A Study of Boneless Short Ribs

Short Ribs are better known as Kalbi in Korean terms and are a rich and flavorful portion of beef that lend themselves well to many styles of preparation.  They are used in various capacities in Korean cooking like soups, stews, and bbqs. I have never bought boneless short ribs before this week bc I tend to think the bone portion adds depth, substance, and texture to dishes, but shopping at Costco brought them into my proximity so I decided to cave into curiosity and attempt to make something yummy with them. After a day of indecisive contemplation, I started the marinating process without any concrete idea of how I would prepare them. I just knew I wanted to try something different in the final execution.

After a day of basking in the marinade, I vertically sliced one steak into fourths 

and broiled them as they would traditionally be prepared, a) to feed my ravenous child and b) to check the flavor and texture of the beef.

The marinade lent the beef a delicious flavor, but the meat seemed a bit more dense and chewy than the bone-in short ribs I usually use for Korean bbqed kalbi.

Later on in the evening, I found myself extremely hungry and desperate for food, 

so I broiled a thicker portion of short rib "steak" with the intention of slicing it into thin strips, but didn't need to do so because it was perfectly tender and tasty. I think my error in the first preparation was that I didn't bring the beef to room temperature before broiling it.  (My bad.)

The following day, I was hit with the inspiration to put my Smoke N' Grill to use, so I seasoned it with oil,  let the charcoal do it's work for a few hours, and then added the browned pieces of short rib into the smoker for a couple of hours to infuse it with cherrywood smokiness.

(Initially, I wanted to grind the meat for kalbi burgers, but I don't have a grinder at home, so I opted for another conceptual option in the meantime.)

The following day, I rendered the fat, sauteed onions, garlic, ginger, onions, shiitake mushrooms, deglazed with sake, then added the smoked short ribs and whatever liquid was left over into the pot and let the meat meld with the vegetables. 

The final plating of the short ribs was highly successful in its flavor profile.  However, I think my browning, smoking, then braising of the beef jerked it a bit into a pleasant, yet unexpectedly

 thicker and richer consistency. It was still incredibly tender, but the beef was not the melt-in-your- mouth texture one expects in a traditional kalbijim.  The next time I attempt to smoke short ribs, I will marinate and put the beef into the smoker in its raw form.  I think I may get better results treating the short ribs like brisket ala Pit/BBQ masters. It wasn't a perfect ending, but I'm excited to attempt the dish again and see where a new technique will take me in my study of short ribs.

Ode to Chicken- Kevin Young

You are everything
to me. Frog legs,
rattlesnake, almost any
thing I put my mouth to
reminds me of you.
Folks always try
getting you to act
like you someone else --
nuggets, or tenders, fingers
you don't have -- but even
your unmanicured feet
taste sweet. Too loud
in the yard, segregated
dark & light, you are
like a day self-contained --
your sunset skin puckers
like a kiss. Let others
put on airs -- pigs graduate
to pork, bread
becomes toast, even beef
was once just bull
before it got them degrees --
but, even dead,
you keep your name
& head. You can make
anything of yourself,
you know -- but prefer
to wake me early
in the cold, fix me breakfast
& dinner too, leave me
to fly for you.

 

Seoulstice: Southern-style Greens, Viet-Seafood Salad, & Napa, Radish, & Garlic Chive Kimchi

Started prepping at 8 this morning and didn't stop cooking until 5:30ish. I did my usual assessment of available ingredients and made a hodgepodge of mismatched, tasty dishes.

I began with an 'imitation is a form of flattery' homage to my friend Pauly's mamasgreens, which don't necessarily taste like hers as much as were inspired by their deliciousness.

I used:

Lacinato Kale

Collard Greens

Turnip Greens

Leeks

Onion

Garlic

Green pepper

Red pepper

Serrano chilies

Ham shank

Roma tomatoes

Chicken stock

White pepper

Cloves

Allspice

Oregano

Brown sugar

Salt

pepper

&

A lil Sherry vinegar when I ran outta

Apple Cider Vinegar :)

After approximately 2 hours...

This is a Vietnamese inspired seafood salad with pomelo and perilla.

  

The 'recipe' calls for:

Sea Scallops

Wild Tiger Prawns

Pomelo

Vietnamese Perilla Leaves, 

(which are closer to Japanese Shiso than the Korean kind)

Mint

Red Peppers

Cucumber

Fried Shallots

Nuoc Cham Dressing:

Lime

Fish Sauce

Brown Sugar

Garlic

Serrano Chilies

White Vinegar

This is the Napa, Radish, & Garlic Chive Kimchi

I put together in a kimono and fuzzy boots while in the middle of an amusing conversation 

during a spontaneous visit from a friend.

To be of use- Marge Piercy

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half-submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.

To Have Without Holding- Marge Piercy

Learning to love differently is hard,
love with the hands wide open, love
with the doors banging on their hinges,
the cupboard unlocked, the wind
roaring and whimpering in the rooms
rustling the sheets and snapping the blinds
that thwack like rubber bands
in an open palm.

It hurts to love wide open
stretching the muscles that feel
as if they are made of wet plaster,
then of blunt knives, then
of sharp knives.

It hurts to thwart the reflexes
of grab, of clutch; to love and let
go again and again. It pesters to remember
the lover who is not in the bed,
to hold back what is owed to the work
that gutters like a candle in a cave
without air, to love consciously,
conscientiously, concretely, constructively.

I can't do it, you say it's killing
me, but you thrive, you glow
on the street like a neon raspberry,
You float and sail, a helium balloon
bright bachelor's button blue and bobbing
on the cold and hot winds of our breath,
as we make and unmake in passionate
diastole and systole the rhythm
of our unbound bonding, to have
and not to hold, to love
with minimized malice, hunger
and anger moment by moment balanced.

Midnight Mapo Tofu

I've been illin' and wishin' for some spicy soup to quell my stuffiness,

 but it's late and there isn't much in the way of yummy delivery options around midnight,

sooooo I made this ma-po tofu with my sister's dinner in mind 

and it turned into quite a tasty delight. 

Midnight Mapo is all about making do with what is available at home when you don't wanna go out. 

My foundational ingredients for ma-po are typically:

Silken and firm tofu for varied texture

garlic

(usually ginger)

leeks

chili bean oil

a splash of soy

a can of chicken stock

sesame oil

oyster sauce

pepper (black and szechuan)

corn starch

 I like cooking at home because doing so makes it possible to add 

whatever ingredients suit your fancy and flavor in the moment. 

 Fortune had it that I had shiitakes, bok choy, and filet of sole on hand 

so I made a merry medley and it worked wonderfully well together, 

although you should probably know that I sauteed the shiitakes separately 

and blanched the bok choy before it went into the sauce.

Happy Eating!

Seoulstice: Kimchijigae

When kimchi has fermented past the point of pleasurable edibility, 

it is the perfect time to transform its sour flavor into a hearty stew.

My recipe calls for:

kimchi

rib beef bones (roasted)

bacon

onion

leeks

butter

dark brown sugar

serrano pepper

water

All the ingredients are simmered together for approximately 20-30 minutes,

then covered with water and braised for a few hours.

This is a picture of the jigae after a few hours of braising. 

This is the jigae after a night of rest.  

Soups and stews tend to be better the next day, 

so I let it sleep, then rendered the fat the next morning. 

Another great thing about kimchijigae is that it lends itself to versatility. You can add an enormous range of ingredients to mix it up and improve upon the base flavors. 

I added blanched Lacinato Kale to give it a bit more color and texture.

I don't mean to toot my own horn but goodgawd, it's delicious!!!
Can't wait to share it with my family!!! :D

This is what friendship looks like...

These are pics from the last few years and I have so many more...
(I'll add captions when inspiration and time allow it)

My son has a good life. :)