seoul food

Our friend Tim occassionally comes to visit us during his work travels. It's his chance to unwind and participate in some mild debauchery; to remember what life was like as a single minded single. I try to come up with a menu that is diverse and completely different from any I have prepared for him. This time around I opted for a Korean menu of Pork and Rib eye Bulgogi, Chicken and Beef Short Rib Kalbi, Korean pancakes, steamed Miso spinach, Kimchi, seasoned tofu, plenty of spice and a disturbing amount of wine...

The meat is grilled and served with lettuce leaves, steamed rice, kimchi and Kochujang (red pepper paste; aka-Korean Ketchup). The Kochujang is sweet and very spicy...we use it on everything. I love a menu that includes plenty of spice and allows me to indulge in Kimchi. Fermented spicy cabbage is not for the faint of heart and now I can add fermented spicy tofu to my list of loves.

The preparation of the meat is a very simple process. I am lucky to have a Korean market in town and they sell the meat already sliced for my purpose. The pork and rib eye are just barely frozen then sliced thin. The short ribs are a HUGE bargin and are sliced thin with the bone in. In most Asian markets you can find the Korean BBQ Bulgogi Marinade already prepared in the jar. For the short ribs and the chicken (boneless, skinless thighs), I place them in a Ziploc bag, pour the marinade over, toss and refrigerate overnight.

For the rib eye and the pork, I went spicy. To the marinade, I added a couple of tablespoons of the Kochujang, mixed well and made a Ziploc bag for each. I prepared this about 3 hours before I planned to cook it and left it at room temperature until I was ready to proceed. I cooked all the meat out on my grill. For the rib eye and pork, I laid down two disposable foil trays directly on the grill and stir fried. And in my usual fashion, I served a HUGE platter loaded with meat...convenient for loading directly to my guests' plates.