Over 60 ways to taste the World’s flavors through
A Taste of the World Cookbook

By Bobbie Kitto
Recipe Included: Korean Rolls with Ground Beef or Tofu Bulgogi Kimbap

Discovery time! Check out A Taste of the World cookbook, with Rowena Scherer as your guide. Create authentic dishes from diverse cultures. Explore new ingredients, techniques, and flavors that will elevate the home cooking experience to a whole new level of deliciousness.

Besides exploring new foods from all over the world, this cookbook allows a teaching moment for the parent or grandparent who wants to expand the minds of their children through food.

Author Rowena Scherer wanted to give more than a cooking lesson when cooking with her children.  Chef Rowena wanted to share her Malaysian heritage and other cultures from around the world.

From this aha moment, Chef Rowena made a dramatic change in her life. She quit her Wall Street job, went to the French Culinary Institute, started looking for hard-to-find ingredients included in her recipes and created a business called Eat2explore. Eat2explore. The business combines recipes, activities, and collectibles all in one package. These packages come in the mail and have the makings of a very memorable moment in the kitchen. If some of the ingredients or spices cannot be found in the local stores, they can be purchased through eat2explore.com

There is a video that goes with this cookbook. In Rowena’s presentation , she explains her “aha” moment came when she was on a trip with her children and they were taking a family cooking class. One of her children was holding an onion and said, what do you want me to do with this? She realized then than she had been remiss in passing on her family heritage and the happy memories of cooking on Sundays with her family.

The YouTube video demonstration consists of three Asian recipes from China and South Korea. The first is Korean Rolls with Ground Beef (pg.56). Next up on the video is Soy Chicken with Chinese Broccoli in Garlic sauce. The third recipe Sesame Ginger meatballs wrapped in lettuce with Rice (pg.28). All recipes are well written and easy to follow.

One of the really helpful things in this book is that each recipe has hints as to what level of cooking ability and age is right for each step in the recipe. These tips make it really easy to allocate cooking assignments to all the willing members of the family who wish to participate in the making of the meal.

One thing I would suggest when getting ready to try some of these recipes, shop for more than one meal at a time. Plan on making a few of the same regional recipes in a short time. This way the more unusual spices bought won’t sit in the back of the cupboard or refrigerator getting stale before being used again.

This is a good book for starting your family trip around the world through food. Many happy memories will be made through the use of this book.  So, grab your apron, sharpen your knives, and get ready to savor the taste of the world from the comfort of your own kitchen.

Korean Rolls with Ground Beef or Tofu Bulgogi Kimbap

Pronounced “GIM-bap,” this is a Korean seaweed rice roll filled with vegetables. They are similar to Japanese sushi except the rice is not seasoned with vinegar. It is a tradition to make children kimbap for lunch or when they go on a school picnic or field trip in Korea. It is also a common street and party food. In this recipe we use bulgogi beef (Korean BBQ beef) and vegetables, but you can have fun trying out different fillings.

SERVES 4

ALLERGENS Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Vegetarian Optional

TOTAL PREP & COOK TIME 50 minutes

What You’ll Need

5 radishes

1 cucumber

1 carrot

3 scallions

2 cups short-grain rice

1⁄2 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

3 eggs

2 tablespoons olive oil

12 ounces ground beef or ground chicken

8 sheets toasted nori or Korean seaweed

Vegetarian Option

1 (16-oz) package firm tofu

BULGOGI SAUCE

1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon mirin
11⁄2 teaspoons sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Prep the ingredients

Radishes—Trim the ends and thinly slice into small strips.
Cucumber—Trim the ends, cut into 2-inch pieces, and thinly slice into small strips.
Carrot—Peel and trim the ends. Cut into 2-inch pieces and thinly slice into small strips.
Scallions—Trim the ends and thinly slice.
Bulgogi Sauce—Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.

Vegetarian option

• Tofu—Drain. Use paper towel to press out the liquid from the tofu. Cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes.

2. Cook the rice
• Rinse the rice in a colander to remove excess starch.

• In a medium pot, combine the rinsed rice, a pinch of salt, and 3 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat.

• Decrease the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.

• Remove from the heat, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to the cooked rice, and mix well with a fork.

3. Make the pickled radishes and carrots (while the rice is cooking)

• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar, 2 tea- spoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt.

• Add the radish and carrot strips and toss until combined. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.

4. Prep the omelet

• In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1 tablespoon water, and a pinch
  of salt.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat until hot.
• Add the egg mixture and cook the omelet until the bottom sets and is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Carefully flip the omelet onto a cutting board and cut into 1⁄2-inch strips.

• Sauté the meat or tofu
• In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat until hot.

• Add the ground beef or chicken and, using a fork, crumble the meat and cook until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes.

Vegetarian option

• Add the tofu and cook until it starts to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

• Add the scallions and Bulgogi Sauce and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Assemble and serve the kimbap

• Place one seaweed sheet on a bamboo mat and spread with
a thin layer of rice. Add layers of meat or tofu, sliced cucumber, pick- led carrots, pickled radishes, and omelet strips on the lower center of the sheet.

• Lift the bottom of the mat to cover the ingredients. Roll up to the top. Roll with the mat once more to give it a firm shape.

• Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Brush the roll with sesame oil.

• Cut into bite – size pieces.

# # #

Review by Bobbie Kitto

Note: Roberta (Bobbie) Kitto is a freelance writer based out of Laughlin, NV. Her interests include travel, culinary pursuits and gardening. No fee was paid for this article review. Her opinions are her own.

To make the best of each recipe, use for quality ingredients! Bobbie  highly recommends products from Melissa’s.