Sarang hamida Koreans

My Korean neighbors were celebrating something the other day and they invited me to come over for some chat and food. Aside from the traditional kimchi the mistress of the house served what she called Korean Beef. I must admit it was kindda sweet for my taste but the beef was tender, to spicy for my palate. The chopped peanuts and the pear provided the relief and from the cholesterol count too. And today I realized Korean and Japanese food have something in common – mirin  Am I telling you? 

With very little English on her part we were talking more through sign language. Her children are better English speakers than herself. The children really pick up faster than adults. Me thinks Before I left and with the best sign language I can master I politely asked her if she had the recipe for her Korean beef. She was motioning something and from what I made out of it she was promising to hand it to me the next day. Thank you and Good night. The next morning, her help was buzzing, my recipe on her hand and together a large box Korean Ginseng Tea.

And here’s her Korean Beef recipe.

3lb. beef sirloin, sliced thick

Marinade:
1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled & minced
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 scallions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 cup soy sauce 2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons Korean sesame oil

Garnish:
Peanuts, chopped
Asian pear, chopped

The Dipping Sauce

Trim fat from beef and place in a zip-lock bag. In a bowl combine ingredients for the marinade. Mix well and pour into the zip-lock bag with the beef. Toss to coat. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. Grill over high heat until well seared, about 1-2 minutes per side. Slice and serve in lettuce cups with chopped peanuts, diced Asian pears and dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon scallion, chopped
1 tablespoon sambal oleck ( some kind of chili paste)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Korean sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon mirin
1 cup light soy sauce

Combine all ingredients. Mix well and serve with the beef.

Popular posts from this blog

Tora Bika Cappuccino

My daughter sent us this superb tasting ready to prepare cappuccino mix. Made in Indonesia, it comes in two separate packs: (1)the coffee mix and (2)a much smaller sachet which contains the chocolate granules. Judging from the Italian flag type packaging I surmise the choco granules originated from Italy. I tried to experiment to test how the mix could achieve a superior flavor. For my initial test, I used 1 cup of boiling hot water per packmix and then added the chocolate granules. Ooooh! It was too sweet. The next time, I used 1 large mug of boiling hot water plus the chocolate granules. Surprise! I got the perfect blend. Unlike other coffee flavors, even those dispensed by large coffee shops, Tora Bika tastes good even when it is cold. Ingredients: Sugar, creamer, instant coffee, chocolate granules
Read more

MSG in most coffee blends?

I got this from my email: The food additive MSG (Mono-Sodium Glutamate) is a slow poison. MSG hides behind 25 or more names, such as "Natural Flavouring." MSG is even in your favorite coffee from Tim Horton's and other brand-name coffee shops! I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive obesity epidemic, and so did a friend of mine, John Erb. He was a research assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and spent years working for the government. He made an amazing discovery while going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called The Slow Poisoning of America. In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies. No strain of rat or mice is naturally obese, so scientists have to create them. They make these creatures morbidly obese by injecting them with MSG when they are first born. The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creat
Read more

Pininyahang Manok cooked Marikina style

This is a Marikina concocted dish which I borrowed. Ingredients: 1 whole fresh chicken fryer, cut into small serving pieces or use chicken breasts for a more delicate taste 1 cup 7-Up soda (for marinating chicken pieces) salt and white pepper for seasoning 3 tbsps vegetable oil 1 garlic clove, minced 1 medium size white onion, finely chopped 1 small fresh pineapple, cut into 1-inch chunks or use 1 small can pineapple in chunks, drained and reserved juice on the side 1/2 cup of heavy cream or evaporated milk Preparation 1. Put chicken pieces in a large bowl. Pour over the 7-Up soda on the chicken and mix slowly. Cover the bowl and let marinate the chicken for 2 hours in the refrigerator. 2. In a small casserole, heat the oil in a medium heat without burning, add and sauté the onions until soft, then add the garlic. 3. Drain the chicken pieces from the marinade and add to the casserole with the onions and garlic. Fry the chicken pieces in a medium heat until cook (for about 25 minutes),
Read more