Kalbi aka Korean Short Ribs
2lb LA cut beef ribs*
4 garlic cloves
1 in knob of ginger
1 Asian pear, peeled and chopped**
1/2C soy sauce
1/4C brown sugar
2T rice vinegar
2T Mirin***
5 green onions
2T sesame oil
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
Add all ingredients except beef and to a blender or food processor. Whiz it up until it's fairly smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary by adding more S&P, soy or sugar. It should be sweet but also savory, if it's too sweet add more soy.
Add marinade to meat in a large resealable bag. Allow to marinate on the counter for an hour or overnight up to a couple of days in the fridge. When you're ready, heat up a grill to smoking and grill a couple of minutes per side until the sauce is beautifully sticky and the meat is cooked to desired done-ness. Serve with rice, lettuce, veggies, kim chee and siracha. We like to eat this in wrap style - rice, sriracha and meat all wrapped up in a lettuce leaf.
* Also called flank ribs, found in Korean or Asian supermarkets. Some conventional grocers or Hispanic stores carry these too - just make sure to get them unseasoned.
** Granny Smith apple or green pears work too
*** Rice wine, found in international section of most grocery stores. If you can't find it, just leave it out (my MIL has been known to sub Sprite)
My MIL's Bulgogi
1 - 2 lbs beef, thinly sliced*
1/2 C low sodium soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 green onions, chopped
2 - 3 T dark brown sugar
1t - 1T ginger, grated on a microplane
1T sesame oil, plus more for serving
1T rice wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Korean red pepper**
Toasted sesame seeds
Assorted veggies
Sticky rice
Roasted seaweed
Sririacha or Korean Bibimbap Sauce
Kimchee
Eggs - optional
Start by making the marinade. Combine the soy sauce, garlic, onions, sugar, ginger, vinegar and a dash of salt, pepper and Korean red pepper, if using. You can do this two ways - either use your microplane for the ginger and garlic then add the sugar and liquid OR dump everything into a blender. I favor the blender method because I am lazy and it gets the onions finely ground so the marinade really has all the flavors incorporated. Add more vinegar, sugar or soy to your taste. Add the meat and marinate at least an hour and up to 48 hours in the fridge. This is best grilled - place foil over the grill grates and poke lots of holes to allow the charcoal flavor and heat to come through but keep the meat on the grill. OR you can saute in a grill pan. If you go the saute route, drain and pat the meat dry then saute in olive oil over HIGH heat. Crispy edges are the goal.
The veggies are all sauteed separately - just do one at a time in olive oil, season each batch with S&P and a sprinkle of sesame seeds and set aside, keep warm.
To serve add rice to the bottom of a wide bowl. Add piles of veggies and meat over the top of the rice (this is essentially a Korean buddha bowl...or you can just have the meat with rice and kim chee). If desired, top with a fried egg, a drizzle of sesame oil, sesame seeds, sliced seaweed and Sriracha.
Leftovers make a great fried rice - just chop everything up and saute with the cold rice, season with soy, sesame oil and S&P.
*If you have access to a Korean store you can purchase ribeye that is very finely sliced. If not, buy whatever steak you like, sirloin pictured above. Freeze for 1/2 an hour and slice as thin as possible with a very sharp knife. This is a great recipe for a crowd - you can easily add more meat and more marinade to feed as many people as necessary!
**If you can get it, if not, just leave it out.
