Got Ganep?

Here I am, catching up after a whirlwind few weeks. Test subject Bill and I went to Virginia on a wine tasting/hiking/eating tour, then shortly thereafter went on a cruise to the Bahamas – a vacation to remember and filled with GOOD EATS!

But back in my kitchen, my creative fingers were itching again to produce something fun. Right before leaving for Virginia, my Korean tutor gave me three plants, a Korean herb that she loves: ganep. (Not sure if that’s an appropriate English transliteration but it seems right.) Anywho, ganep leaves get huge and are begging to be stuffed with something. After being exposed to some Korean food ideas I came up with the following:

I laid the ganep on a plate and loaded up as much goodies as I thought it would hold, then poured a little sauce over it. So pretty!

Finished product in my hand and ready to eat. For my first effort I think it turned out well. It was tasty, fun, a little messy. Maybe next time I can try to get some more authentic ingredients for the sauce and make it a little hotter – it wasn’t quite spicey enough for me.

I don’t know if you can get ganep in an Asian market, but it seems to grows very well in Georgia’s clay-saturated soil. I recommend it – it has a very unique flavor and it’s just a little bit fuzzy. You could stuff anything in it – tuna or chicken salad, rice and marinated beef, let your imagination go wild 🙂 There’s nothing more satisfying than venturing beyond your culinary borders, trying something new and getting a good meal at the end.