Short Rib Lettuce Wraps & Dumpling Salad

This weekend's new recipe was made with slow cooked short ribs. I was lucky enough to find some good ones at the grocery store this time! My favorite way to cook short ribs is to slow cook them. The meat gets very tender after 7-8 hours of cooking and basically falls off the bone (and is easy to shred).

I used this recipe for the sauce in the Crock Pot but only used 2 lbs of short ribs. It's slightly different than the one I've used in the past. I don't think the curry flavor came out as much as I thought it would, but the flavor was still good. It's possible I just didn't use enough.

The recipe for peanut sauce made way more sauce than 2 people could eat, so I saved it to be used for peanut chicken this week.

I served the wraps with a salad recipe I found from My Korean Kitchen. Both of these recipes are also on my Pinterest board for Asian Inspired Recipes. If you follow me there, go ahead and repin them!

Making the dressing for the dumpling salad

The gochujang might be hard to find around here. You typically have to get it from an Asian grocery store. Mine is from Koreatown in NYC. It costs about $6-$7 but you'll get your money's worth, I promise.

Most of the ingredients I'm using here are Korean

The rice wine vinegar and sesame oil were both bought locally. The sesame seeds were another Asian grocery store find. You can buy them in your seasonings aisle at the generic grocery store but you'll pay an arm and a leg for them. Look in the international aisle for a cheaper version so you don't end up paying $5 for 1/2 cup of seeds.

Preparing veggies for the salad

Mango salsa - mango, lime juice, cilantro, green onion, jalapeno, salt

Ready to make lettuce wraps - peanut sauce not shown

I decided to add some alfalfa sprouts to our wraps. I really like sprouts and thought they were a good addition.

The final result - I'd say the photo did not do it justice!

Short Rib Asian Tacos

Because tacos. Seems like a good enough reason, doesn't it? While there's probably always time for tacos, I'd have to say the variety and quality of ones in my town are pretty bland. There's the generic "Mexican" restaurants, the local Taco Bell, and the gas station MTO types (which I imagine are worse than Taco Bell). Don't get me wrong, I eat MTO. Breakfast all the time, man. There's a few random places serving tacos, but they're honestly the equivalent of something I'd piece together when I'm short on time and pretty much out of groceries.

In a way, the food culture (or lack thereof) around here has had both a positive and negative impact on my food experiences. Because of the lack of diversity, it's forced me to seek out learning to do things myself. And maybe this wouldn't be as much of a problem if I was really into PA Dutch food and generic chain restaurant food...but that's not me (hog-maw is SO weird). Can't find kimchi? Okay, then I'll learn how to make it myself. I'm more of a "teach a man to fish" person as opposed to a "buy a man a fish" person, if that makes any sense.

So back to tacos. 

I looked for a unique recipe I could easily make using ingredients I have easy access to. The recipe needed to be something different, not "Pour packet of seasoning on meat." Let's call it reasonably unique I like recipes where I can contribute by making sauces, seasonings, marinades and not ones where I spend most of the time opening jars and boxes. I think doing it yourself gives you a sense of what's in the food you eat and how those ingredients all work together. You'll both respect and understand food more. 

I decided this recipe was the most reasonably unique, and, boy, was it a winner. 

I made a few adjustments to the sauce because I bought 2 lbs of short ribs instead of 6 lbs. I added some extra red pepper flakes and a little extra brown sugar (based on the adjusted amounts). The meat cooked on low the first 2 hours but I decided to turn up the heat to high for the next 5, making sure the meat stayed in the sauce and juicy while it cooked. By the time I was ready to shred it, the meat fell off the bones. 

I stirred in a little Bibigo Hot and Spicy sauce after reheating the meat for leftovers the next day. Leftover meat is never quite as juicy, and this was a nice touch.

Tri-colored carrot slaw heaven -
Carrots and cilantro purchased at the local market

The carrot slaw is great, and I was lucky enough to come across a tri-color pack of carrots at market, which suited the recipe perfectly. I also served the taco with a bit of lettuce and Kewpie mayo. Corn tortillas were much better than using flour ones (just an FYI).

I am thoroughly happy with the results, and can't wait to eat them again soon!

First Batch - Flour tortilla and sriracha mayo

Second Batch - Lettuce and Kewpie mayo on corn tortilla (the real winner)

Crock Pot Meal for One - Ribs and Baked Potato

The easiest thing I made last week was beef short ribs and a baked potato. It doesn't exactly scream Skinny Girl anything, but it was delicious, and sometimes that's all that really matters.

I marinated the short ribs in a premade (gasp!) Korean BBQ sauce. I used the Bibigo brand that I bought at Target. This is the only place I know you can buy the stuff other than going to the actual "fast food" chain. You could use whatever sauce you want though. I use about 3/4-1 cup of sauce, just for the ribs to sit in, not drown in. This is personal preference because I like the meat to have crunchy bits. I just put the ribs and sauce in a Slow Cooker bag (in the Crock Pot dish) and stored it in the fridge for a day. If you aren't using Slow Cooker bags, you're spending too much time cleaning up after you use the Crock Pot. Trust me, and use them.

In the morning, I put the dish in the base. By base, I mean the metal part. So, whatever you want to call it. Then I take a potato, wrap it in foil, and place it between the bag and the dish (not in the bag with the sauce). Lid goes on. Crock Pot cooks on low all day. I go to work (then the gym) and come home.

By the time I get home, the meal has been cooking (turned on) for about 10 or 11 hours, and my apartment smells great! Dinner is ready and cleanup couldn't be easier. Voila.

Spicy Orange Beef Bowl

Here's an easy way to get that Chinese take-out flavor without spending extra money on take-out or stuffing yourself with preservatives via frozen or boxed dinners. Stir in any fresh vegetables you have in the crisper and serve with steamed white rice!

Ingredients:
1 lb thinly sliced steak (I used strip steak)
1/4 C cornstarch
1/3 C rice wine vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1/3 C orange marmalade
2 T freshly grated ginger
Sesame oil
Sriracha to taste

Other:
Wok

In a small bowl, mix together marmalade, rice vinegar, soy sauce and Sriracha.

Toss beef in cornstarch to coat lightly.

Heat sesame oil in wok over medium heat. Add beef and fry until browned.

Add marmalade mixture to wok and boil. Add vegetables and grated ginger. Continue to cook until sauce thickens to a syrup-like consistency.