I love trying out meals with a twist and having the need to eat healthier, cleaner, and more sustainable has made me consider adding more plant protein to my diet. Occasionally, I would cook beef bulgogi, a Korean beef dish. I love it because of the subtle sweet soy sauce taste to the beef. I discovered a vegetarian version of the dish so I decided I wanted to do a side-by-side taste test.

Add some oil to a frying pan. Turn it on to medium heat and start to sauté the onions. Cook for about 4-5 minutes or until translucent.

In a bowl, mix together the 2 cups water, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 cloves of garlic, ginger, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and red pepper flakes. Of course I didn’t have fresh ginger so I used ginger powder instead. My husband also doesn’t like spicy foods so you can omit the red pepper flakes.

Once the onions are cooked, add the 1 cup of red lentil to the pan. Stir it into the onion.

Pour the sauce over the lentil, bring it to boil and turn down the heat so that it comes to a simmer.

Cook the lentils for 15-20 minutes or until they have softened and most of the sauce has been reduced.

Turn off the heat and let the lentils sit for 5 minutes. Serve over a bowl of rice. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 cloves grated garlic
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder or 1 inch piece of grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (omit if you don’t like spicy foods)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion (chopped)
• 1 cup red lentils
• Green onion for garnish
• Sesame seeds for garnish

Direction

• Add some oil to a frying pan. Turn it on to medium heat and start to saute the onions. Cook for about 4-5 minutes or until translucent.
• In a bowl, mix together the 2 cups water, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 cloves of garlic, ginger, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and red pepper flakes.
• Once the onions are cooked, add the 1 cup of red lentil to the pan. Stir it into the onion.
• Pour the sauce over the lentil, bring it to boil and turn down the heat so that it comes to a simmer.
• Cook the lentils for 15-20 minutes or until they have softened and most of the sauce has been reduced.
• Turn off the heat and let the lentils sit for 5 minutes. Serve over a bowl of rice. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
• Enjoy!

Check out the Beef Bulgogi recipe and let me know which one is your favourite.