But let's not forget about cooking. With fresh produce within reach at local markets and farmer's markets, a variety of international ingredients and whatever your neighborhood's Whole Foods store may be, there's endless opportunities to try cooking something new or even an old favorite using fresh, authentic ingredients.
I was recently inspired by an episode of My Grandmother's Ravioli, which featured Ki Sook Yoo, a Korean mother (and grandmother) who's lived in Pennsylvania and California. I have to admit, I've never watched one episode of the show, but this one was adorably heartwarming and authentically heartbreaking. They make "galbi", which is as traditional Korean BBQ short rib dish.
Slow cooker meals are a fantastic solution for dinner on a busy day (especially in the summer). They need little attention and they don't heat up your kitchen like the oven does. If you're like me, your kitchen is almost half of your apartment, so the entire place will get warmer very quickly.
I picked up about 1 3/4 lbs. of sliced short ribs from the store, along with a few other items I would need. I always like my short ribs sliced thin, BBQ style. Typically, Koreans will grill their short ribs (or "galbi"), which is why they're sliced thin. The cut can be tough if you don't marinate it before grilling (or use a slow cooking method). Luckily, this lady saw me coming and automatically inquired if I was going to need them "Sliced for BBQ?", a three-word question any Korean should know the answer to.
What's in this pot?
1 3/4 lb. thin-sliced short ribs (you could use 2-3 lbs.)
1 C soy sauce
1 C Sprite (or 7-Up)
1/8 - 1/4 C sesame oil
1/2 yellow onion - sliced or chopped
1 shallot - chopped
1 kiwi - slightly mashed (you can also substitute this for Asian pear)
2 inches fresh ginger - peeled and chopped roughly
3 garlic cloves - minced (use a little more if you really like garlic!)
2 dried chili peppers
red pepper flakes ("gochugaru", in Korean) - to taste
Cilantro leaves
I cooked it for about 7 hours, until the meat separated off the bones easily - about 5-6 hours on high, at the least.
Stella supervised the entire thing from her perch above the cabinets.
I also made 2 scallion pancakes because I wanted to try out my scallion shredder I bought at Daiso Japan, which is like the Japanese dollar store.
The scallion pancakes were made of:
2 C of AP flour
1 C chicken broth
pinch of salt
2 eggs
2 shredded green onions
I whisk all the ingredients (except for the green onion) together in a bowl. Heat a pan on medium heat and coat the pan in vegetable oil (like for typical pancakes). Then, I pour about half the batter into the pan and lay the green onions into the batter. I've also seen the reverse done - laying the green onion and then the batter. Once the one side cooks, you just flip and cook the other side. I like a little browning on each side.
I remove them and place them on a paper towel to soak up some extra oil.
Then, I carefully cut them with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. They are typically cut into triangles (like a pizza) or into squares. Cutting on the green onion side of the pancake helps to ensure that you cut through all the onion.
After the short ribs are ready, I spoon out the meat (the bones should fall off the meat) and serve it on a bed of rice and garnish with chopped cilantro, green onion and sesame seeds.
I served the short ribs and rice with a side of kimchi and ginger pickles. If you aren't familiar with kimchi, it is a spicy fermented cabbage traditionally served with every Korean meal (breakfast, too). It is often made with cabbage, but it's also made with daikon or green onion. This type was made with all three (winner!).
If you want to learn a little more about kimchi, check out this video. Warning: video is about 10 minutes in length, but Kun Umma is both traditional Korean mom and adorably hilarious.
Ta-da!
Things to think about:
- If you haven't eaten kimchi: Would you try it?
- If you have eaten kimchi: Aren't you hungry for kimchi now?
