A while back when Mile End took over the kitchen at Threes Brewing, they had a super delicious salad of bulgur and kale. I can't remember ever having bulgur before then but this really stuck on me. Then one time I found myself in Damascus on Atlantic Ave, buying a bag of lentils. And right underneath the lentils were bags of bulgur. I didn't think about what I'll make but decided to buy it anyways.
After cooking bulgur in way too many miso soups, I kind of got bored eating it and left it alone. Then one day, I had a craving for fried rice but of course I had no rice in the apartment. BUT I did have half a bag of bulgur.
So I came up with this... 1 cup of bulgur 2 cups of liquid (water, stock, whatever you like) 2 Chinese sausages Handful of dried shrimp (soak for 10mins and optional) Handful of any leafy green Couple peppers Couple scallions 2 cloves of garlic 1 heaping tablespoon of miso paste 2 tablespoons of soy sauce Sesame oil Salt + pepper
I wanted to SPICE up the bulgur so instead of cooking them in regular old water, I cooked them in miso soup.
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add a tablespoon of miso paste. Stir to dissolve the miso paste. Then add in 1 cup of bulgur. Once the liquid is boiling again, lower it to a low and let it simmer for 15-20mins, covered, or till the bulgur is cooked through. Make sure to know which type of bulgur you have. I bought the uncooked version. There are bulgur that has been parboiled already.
While the bulgur is cooking, chop and dice the rest of the ingredients. When the bulgur is done cooking, drain the liquid if there is any. Though, save the liquid, it is miso soup pretty much.
Add oil to a hot pan and toss in the Chinese sausages and dried shrimp. Cook for 1 minute and add the garlic. Stir to mix. After a minute, toss in any vegetables you like. I had couple sweet peppers and some baby bok choy. Give everything a good stir and cook till the peppers and veggies are done.
Add in the bulgur, soy sauce, dash of sesame oil, and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat off and add in the scallions.
The great thing about fried rice or chow mein or stir fried bulgur is that anything can go in it. It's great to cook when you have lots of random stuff in the fridge. A little bit of this...a little bit of that.
