Spicy Korean Zucchini

Beautiful summer days.  I know some of you that like it hot-hot-hot are dissapointed so far this summer.  Not me.  Its a perfect summer for me. We have been going all kinds of places.  We recently went to a Civil War reinactment.  We went last year but it was so rainy- we were drenched and really unable to truly enjoy it. We decided to go again this year.  I had a blast.  This summer my husband was able to go so it was even better for me.  We also took along our friends daughter.  This makes my girls happy.

I have to share some pics of the day with you.  I love the feeling of going back in time.  So neat!

At a seemingly random turn from summer activities to food... I quite literally stumbled on this recipe from You Tube.  Here is a link to it.  Great tutorial.  



Korean Spicy Zucchini
Because I did not have the right kind of chili flakes for this recipe I adjusted to what I had in the house.  If you have the right kind, then you can follow her recipe to a "T".

1/2 of a guajillo chili (dried) pulsed in a spice grinder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 medium sized zucchini
3 green onions (chopped or sliced)
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
2 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon of salt ( for sweating the zucchini)
1 teaspoon of mirin (optional) (can substitute white wine if you like)

In a collander toss the zucchini with the salt.  Let sit for about 30 minutes- depends on the freshness of your zucchini).  You want the zucchini to be bendable.  Rinse with water.  Drain. Repeat.

Toss everything together but the mirin.  Sauté in a large frying pan until tender.  The picture below shows how I became a bit distracted and cooked it a bit too long. It still was delicious. Anyway, once the zucchini is tender, add the mirin.