A New Year and Kalbi

Yesterday was the start of the lunar new year, and since we had a partial blackout, we didn't get to do much celebrating (aka eating). Well, today I brought home some kalbi from the Hanareum in New York and we ate our hearts out.

We have this wonderful family recipe for kalbi, which I'll try to share. The problem is that for this recipe, we use ratios (for example: equal parts brown sugar and soy sauce). I was perplexed by this for a while until I realized that within the past 30 or so years, our dinner table has gone from 2 members to as many as 7 and now 5 so the amount we eat keeps changing. This is why the ratio system works so well. It's something to keep in mind when cooking, but since at heart, I'm more of a baker than a cook, here's a breakdown as best as I can.

Kalbi

1 c brown sugar

1 c soy sauce (Kikkoman)

1/4 c rice wine

1/8 c sesame oil

2 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp minced ginger

1 tbsp minced onion

black pepper to taste (usually a pinch)

1 pack Beef short ribs

1) Add brown sugar to soy sauce. Stir until dissolved. Add rice wine, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, onion, and pepper. Stir before sampling and adjust to your taste.
2) Individually dip beef strips into sauce. Place in large metal bowl and pour sauce on top. Let marinate for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours.

3) Grill meat until browned.

Notes: If your meat isn't high quality (ie: has a lot of fat), then to make the kalbi tastier, mix the beef with the onion the night before. It'll add a little more flavor. Also, if you want softer meat, use a sliver of mashed up kiwi in place of the onion.
Usually, it should be 1/4 c rice wine to 1/4 c of sesame oil, but I bought the sesame oil at a corner store when I was in Manhattan so the flavor is really strong. To compensate, we use less sesame oil.

Above is how my mother makes it. I start with it and then I typically add in more brown sugar and soy sauce b/c I like both (~2 tbsp each). I like being able to lightly taste the sesame oil, so I'll add some if necessary. I love love love garlic, so I dump it in until the whole sauce is littered with garlic (~4 tbsp total). My mom likes the onion, I like using kiwi. I don't think it's a good mix to use both.

Final note: The problem with Korean food is that it never photographs well. Korean food just isn't pretty. At all. I've been to restaurants where they try to make it pretty and seen cookbooks, but it's just not attractive. I can't tell if it looks delicious b/c I know what it tastes like, but I can tell you that looking at a picture of kalbi isn't going to make you say, "Wow, that food looks just gorgeous!". Sigh.

xoxo,

lemonie