80 replies to this topic

[Renn]

okay, so I jumped with both feet in and figured it out myself! Mostly pushing down on the meat with my free hand and making parallel cuts with my knife hand.

Edited by Renn, 03 July 2008 - 04:32 PM.

[rooftop1000]

okay, so I jumped with both feet in and figured it out myself!  Mostly pushing down on the meat with my free hand and making parallel cuts with my knife hand.

The first time I had Korean food the meat was cut like that but presented folded back up against the bone. I was so bummed that my dinner was going to take so much longer to cook than everyone elses till the waitress lifted the meat up and cut pieces off with some shears


nicely done


T

[echocolate]

Regarding kalbi, I have seen some recipes that say "grill for 5 minutes" and others that say "stew for 1.5 hours."

To me, this seems like such a wide gulf. Which is it? A quick-cooking type of meat, or one that benefits better from a long, slow cooking?

Tell me quick, I have some kalbi ribs from H-mart.

[nakji]

I think you might be looking at two different recipes. Grilled galbi is just that - put it on the grill, cook to your preferred level of doneness, and served with deonjang, sliced garlic, and lettuce leaves for wrapping. It should be cooked in small pieces. If you have a long strip, like the one pictured above, roll it out on the grill, and after a minute or so of cooking like that, cut it into small pieces using scissors, and finish cooking them. The pieces should be small enough for one person to manage with chopsticks.

The recipe that calls for stewing is probably "galbi jjim", which is another delicious recipe, although it yields a much different product than grilled galbi. In this case, it's braised with some vegetables, and soy and sugar. It's the sort of dish that I was often served in Korean homes, but rarely found a restaurant making.

If you've got a lot of beef on those bones, I'd go for grilled galbi. But galbi jjim is less likely to smoke out your house.

[jkim]

The soupy bulgogi is usually done (in Korea, at-least) in a Dduk Bae Gi... a black ceramic pot, and not a frying pan. Frying pan / skillet is actually considered the worst choice when cooking bulgogi, and just a "convenient alternative" when nothing better is available.

It is called Dduk Bae Gi Bul Go Gi, but is also often called the slang "dduk bul". Usually dduk bul will have ingredients not often seen with the bbq counterpart: i.e. mushrooms, spring onions, even poached or boiled eggs!

Best way to cook the "dry bul go gi* is by using the grated "wide" tongs (tongs that sort of resemble 2 tennis racquets stuck together at the top/opposite side of the handle), to dip it into the charcoal or wood fire and grill directly in contact with the fire.

Subsequent alternatives include (in order): grill on a weber, grill on the dome thing, using the oven grill, and last would be the frying pan.

[Chris Amirault]

Found incredible beef short ribs on Arthur Ave in NYC this weekend, and immediately thought of making kalbi.



I was planning to marinade them for the work day, and I like them sliced pretty thick anyway, so I cut the ribs into pieces and then started in on the accordion cuts:





Some were too thin at one end, so I just created a 2-part flap:



Ground up some ginger, garlic, onion (no scallions...):



A couple of chiles from the back yard:



Added soy, sesame, simple syrup, a ton of black pepper, and roasted, ground Thai chile:



Marinating now; I'll grill tonight. More pix then.

[Chris Amirault]

Using ChryZ's recipe for ssamjang for tonight:

2 T gochujang
2 T water
1 T minced scallion
1 T rice wine
1 T sesame oil (pressed from roasted seeds)
1 T doenjang
1 T chili flakes
1 T garlic powder
2 T roasted sesame

Frying some garlic slices, have some kimchi, making quick cucumber pickles. Didn't grab any bean sprouts, stupidly, but have the lettuce (and a bit of excellent-looking baby octopus salad). Also be grilling some red onions and shiitake.

Anything else I should consider?

[nakji]

I always like shredded daikon in my galbi ssam. Take half a nice-sized daikon, peel and cut into matchsticks, then salt for about 10-15 minutes. Briefly rinse and squeeze out as much water as you can, then dress with 2 tablespoons each sugar and rice vinegar, and one tablespoon each sesame oil, roasted sesame seeds, and gochugaru. Or, skip the oil, sesame seeds and gochugaru, and add wasabi to taste. They really jazz up a ssam.

[Chris Amirault]

Here's dinner. Unless I have soju around (which I rarely do), I usually make myself a Caipirinha to sip while I'm prepping and tasting. It goes great with this meal:



The short ribs out of the fridge and getting ready for the grill:



Lettuce washed and dried:



Grilling the meat:





Grilled scallions:



Grilled red onions:



Some other inauthentic stuff, too. Grilled poblanos:



The shiitake:



Kimchi -- a brand I'll never buy again. It's strange to say that it was bland, but bland it was:



Fried garlic:



Pickles:



Ssamjang:



Finally, the meat itself, which I cut using a knife instead of the traditional scissors:



Service:



The beef was fantastic, as I had hoped. I noted the kimchi disappointment above; the ssamjang was a bit too salty for my tastes, but I'm not sure which ingredient contributed too much of that. Gotta go retest it, though.

[Joon]

For me, Galbi is never the same without some scallion salad. (sliced scallions, vinegar, salt, red pepper, sesame oil)

And I like minced garlic in my ssam jang :)

[Soup]

For bugogi, I used to go for the quick grill or saute. But I tried a longer cooking method in the saurce, midium braise, and the meat came out much tastier and certainly more tender. Got the insperation from a youtube recipe video.

As for Kalbi, I like a very light seasoning and marinate (ginger, garlic, soy, very little sugar, blk pepper, seaseme oil and bit of white wine). A very quick 1 hr or less soak and then move to the grill. I like it medium rare. The key to this is very good rib. I find most of the kalbi I get at the korean grocery not all that great (Flanken cut), lot of gristle not much meat. I run for the butcher for this meal. Cost 2 to 3x more but the better quality meat makes all the difference on this dish.

Per other post, accompiments is a big deal. sliced raw garlic, ssamjang, lettice leaf (red), shredded green onion salad are all good and easy to prepare.

[Chris Amirault]

For bugogi, I used to go for the quick grill or saute. But I tried a longer cooking method in the saurce, midium braise, and the meat came out much tastier and certainly more tender.

What cut do you use? And do you braise it until it is tender? Or just before? Or...?

[Soup]

Most of the time I get the thin pre sliced bulgogi beef at korean store (I believe it comes from the eye round part). I've also done rib eye, hanger and shoulder but I like the convinance of the pre-sliced.

I have braise the beef now until fairly tender. My kids like it that way. I used to cook it until it a bit more of a resistance but my family seems to preferr a much more tender version.

[Chris Amirault]

Just made a big kalbi ssam meal last night and this ssamjang recipe from Saveur was really good.

[powerplantop]

When I make ssamjang I don't really follow a recipe but the one that Maangchi has posted with her 쇠고기 구이 / Soegogi gui recipe is close to what I do.

[nakji]

Just made a big kalbi ssam meal last night and this ssamjang recipe from Saveur was really good.

That recipe calls for firm tofu, which surprises me. I usually make mine by adding doenjang to gochujang, then thinning it with sesame oil and adding a touch of sugar. What's the point of the tofu? Does it add body?

[Chris Amirault]

I couldn't figure out the tofu either and left it out, thinning the sauce a tad with water.

[Doodad]

Daughter is out on Spring Break and is coming over tomorrow for a huge dim sum feast and larder stocking.

I have bulgogi and pork/scallion pancakes on my plate to do. I got bbq pork for the pancakes and for twice cooked pork main course. Ma Po Tofu as a "soup" course.

We are also doing three kinds of dumplings: Tibetan Beef, Pork and Shrimp and soup dumplings.

[Chris Amirault]

Kalbi marinating tonight for grilling tomorrow. Will report back.

[heidih]

Please report on the sides as those are such an essential part of the experience.

[Chris Amirault]

The set-up: red leaf lettuce, rice, the sauce referenced in the Saveur article above, daikon, carrot, and cucumber pickles, bean sprout namul, store-bought kimchi, and grilled scallions, mushrooms, and green chile peppers (cheonggochu, I believe). With lots of beer.

So the main innovation this time around involved using boneless beef short ribs (on sale at Whole Foods) that I scored in a checkerboard pattern on one side of the meat, cutting through about 2/3s of the way. That allowed the marinade to penetrate more and created more surface area for crispy grilled bits. I also vacuum sealed the meat to promote the marinade.

They turned out absolutely fantastic.