Korean(ish) Soy Curls

I should start this post by admitting that the closest thing I've ever had to food that could be deemed 'Korean' was any time our dear Korean friend Francis, the sushi chef, made me dinner. Even then though, there wasn't a lot of drawing from his culture, even if his knife skills are mad impressive!

That said, I've always wanted to try a Korean restaurant but have always been scared of the meat-centric cuisine. Enter Butler Foods Soy Curls. There's pretty much nothing this dehydrated meat stand-in can't replicate in the way of mouth feel or deliver in the way of flavor (I still can't believe I've never blogged about Vegan Diner's Smoky Soy Curls, oh man. Bacon. Yum.). 

So I did some Googling, took some notes, and scribbled down a bunch of ingredients that kept reappearing. I made a sauce, hydrated my Curls, and got to cooking. Easy, sweet, peppery, delicious! I have NO clue if these are anywhere near the flavors of what a Korean dish would deliver, but since the recipe is born of some serious Korean internet searching, I'm going with Korean(ish) Soy Curls. And I plan to make them again. And again!

Korean(ish) Soy Curls
makes approx. 4 meal-sized servings

1/3 bag rehydrated (in boiling water) Butler Soy Curls

marinade:
3 T seasoned rice wine vinegar
6 T shoyu
2 1/2 T light agave syrup
2 T toasted sesame oil
1 tsp black pepper
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 T ginger paste

Squeeze water from rehydrated Soy Curls. Toss in marinade, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to overnight. Heat 1-2 T peanut or coconut oil over med heat. Squeeze excess marinade out of Curls and place in hot oil, tossing every few minutes to brown but not burn. Add veggie of choice (I used some fresh chopped broccoli) and saute, stirring often until crisp tender. Serve over rice noodles, bean thread noodles, or rice. There will not be much of a sauce. You could always add some water or some of the marinade if you want more of that. I like the flavor all in the Curls sans sauce. 

You could easily add any veggies you like to this. The fresh flavor of the vegetables will balance the sweet peppery taste of the Soy Curls. I just had a hankering for some broccoli. Then again, I find I always have a hankering for some broccoli. Also, I wanted to finish this off with a sprinkling of some toasted sesame seeds, but had none on hand. Next time!