Well, except there is no beast in this story, so really the title should just be “Bulgur”… but that’s much too boring, don’t you agree?
Normally, I’m a huge fan of simple, quick-to-prepare meals. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, this statement probably doesn’t surprise you. I love to eat… but cooking all day is just not my thing. I’d much rather be scrapbooking, reading, exercising, playing sports, cake-decorating, or hanging out with my friends and family.
Every so often, however, the Cooking Bug will bite me, chasing me into the kitchen! A few months ago, the aforementioned Bug showed his face and inspired me to create a bulgur pilaf. It’s super-healthy, and my whole family loves it. I’ve made the recipe twice now (it freezes well, too).
Since I owe this dish’s existence to the Cooking Bug, I named the creation after him. 😉 And so, I give you:
Bug-A-Boo Bulgur Pilaf
(Makes four Katie-sized servings… in other words, four large servings)
1 cup vegetable stock or Imagine No-Chicken Stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tbsp fresh, grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 zucchini, chopped
5 green onions, cut into about 1-inch pieces (don’t use the roots)
2 medium carrots, finely diced
3 cups bok choy or spinach (I’ve made this recipe twice now, once each way. Both work well.)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 cups cooked bulgur (It works best if you chill the cooked bulgur in the fridge for a few hours before using)
In a bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Set aside. Preheat a pan or wok over medium-high heat and sauté the carrots and zucchini in your sauté-liquid of choice. Add in about 1/4 of the stock mixture. Stir-fry for 3-5 minutes. Add the green onions, bok choy (or spinach), garlic, and another 1/4 of the stock mixture, and stir-fry for another 3 minutes. Add the bulgur and the rest of the stock mixture. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes. When my mom eats this dish, she puts her own spin on the recipe– she mixes the pilaf with a can of pineapple tidbits for a tropical flair.
I’m glad you got bitten by the cooking bug, I know I’ll be making that pilaf soon. The colours and flavors look and sound just perfect. And I’m intrigued by your mom’s idea of tossing in a bit of pineapple. Might have to try that as well.
I agree with fruity as I hate washing dishes. Keep wanting to be a one bowl shaman.
Mmmmmm I’ve only ever had Bulghur in Tabouli. It sounds yummy in pilaf!
At first, I thought the beast is you (NO!!! NOT that you’re ugly but you know you have a beast-like appetite … just saying) :0)
Wow, DELICIOUS looking dish you have there … I’m bookmarking this recipe now ;0)Your Katie size serving sounds perfect to me!!
Just a question though, is your bulgur – cracked/not cracked … ?!!
One last question, is that strawberries frozen … are frozen fruits yummy?! :0) Hehe, I like to ask weird questions!!
Maybe you should call it “Bulgar and the (happy to be left out of the pot) Beast”.
Ive never had bulgar before. I guess I need a good hard bite from this cooking bug of which you speak. Your meal looks delicious!
aww, thank you so much for adding me to your blogroll!
I remembered you had discovered bulgur for yourself a while back when I saw it in the store about a month back. I bought it to try it aswell and boy I LOVED it from the first bite. It gos so well with nearly everything!
Love your dinners! And btw, I’ve been practicing my chopstick skills aswell, ha ha! I’m not perfect and I can’t even hold them right (I feel like my thumb’s too short… but then again even chinese toddlers can do it with their mini fingers =p) but at least I manage to get it all into my mouth before it’s cold 😉
You have the CUTEST names for your recipes :0) Sadly, I don’t think I’ve ever tried Bulgur…but your recipe is calling my name! I’m thinking about eating chopsticks with my meals from now on…I NEED the practice, haha…I just can’t get the technique down!
Ahh, I’m so jealous you went to Spiral! PLEASE say you took pictures :0) I might be going out to lunch with my mom today, so hopefully I can convince her to take a little trip over there! OH, and I signed up for their upcoming Protein cooking class! There’s one in August at the Dallas Spiral, as well!!
I love bulgur… and I have a feeling I would love it even more the Katie way, how you have it pictured here! And wow, that is a lot of bulgur! That smoked tofu looks so good too.
I find it so funny that you make elaborate cakes and stuff but like cooking less. Cakes seem really difficult to prepare, but then again, maybe cooking is off-putting sometimes because sometimes it seems like you have to have a million different ingredients to make a variety of foods.
That looks amazing… I wish the cooking bug would bite you more often as well so you could come up with more great recipes like that one.