Korean Style Bao Buns by Simply Beef & Lamb

I have been a big fan of Korean food ever since I got invited to Jin Go Gae, a top quality Korean restaurant based near me, in New Malden, a while ago. This was around the time that I interviewed Dan Suh, MD of Korea Foods, for my blog and I have been shopping there ever since.

There are so many Korean dishes I love, such as Bibimbap (rice based dish with various toppings), Pajeon (savoury pancake), Tteokbokki (rice cakes made with glutinous rice flour) and Kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage). The Koreans have a very social approach to eating which is often based around an indoor meat BBQ. People chat, eat, drink beer and shots of soju (a rice based spirit). They enjoy and celebrate food with friends and family, a concept that certainly encourages children to appreciate food.

One thing we will often do as a family on a Saturday night is make a feast of food based around dishes that involve more prep time than can be afforded mid-week. The children help with this and it’s often a good way to get them to try out new styles of cooking, Korean being one of them.

So, when Simply Beef & Lamb asked me if I would be interested in swapping a family meal for one of their Korean inspired recipes – I said I would definitely be up for the challenge. I instinctively chose the recipe I knew everyone would love –Bao Buns with Korean pulled brisket. If you haven’t tried Bao buns before, I would say they taste like a fluffier, softer version of a brioche bun. They are slightly sweet and are perfect for filling with tender chunks of meat and some added crunch from spring onions in true Korean style.

The recipe for these buns is included on the Simply Beef & Lamb website but when I was buying everything to make this dish, I popped a couple of bags of frozen bao buns into my basket from Korea foods along with my gochujang (Korean chilli paste).

Although we have enjoyed bao buns many times before, I tend to cook and fill them with slow cooked pork. But this recipe for pulled brisket has an exceptionally good marinade which flavours the meat beautifully. The beef gets slow cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce for several hours. It’s such a simple recipe. Once you have put together the marinade, just pour it over the beef then place in in the oven in a lidded casserole dish. When the beef was ready to eat, I blended the sauce, reduced it down, then bathed the brisket in the sauce to soak up all the meaty flavours. 

Using Simply Beef or Lamb, as I did in this recipe, ensures certain welfare standards via the Red Tractor Mark.

What does The Red Tractor Mark mean?

Customers want to be sure they are buying farm assured quality meat, and they can be sure if they look out for the Red Tractor logo on packs in supermarkets. All beef and lamb carrying the Red Tractor logo can be traced back to the farms the livestock came from and you can be assured that the farmers and suppliers who produce beef and lamb for both schemes meet comprehensive standards covering hygiene, safety, environmental protection and animal welfare at every stage from farm to fork.

Korean cooking is on trend right now. Simply Beef and Lamb’s Korean recipes are a great way to get experimenting with Korean dishes. The recipes are easy to prepare and simple to follow. Good quality meat is essential to many Korean dishes, so look out for the Red Tractor logo on packs of meat to show you the meat you’re buying is farm assured quality and responsibly produced by people dedicated to providing good food. 

You can follow Simply Beef & Lamb on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook or visit their website for more inspiration. 

Here are what some of my fellow food bloggers have been making with Simply Beef & Lamb:

Korean Beef Bibimbap – Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary

Spicy Korean Crispy Lamb – Supergolden Bakes

*Sponsored Post* in association with Simply Beef & Lamb.