lentils? The answer is no.
So here we go my friends. All you need is 15 minutes, a few go-to ingredients, and boom, flavour-packed Sweet Korean Lentils are on the table. These lentils are sweet and mildly spiced, a serious nod to Korean BBQ.
These Sweet Korean Lentils reminds me of when I lived in LA, and my roommate Ashely and I would frequent this little Korean restaurant. They always served this sweet and tangy beef. Now obvi I wasn't going to make that, but this is why I love lentils, anywhere a recipe calls for ground beef, you can pretty much sub lentils. A much healthier and friendlier option, and oh so delicious.
To make Sweet Korean Lentils: mix all the sauciness together. Um, hello delicious looking sauce!
Sauté up some onion.
Side note: Are you supposed to use signed wooden spoons, or are you supposed to display them? I decided the spoon would have a lot more love and appreciation if it was used in my daily life, so I am going to cook with it. My mom sometimes wishes I was more sentimental... oops.
Now add your lentils and sauciness to the pan.
Cover and simmer for around 10 minutes until the lentils are cooked and tender, and most of the sauce is absorbed.
Serve over rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. I also used this as a lettuce wrap filling and my oh my it was scrumptious.
A big final thank you to Canadian Lentils and Chef Michael Smith for having me. ❤️
Bon Appetegan my friends.
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Sweet Korean Lentils
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Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup soy sauce (or gluten free tamari)
- 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic,, minced
- 1 inch piece of ginger,, minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
For the Lentils:
- 1 tablespoon light oil, (such as canola, vegetable, or peanut oil)
- ½ yellow onion,, chopped
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 green onions,, chopped
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- Cooked rice for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bow, mix together all the sauce ingredients.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add the onion and sauté for a few minutes until the onion softens and begins to brown. Now add the lentils and the sauce. Cover and bring to a gentle simmer until the lentils are cooked and tender, and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Serve by spooning over rice, and garnishing with the green onions and sesame seeds.
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Amy says
So quick and easy! Even our 3 year old liked it. Only change I made was reducing the sugar by 1/3 and that was spot-on for our taste buds. Thanks for sharing.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you and your 3 year old loved it so much. Thanks for leaving a comment Amy! 😀
Veronica says
I'm eating this as I type! I served it over Birds Eye wild rice blend with broccoli and carrots. Yum! I also used Braggs instead of soy sauce and black strap molasses instead of brown sugar
Sam Turnbull says
Ooo sounds delish! So happy you are enjoying it 🙂
Anna says
I can't stop OMGing! Definitely my new favourite recipe, and my first using red lentils (newly vegan). Am in love with this. I served with baked cauliflower rice and steamed broccoli, so filling and scrumptious can't wait for leftovers tomorrow! Can I just mention for anyone else in Australia, our tablespoon measurement is larger than US/Can so only 2 tbsps brown sugar needed here (I nearly forgot). Thank you so much Sam 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Oh good tip! Thanks Anna. So happy you can't stop OMGing! hahaha
Brenda says
These were amazing! I added some veggies to the rice - broccoli & cauliflower blend. Tasted like a stir fry! Only better! Thank you thank you thank you for this (and all) your fantastic recipes! Keep up the good work! I'll be first in line to buy your cookbook 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, yay! Thanks Brenda! So happy you loved the recipe, and excited that you're excited for my book! 🙂
Trish says
I'd love to make this tonight. Got all the ingredients! I also have a bunch of zucchinis sitting in my fridge that really need to get used up. Any suggestions what I might do with them to perhaps compliment and have as a side with the lentils? I'm scouring the internet but have yet to come up with something that's light, simple and I have ingredients for. Could I throw the zucchinis in with the lentils????
Sam Turnbull says
The zucchinis might get soggy if cooked them with the lentils. I recommend sautéing them with the onions, removing the onions and zucchini from the pan, and cooking the lentils following the remaining directions. Then you can stir the onions and zucchinis back in when the lentils are cooked. Otherwise you could spiralize the zucchini and top the zucchini noodles with the lentils, or just sauté the zucchini and serve it beside. Hope that helps!
Sarah says
Made this recipe a week ago, and can't WAIT to make it again for dinner this evening (rice is already on the stove top). My 12 year old daughter gobbled it up with me last week and absolutely loved it. SO happy to have come across your page and can't wait to try out more recipes - thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! So very happy you and your daughter loved the recipe so much, I hope you enjoy many more 🙂
Emma says
This recipe is absolutely delicious! And you can't go wrong with it. It know it's one I'll make again and again. Thank you so much for sharing it with us, Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! So happy you loved it so much Emma. 😀
Izabela says
Would it keep the taste and quality if I added different lentils???
Sam Turnbull says
It would be totally great! If you use green or brown lentils, just keep in mind that they will take longer to cook, about 25 minutes would be my guess. 🙂
Kris says
Does your nutritional information include a serving of rice? When I entered the recipe in the calorie/nutrition tracker I use it only came up with 3.4 grams of fiber and 12.6 grams of protein. I am trying to figure out where the differences might be?
It looks and sounds delicious. I plan on making it this weekend. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to looking through your site when I have more time. I have bookmarked it.
🙂
Sam says
No, the nutrition doesn't include the rice (you can see that just above the calories). The nutrition information is for one serving, the dish makes four servings. Hopefully that helps?
So happy you are excited about this recipe Kris, I hope you love it!
Srivani says
These were super yummy and super easy - my kind of recipe! Mine weren't nearly as rich in colour as your picture; might be that my brown sugar was the "golden" light brown. Doesn't matter... taste was amazing! Thanks Sam.
Sam says
So happy you enjoyed them! I think it was the soy sauce that mainly made mine such a rich colour... probably just a different band. 🙂
Dan says
Mmm, Mmm, Mmm!! The hits just keeping on coming on your site, Sam. This was such a knockout recipe and sooo easy to make - and so few ingredients! The only thing I ever used lentils for was in soups. With your great recipes - now I buy them in bulk! Thanks for great recipes and great ideas!!! 5 star rating....
Sam says
Haha that's awesome!! Lentils are so amazing, so happy you think so too. Thanks for the great review 😀
Soo-Eun says
I think you are a genius. I'm Korean but I've never thought of cooking lentils a la bulgogi. And it turned out delicious, just what I need when I crave Korean flavors but not the meat. Thanks for sharing your ingenious recipes!
Sam says
Yay! So very happy you enjoyed the recipes so much Soo-Eun 🙂
Cynthia says
I made this recipe today and I used Korean red bean (pat) instead of lentils, which can be hard to find or expensive around here. SO good! Thanks!
Sam says
You're very welcome! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Emilie @ Emilie Eats says
How fun!! I loved watching your Snaps while you were filmed. Such a cool experience!!
Sam says
Thanks Emilie! Haha, you witnessed the much needed cocktails, and then Ethan driving Koko and I around the next day... eek! Haha!
Sue says
This recipe is delicious and so easy and fast to make!!
Thanks
Sam says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed it Sue 🙂
Sue says
It was SO good and easy that I shared this with a lot of my friends, keep these great recipes coming!!
Cheers
Sam says
Aww thank you!! Will do! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Betty Hatfield says
How exciting; you're a star now! Don't forget us little people when you accept your Emmy Award.
Can't wait to try the recipe. It sounds delicious.
Sam says
Haha!! I don't think I am quite there yet, (as I type from my kitchen in sweatpants and a topknot). Not exactly fancy pants yet. Thank you for the support! I hope you enjoy the recipe. 🙂
Bethery says
Not all Korean food is sweet, but galbi (BBQ ribs) certainly is. I love Korean, so thanks a lot for this recipe.
Sam says
You're welcome! I hope you love it Bethany 🙂
Lynne says
Hi!
Three tablespoons of brown sugar? Oh gosh, that's HIGH sugar!! But only 8.5 g in the Nutrition Facts? How does that work?
Sam says
Yeah Korean BBQ is sweet! The nutrition info is for one serving, there are four servings in this dish.
Régine Bohar says
The picture does not seem to show red lentils, s they turn to mush when they are cooked. Are you cooking them less?
Sam says
The sauce adds a rich brown colour to the lentils, but they are indeed red lentils! The lentils only take 8 to 10 minutes to cook, which is why I love red lentils. Cook them longer and they will start to get too mushy.
Régine Bohar says
Thank you! I'll try cooking them this way 🙂
Sam says
No problem! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Laura says
That's so cool, congratulations! Also, the dish looks yuuummmyyy, will save it and try it out later!
Laura // Middle of Adventure
Sam says
Thank you!! It was a super fun experience. I hope you enjoy the lentils!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
That's so awesome!! And this is such a great recipe! Love the flavors and making a classic with lentils...perfect!
Sam says
Haha awww shucks, thank you!!! Was such a blast 🙂