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| Bulgogi |
After the frenzy last week from being featured on
Chef Fabio Viviani's blog, I hope I have been able to retain some new readers. That picture you see to the right? Yeah, it's old. I got a haircut in January but didn't update my avatar until recently. I'm one of millions of guys who is losing his hair on the top of his head and, rather than fight the inevitable, I decided to accept fate and move on. I have updated the picture in my
About Me page.
From either of those pictures, one might be able to determine that I'm Asian. I will further specify that I am of Korean descent. I was adopted by American parents when I was an infant and my mother used to prepare a version of the dish when I was younger so I might have a connection to my heritage. I remember one day she remarked that her version was a lot of work to prepare so I found one that was much simpler and makes for a perfect weeknight meal since it's just broiled for a few minutes.
The Challenge
Replicate a dish from my childhood.
The Source
Amy of
Kimchi Mom was kind enough to allow me to publish her recipe. I did make a few ingredient substitutions.
Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 pounds chuck steak, sliced thin
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons clover honey
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 to 2 scallions, sliced thin, plus more for garnish
4 to 5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
Method
1. Marinate the beef: Place the beef in a resealable bag. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl then pour the marinade over the beef in the bag, then toss the beef in the marinade to ensure all slices of beef are well-coated. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more.
2. Cook the beef: Place a rack in the oven about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler. Remove the beef from the marinade and place on a foil-lined broiler pan, then discard the marinade. Broil the beef for approximately 5 minutes and then toss until the sugars are lightly caramelized. Garnish with additional sesame seeds and scallions then serve immediately with white rice.
Successful?
I ran into an execution issue with this dish because the flavors of the marinade, while there, were muted. I'm not sure what caused this because there were some variables to consider.
1) Ingredient substitutions: Amy's recipe uses maple syrup but I didn't have any so I used white sugar and honey. She also used ribeye but I used chuck steak, which is a tougher cut of beef.
2) Preparation time: Either way, I only marinated the beef for about 90 minutes so I recommend marinating it overnight.
Regardless, it was still delicious. It also was reminiscent of the dish my mother used to serve when I was still a child. If you're unfamiliar with Amy, she can be found on
facebook,
twitter,
YouTube,
Pinterest,
G+ and
bloglovin'. She also has a
graphic and web design business so please consider her if you're in the market for those services.
I didn't address Next Food Network Star last week, but I wasn't surprised by Chris's departure.
Some information surfaced recently which leads me to believe that Nikki didn't win and I was astonished to learn Chad went home, especially when compared to Russell. From the way the episode was edited, the judges have picked a favorite in Stacey, but I'm not as enthusiastic about her culinary point of view. What's your analysis of the series? Comment below.
