Tag: appetizers

Korean BBQ Flavor Shortcut

Korean BBQ Flavor Shortcut

Korean bbq comes to mind when summer rolls around and barbecue gets top billing. I love Korean barbecue especially Kalbi and Bulgogi. Kalbicross-cut or flanken-style beef ribs, are marinated in a garlicky soy sauce mixture flavored with sesame oil, green onions, sugar to sweeten and fresh ground pepper. The ribs are marinated for at least a couple of hours before they’re thrown on the grill. Cut crosswise (genius), they cook in minutes, a good thing since the aroma the sizzling meat and marinade as it caramelizes makes me hungry. Bulgogi, thin strips of meat, marinaded in a similar manner, is cooked on the grill, wrapped in lettuce along with a bite of rice, a bit of kimchi and dollop of gochujang and then quickly STUFFED in your mouth…hot, sweet, salty, crunchy..so good.  Party in my mouth.

I came across a recipe for Bulgogi Meatballs, the perfect answer to when you are craving Korean bbq but don’t have the time to marinade the meat.  A combination of ground beef and pork seasoned like Bulgogi, then formed into meatballs and fried or baked is a spot-on stand-in for Korean bbq.  The Bulgogi meatballs can be served by themselves with various dipping sauces, wrapped in lettuce, served with rice or made into a slider topped with cheese and kimchi.  It’s simple, quick and delicious.

Bulgogi Meatball sliders

The recipe comes from Everyday Korean, yes, another cookbook I picked up recently.  Gorgeous photos and a fusion twist caught my eye.  A flatbread topped with a Gochujang Sour Cream and mozzarella will be my next foray in this book.  Intriguing, different. I’ll keep you posted.

bulgogi meatballs from Everyday korean

Beef Bulgogi Meatballs

This recipe, from Everyday Korean by Kim Sunée and Seung Hee Lee, is a tasty spin on a familiar dish. Shape these into meatballs and serve with the dipping sauces along with lettuce leaves or steamed rice. Or make them into sliders to serve on toasted mini buns with grated Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise and mustard.
Author Everyday Korean

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 3 Tbsp dark brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp minced green onion
  • 2 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • ¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ Asian pear or Bosc or Bartlett pear, grated
  • 1 ⁄3 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 lb ground beef preferably chuck and short rib
  • 1 lb ground pork or veal
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten
  • Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Ssamjang

  • ½ cup doenjang fermented soybean paste or miso
  • ¼ cup gochujang Korean fermented chile paste
  • 2 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp rice vinegar or cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp minced green onion white parts only
  • 1 Tbsp minced jalapeño serrano chile stems and seeds removed (optional)

Soy Vinegar Dipping Sauce

  • ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar or cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp finely chopped green onion
  • 1 tsp gochugaru Korean red pepper flakes, optional
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil optional
  • Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Instructions

To make meatballs::

  • In a large bowl, mix together first 8 ingredients. Add panko, ground meats and egg; mix just until combined (do not overmix). Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Form meat mixture into 40-50 mini meatballs or about 18 slider patties; place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden and cooked through but still tender and moist, turning the pan halfway through cooking time.
  • OR
  • Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add meatballs or patties to pan, leaving space. Cook, shaking pan occasionally until meat begins to brown on one side (~3 minutes). Gently flip over and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Until just cooked thru.
  • Garnish with sesame seeds, if desired. Serve with Ssamjang and Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce.

To make Ssamjang::

  • In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. Makes about 1 cup.

To make Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce:

  • In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, onion, and gochugaru and sesame oil, if desired. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds just before serving, if desired. Refrigerate in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Makes about ½ cup.
That’s a Wrap, Happy Hour Time! (Korean Tacos)

That’s a Wrap, Happy Hour Time! (Korean Tacos)

Jamie is in Atlanta for the summer working but fortunately she will be coming home for a couple of weeks.  I miss my Happy Hour buddy.  We both agree happy hours are the best of all worlds.  It’s much more relaxed than throwing a dinner party. People come and go as they please and help themselves to food and drink, it’s all good.  The food is casual and the attire is flips and anything comfortable. It’s all about chillin’ with friends and family. You can hang outside so don’t bother cleaning the house, noone cares, especially after a couple of wine coolers.

Luckily for us, we finally landscaped our yard. Yay.  Years of drought and an invasion of gophers left our yard looking like a moonscape of dirt, holes and mutant weeds.  It was bad.  We called gopherbusters (not really their name but that’s what they do) and a gardener and got to work.  In my defense, I grew up in San Francisco.  The ratio of cement to grass is like a bajillion to one.  Lawn mower? Never seen one much less owned one. But the yard is done, PARTY TIME.

Just need Jamie to come home.

In anticipation  of when she does, I have been checking out recipes that would be perfect for our little casual soirees’.  Korean Chicken Lettuce Wraps from SkinnyTaste caught my eye. SkinnyTaste started out as a blog on healthy seasonal cooking your family will love and has blossomed into a full fledge book.  The Korean wraps remind me of a Chinese appetizer, San Choy Bao, which literally means lettuce bun, think of it as an Asian Taco.  The filling is seasoned Korean BBQ style which I happen to LOVE.  Each bite is sweet, salty, spicy and the lettuce adds a refreshing crunch.  It’s a party in your mouth.  The original recipe calls for brown rice but if you are going low carb like I SHOULD be, you can substitute squash, diced carrots, zoodles or sautéed mushrooms.

We are serious about our happy hour bites and this dish meets the rigorous criteria we set for a date with a wine cooler or bottle of ice cold beer.

STRINGENT Happy Hour Food Standards:

Bite sized- check (2 bites)

Eat with your hands- check

Its YUMMY- check

It’s STUPID EASY- check

4 out of 4!  Lets go make some wraps.

That's a Wrap! (Korean Style Lettuce Wraps)

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • cooking spray
  • 1 pound lean ground chicken or turkey
  • 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

FOR WRAPS

  • 12 large outer lettuce leaves such as green leaf Bibb lettuce or even iceberg lettuce which creates a nice round bowl
  • 2 1/4 cups cooked brown rice
  • 2 tablespoons Gochujong or more if desired
  • 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds plus more for topping
  • 2 sliced scallions white and green parts

Instructions

Filling:

  • Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and chili flakes in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • Heat non-stick pan over medium high heat, add small amount of vegetable oil, add onions to pan and cook for 1-2 minute. Add garlic and ginger, sauce for additional minute before adding ground chicken to pan. Break up the chicken with a spatula or wooden spoon.
  • Cook until the chicken loses its pinkness.
  • Add sauce ingredients to pan and stir to incorporate, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer mixture another 5 minutes.

In place of brown rice:

  • Sauteed diced zucchini, mushrooms
  • Kid friendly version use corn or cooked zucchini zoodles

To Serve:

    You can set up a serve yourself taco bar or assemble each wrap.

    • In each lettuce leaf place 2 tablespoons of rice or prepared vegetables
    • Top with approximately 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture
    • Garnish with a dab of Gochujong or Siracha sauce, green onions and sesame seeds.
    • Serve immediately.

    Sure Thing Wings

    Sure Thing Wings

    Our original novice women’s group got together the other night. Four of us are still rowing but the others have since moved on to other sports or endeavors. I can’t imagine why, doesn’t everyone love getting up at the crack of dawn four days a week?  We met at Moultrup’s house, Gidge, 2-seat, Snookies, Way-way, and Aimster to catch up, eat, drink and be merry.  We talked about lots of things, our kids, husbands, politics, books, fears, and of course rowing. We laughed, argued, reminisced, and teased each other just like families do when they get together..

    087

    Since I had to work that day I needed a quick and easy dish I could prep early and grab and go after work.  One of my absolute favorite blogs is Smitten Kitchen, great recipes, wonderful writing, very entertaining. Her recipe for Sticky Sesame Chicken Wings fit the bill and is a favorite with my kids, hubby, friends, well, just about anyone who has tried them.  I threw the wings into the marinade before heading to work, came home and popped them into the oven.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

    Sticky Sesame Chicken Wings

    Ingredients

    • 3 pounds chicken wingettes or chicken wings see note up top
    • 1 large garlic clove minced
    • 1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt plus more to taste
    • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
    • 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
    • 2 tablespoons mild honey
    • 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
    • Pinch of cayenne or dash of Sriracha (I use the chili garlic paste ~1 heaping tsp
    • 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds lightly toasted
    • 1 scallion finely chopped

    Instructions

    • Make the marinade. Stir together garlic, salt, soy, hoisin, honey, sesame oil and cayenne or Siracha
    • Add wings to marinade and mix well. Marinade at least 30 minutes to overnight.
    • Heat oven to 425°F. Line a large shallow baking pan with foil and lightly oil it.Spread wings and any sauce that fell to the bottom of the bowl out on the prepared baking pan in one layer.
    • Roast, turning over once, until cooked through, about 35 minutes. Transfer wings to a large serving bowl* and toss with sesame seeds and scallion.
    • If wings need more color, broil for a couple minutes on high heat or finish the wings on the grill, decrease baking time by 5-10 minutes