Growing up, I was always served collards prepared the same way: some kind of pork and stock, with maybe a tomato, some onions, and always cooked until they were dark olive-green. I love collards and, like all other greens, want them to be a bright color and have some texture. This quick, simple recipe highlights that strong collard funkiness and tastes deceptively rich for a vegetarian dish.
Whenever I can succesfully marry my love for Asian BBQ with my favorite Southern ingredients, I know I've made something special. The marinade for this beef was inspired by the popular Korean bulgogi sauce, and the collards are a true Southern icon. The history of collard greens begins with the African roots of the slaves in the colonial South, and the need to feed families with a hearty and nutritious green that was easy to farm, but it has grown into a tradition of abundance, celebration, and comfort. And here the collards seem right at home in a simple but satisfying rice bowl.