Watermelon Meat Bulgolgi

Watermelon Meat, a vegetarian meat substitute, from “Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking”, with an application in cooking (Bulgogi).

 

 

 

For the Watermelon Meat:

Tools:

Vacuum sealer

Two quart size vacuum bags

A cutting board

A sharp knife

An oven, a microwave or a dehydrator

Ingredients:

A ripe watermelon

5 g salt (a little less than a teaspoon)

100 mL water

 

Step 1: 1. Prepare the Watermelon

  1. Slice watermelon in half
  2. Peal the outer rind from half of the watermelon
  3. Slice the watermelon half into one inch steaks
  4. Leave some white on steaks to stimulate meat fat

Step 2: 2. Prepare Brine

 

  1.  Add 5 g salt to 100 mL water
  2. Whisk salt into water until all or most of the salt is dissolved

 

Step 3: 3. to Brine the Watermelon in a Vacuum Bag

 

 

  1. Place two watermelon steaks in each vacuum bag
  2. Pour half of the brine in each bag
  3. Suck the air out of the bags and seal it with a vacuum sealer
  4. Place the sealed bags in the refrigerator for 2 hours

 

Step 4: 4. Dehydrating the Watermelon Into Meat

 

  1. Take the bags of watermelon out of the refrigerator
  2. Decide how you are going to dehydrate the steaks: in the microwave, oven or dehydrator. Since I do not own a dehydrator and cannot spend the time to wait while the oven dehydrates the steaks, I decided to dehydrate the meat in the microwave. But if you want to dehydrate in the oven or dehydrator do so at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 to 12 hours.
  3. For dehydration in the microwave: place steaks onto a microwave safe plate
  4. Microwave the steaks on defrost setting for 36 to 52 minutes, occasionally turning the steaks over, until the steaks have the texture of sticky leather
  5. If you plan on saving the meat for later: brush it with clean water; vacuum seal the steaks, to keep them meat-like; and place in the refrigerator until the meat is used

 

Step 5: 5. Watermelon Meat Bulgogi

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tools:

Stove

Knife

Cutting board

Frying Pan

Ingredients:

1 stick of celery, sliced

1 carrot, pealed and sliced in rounds

1 Tbsp oil

Bulgogi sauce (store bought or homemade):

  1. 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  2. 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  3. 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  4. 1 clove garlic, minced
  5. 1 teaspoon white sugar
  6. 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  7. 1/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  8. handful of chives, thinly chopped
  • Slice watermelon meat in half, lengthwise
  • Mix the Bulgogi sauce
  • Put meat, sauce and vegetables together
  • Cover the mixture and marinate in the refrigerator for half an hour to an hour
  • Heat the oil in the frying pan over high heat
  • When the oil is hot, pan fry the meat and vegetable mixture
  • When meat is browned and vegetables are cooked take the pan off the heat and remove the food
  • Eat it on rice, noodles, cabbage leaves, or however you like.

 

 

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