Avoid This Ingredient
By Dave Hitt on Jul 23, 2009 in Personal Adventures
As an amateur chief I’m always looking for new ingredients to make my meals more interesting.
For instance, one of my favorite ingredients is bulgogi sauce, a meat marinade made with Korean pear. You won’t find it in the supermarket. You’ll have to go to a store that specializes in Asian food. I don’t have any left, so don’t have the brand name handy. Look for a wide mouth jar with a red cap and red label that says “Made With Korean Pear.”
Start with an inexpensive cut of meat, like a London broil. Hammer it, then cut it into slices about 1/8 inch thick. Put the meat and sauce in a Ziplock bag and marinate it for 24 hours. Fondle the bag a couple of times during the day to mix up the marinade. Grill the meat over high heat until it gets just a little charred and crunchy. If you’re really ambitious, serve it up with a side of Corn Maquechoux.
In my never-ending quest to find new spices, spice combos, flavorings and ingredients, I came across something I will never try, and I suggest you avoid it too. I don’t care how hungry you are, or how desperate you are, never, ever, cook with this
We have several Asian groceries in our area in Tampa so don’t make a fool out of me cuz I’m going in to ask for this. Winne The Pooh didn’t help either.
Moh | Jul 23, 2009 | Reply
I’d imagine there are a lot of brownie recipes.
Michael | Jul 24, 2009 | Reply
I promise you, Moh, it’s not a joke and you are in for an impressive taste treat.
Dave Hitt | Jul 25, 2009 | Reply
The bulgogi (or puhlgoki, depending upon the translation) recipe as I was taught by a Korean Martial Arts instructor was somewhat different. I’ve used it since 1974 and the results seem about the same as the dishes I’ve been served in Korean restaurants and at the homes of Korean friends.
The main ingredient is soy sauce. Unless you like things very salty, I recommend you use the low-salt variety.
To the soy sauce, add:
Honey. About 2-5% of the soy sauce, so not a lot.
Ground red pepper. How much depends on how spicy you want it to be.
Vinegar. Again, not much. Some people substitute beer in slightly greater quantities. I prefer the beer, especially dark beer, myself.
Butter. Doesn’t take a lot, but enough for flavor.
I like a little freshly ground black pepper, too. Not everyone does, though.
Heat everything slightly so the butter melts and stir to mix ingredients. The heating helps blend everything too.
I like to marinate beef, pork or chicken for about a day. I put everything in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and turn it several times.
For longer periods, put it in the freezer. It will still work, but slowly. But if you’re freezing it, you won’t be using it soon anyway.
Fish I marinate for no more than an hour or even less.
I prefer to cook this over a BBQ grill either charcoal or gas with cinder brickets. The smoke from the drippings adds a lot to the results.
Use the extra marinade to baste the meat while cooking.
Fish, I sometimes do in the microwave, turning it once and adding Parmesan cheese to the top and letting it melt a bit.
Using this method, I have even had vegetarians gobble this. It also worked well on elk, too. :)
If you want to be truly authentic, serve with rice and Kim Chee! (my favorite meal)
James Smith João Pessoa, Brazil | Feb 14, 2010 | Reply