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.
Beata says
I never buy green onions and fresh ginger because I am at a loss as to what to do with them, but I just may have to start buying both, OMG! I personally don't care for the sesame seeds texture (love the taste of sesame oil, though, so I always keep that in the house) and as mentioned, didn't have green onions and ginger, but used plenty of ground ginger in the sauce and I used 2 tbsp. of erythritol instead of brown sugar, because I don't keep regular sugar in the house at all. Had green lentils only, and sure enough, they took about 30 minutes to cook on a very gentle simmer, but they were not mushy. My sauce was a medium brown only, but that's OK - the flavors of soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger (I am sure the fresh ginger plus green onions would greatly elevate the flavor experience!) were spot on and totally crushed the Asian food cravings I had. The sweetness of my sauce was fine for my taste; I don't like sweet BBQ sauces, so no need for me to experiment with that part. Will however experiment with the heat level and see where that takes me. Had this without rice but can totally see serving it on cauliflower rice or stir fried broccoli with a side of cold kimchi, like others described.
Speaking of erythritol - the one I have doesn't state vegan on the bag, but its online description says it's vegan friendly. From what I can find online in general, erythritol is semi-artificially produced by fermentation of glucose, derived from wheat or cornstarch, by using non-pathogenic yeasts like non-GMO Moniliella pollinis or Trichosporonoides megachilensis. Erythritol is made of glucose with added hydroxyl (OH) groups.
Do you happen to know anything about erythritol or other artificial sweeteners in general? I don't see them being used in the recipes I looked at, but wanted to ask about your experience with them if you have any.
Thank you for this super easy and tasty recipe - I'll be making it again for sure!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed the recipes! I like to keep my recipes easy by using basic everyday ingredients instead of fancy health foods, so you won't see things like erythritol on my site, but I do believe it is vegan. Enjoy!
Shirley says
I am using Sweetleaf Stevia with inulin and stevia. It’s the best sugar alternative I’ve found so far for my diabetic husband.
Jules Nelson-Gal says
Thanks for a wonderful sounding new one with lentils. And congrats to Sweet Sam, you are so deserving! Film on!!
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you!!
Marianne says
This was really good. Served it with a side of sauteed bok choy and mushrooms
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you loved it!
Margo Perriello says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I love any dish with lentils! I can’t have soy. Can I replace with coconut aminos?
Sam Turnbull says
You sure can!
Susan Quesada says
Congratulations on your win, Yay! This fish was very flavorful. The only complaint my kids had, is that there wasn't more 🙂
Susan Quesada says
*dish, sorry
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! I'm so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Arlene Kim says
I just made this tonight and it smells delicious and tastes great but my lentils became like a mushy stew, not chunky like your picture. Any idea why? I used red lentils.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Arlene, red lentils are very fragile so make sure you keep it at a very low simmer so that they do not get mushy. Hope that helps!
Nadia says
Very good. Made double the recipe 2 days ago and still bringing the leftover for lunch. You should add that it’s only 3 weight watchers point without the rice 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Love it! So happy you enjoyed, Nadia 🙂
Alex says
So good!
Hi, just found your blog, and I'll have to check out more recipes after this one because this was delicious!
I'm not vegan but my partner and I have decided that every other meal we cook will be meat free. I've had a hard time making legumes and tofu appetizing (although I love veg). I served this with rice, as suggested, and roasted some purple cabbage, sautéed some garlic bok choy, and added baked tofu. What a great meal, will be having tonight as leftovers as well.
Also, congrats on your filming! 🙂 Sounds daunting but you're stellar.
Thanks again, can't wait to check out more of your dishes!
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you so much, Alex! So happy you enjoyed it so much. And congrats on reducing your meat consumption, that's awesome 🙂 I have a ton of legume and tofu recipes on my blog so hopefully, you will find more that you enjoy.
Mims says
I made a double recipe, and added some liquid smoke. Delish.
then with the leftovers, I made korean fusion tacos for dinner next day...I mixed the lentils with leftover cold rice and some gochujang paste. And heated up, spooned into corn tortillas, added some chopped kimchi, avocado, red cabbage, lime juice and cilantro. Out of this world good!
Sam Turnbull says
Sounds amazing! So happy you enjoyed, Mims 🙂
Rachel Iannucci says
I really liked this recipe but for me the flavors were too subtle.. I should have added the 3rd tablespoon of brown sugar. After it was cooked I added more soy soy and Gochujang for flavor and spice. I loved it.
Thanks,
Rachel
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed! You can always adjust the spices to taste 🙂
Jesso says
I've been struggling to find lentil recipes that my toddler will actually eat so I made this recipe for lunch today and I am happy to say she devoured her plate and kept saying Yummm yum! I also enjoyed these very much! Thank you once again!!!
Sam Turnbull says
That's so awesome!! Thrilled you enjoyed them so much, Jesso 🙂
Dov says
I made this with green lentils (no grocery store in my area had red!) and it took well over 20 minutes, maybe even 40, but it was worth the wait, and I don't think it needed any extra water. The lentils were, as you said, warm and savory, with the classic flavors of garlic/ginger/soy. I made it for a Memorial Day potluck, but we got rained out, so I had the whole pot to myself ;). Served it on rice with some vegan kimchi, and it was a deeply satisfying meal.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it, Dov!
Stephanie says
I’m still trying to figure out how to cook lentils well...am I supposed to soak them beforehand? 2 cups of water doesn’t seem to be enough to cook them, I even added another cup and they still seem not 100% soft like other types of beans. Am I doing something wrong here?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Stephanie, there is no need to soak them. I always include the instructions for all steps needed in my recipes. It sounds like you may have been using a brown or green lentil. Brown and green lentils take about doulbe the amount of time to cook, where as red lentils only take 10 minutes. Hope that helps!
Kiko says
I've been thinking more about incorporate vegan options into my diet and this was a hit! Instead of over rice, I put the lentils inside a piece of lettuce which is what is done in Korean culture but usually with pork or beef. It's really great, mushy and tender but not hard, and sweet but not too spicy. Also, I love the ginger. Thanks so much for the recipe. As a freshman in college it's really helpful and easy to make these for snacks/lunch.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed, Kiko 🙂
Melissa says
Making this now... My kitchen smells amazing, my mouth is watering can't wait to dig in!! Thanks for the great variety of recipes!!! Will leave a pic on Instagram of the finished product!!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! I hope you love it, Melissa 🙂
Cindy Boston-Brown says
Making this the second time in a week. I double the recipe so that I have leftovers.... the old cook once eat twice mantra! I use maple syrup in place of the brown sugar, just a preference. Fabulous!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So thrilled you loved it so much, Cindy 🙂
Mardy says
Can you stand more gushing about how delicious this recipe is?! I halved it since it was just me that night and figured it could be my dinner & lunch. I added in some veggies along w/ some leftover rice and ended up eating the whole thing in one sitting! HA!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha!! I love the gushing, it's so nice to have your work appreciated. So very thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Mardy 🙂
Cori says
Dear Sam, the Sweet Korean Lentils were amazing! The whole family (kiddos included) really enjoyed it. We lived in ROK for 3 years, so we know what bulgogi tastes like. We added a squeeze of lime juice right at the end for that hint of sourness, and sautéd thinly slice onions to put on top (bulgogi has a lot of onions). We also cooked shiitakes and air fried Brussel Sprouts ... perfect meal! In any case, it was superbly delicious. Thank you for all your hard work.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Adi Loevsky says
Made this for dinner tonight paired with some rice and broccoli and OMGGG!! I was so impressed with the flavours in this recipe and will definitely make this again! Thank you for this!!
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Adi 🙂
Hayley Morrin says
Could this recipe be halved & cooked in a smaller saucepan or would that have a negative impact?
Sam Turnbull says
Absolutely, that would work just fine. Enjoy!
Sonja says
Can I use canned lentils in this recipe?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, but you will need to omit or greatly reduce the water. Enjoy!
Sonja R says
Awesome, thanks!!