Bulgogi Tofu with Broccoli Rabe and Bell Pepper

I decided to make last weekend a four day weekend, and one of the things that I did was visit an amazing Korean spa on the outskirts of Chicago. It's called King Spa, and it's truly wonderful, and I recommend it highly to anyone who might get a chance to visit. 

After leaving the spa, my boyfriend and I decided to pick up some stuff at the massive Asian grocery store next door. If I had to pick a favorite style of cuisine, I would probably have to say Thai or Chinese, but Korean also ranks fairly high up there. There were a number of sample stations at the store, and one of the things that I tried was bulgogi beef. Bulgogi typically refers to marinated and grilled meat, and is roughly analogous to barbeque in American culture. Although I ended up passing on the pre-packaged marinated beef, I did have to pick up a jar of the bulgogi sauce. This particular version is intended as a marinade for beef, but it's equally delicious with tofu.

I'm actually a huge fan of tofu. It's not that exciting on its own (though tofu that's been crispy fried with a little bit of salt is delicious), but it's a great flavor sponge and source of protein. I sliced the tofu into steaks - one standard block of tofu makes about five good size servings - pressed some of the water out, and then poured the bulgogi sauce over the top before I left for work this morning. By the time I got home, it had soaked up a good deal of the marinade. I fried the slices on a hot skillet until they were a little crispy on the outside, and then poured a little bit of the leftover sauce over the top. I wouldn't recommend doing that last bit if you're using meat, but with tofu it's not an issue. For a side, I just quickly sauteed broccoli rabe and sliced bell pepper in sesame oil with a little bit of salt, cumin, garlic, and crushed red pepper. It's the sort of things that's easy on a weeknight when you come home and just want to eat food now, but it's also really good and really good for you.

I did pick up another awesome little treat for myself:

Isn't this adorable? I'm a sucker for Korean beauty products, and not only is the packaging ridiculously cute, the color is great, and really packs a punch. It's the perfect shimmery, plummy pink, and given that I haven't bought a new blush in probably a couple of years, I thought it was a good buy.

I haven't been cooking very much, largely because I'm splitting time between my house and my boyfriend's, but it was great to feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm moving in about a month, so once I'm settled in, I should be doing more recipe posts and meal ideas.