Author Notes: I lived in the LA area for many years. LA has the largest Korean population outside of Seoul. I love Korean food and I love the people, many of whom operated retail stores in my old neighborhood. But the cuisine is a mystery I’ve been trying to puzzle out piece by piece. At one time there were very few good references in book form. Happily that has changed. You can Google anything but just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t mean that it’s any good. There are now some fine books you can turn to.
I’m pretty good at Korean style barbecue but the pickles and so on which accompany every meal remain a deep mystery. When I revisit LA and Orange County I like to stock up on lots of this stuff. The Kogi Truck proved that Korean could be the next wave in cuisine.
** If you can find it, this Korean hot red pepper powder is wonderful. I call it "Korean crack." Wonderfully aromatic. I received some from a Korean born friend of mine and fell in love with it right away.
Just tried this, though using a ridged grill pan and boneless beef ribs. They were delicious.
Is dark soy sauce the very thick also labeled as black soy sauce in the asian market?
I have also used Kikwi as a substitute for the pear...I'm told any tropical fruit...Kiwi, pineapple,mango, papaya all have the same enzyme that tenderizes the meat.
Oh wow...I've never tried a spicy beef steak before. My husband just asked me yesterday why Koreans don't have spicy Korean beef short ribs and only have spicy pork belly or spicy chicken. Haha...I will definitely have to try this recipe now that I found it!!
If you happen to live in or be visiting the LA area be sure to check out the Diamond Jamboree Center in Irvine. It's a collection of almost exclusively Asian shops and restaurants; noodle shops, dim sum, sushi and a fantastic bakery. The center is anchored by a large HMart (korean chain). You can find any kind of Korean ingredient you could possibly want. Located on Alton Parkway between Von Karman and Jamboree.
Oh yeah...we go there every so often. We love 85 degree bakery and eating dimsum at Capital Seafood. Not to mention shopping at Hmart. There's an Hmart in Garden Grove, too. We also like Arirang market in Garden Grove because they sell better LA style galbi meat. We've tried Hmart's meat and it was just too tough. Didn't taste as good as Arirang's.
Glad to hear you already know about Diamond Jamboree. Perhaps my favorite stop is Ajisen for noodles. Here's a link to my blog post about them http://eggsinpurgatory.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-09-22T08:44:00-07:00&max-results=7 I love the statue which greets you as you enter. It looks sort of like a transgendered Bob's Big Boy.
I also love the Marukai Market in Gardena. Artesia and Western. There is a food court at the entrance which has one of the best ramen shops I've ever been to. I think it's name is Shiro something? Anyway, it's on the right as you walk in.
I made this last night and it was wonderful! I didn't have a pear, so I used half an apple, which worked fine. I grilled the meat on my cast-iron grilling pan. The flavor was so true to the flavors of the beef I've enjoyed in LA's Korean Town. Thanks for a great recipe!
To boulangere, you could try. But if you can find sambal on your supermarket shelves in the Asian section that might work better.
Oh, yeah, thanks! I actually prefer smabal olek to sriracha.
I've never scored flank steak before marinading. Thanks for the tip. Gorgeous, deep flavors here. I live in a Korean-challenged area. Would I be close to gochujang if I mixed black bean paste with Sriracha?
Thanks AJ, I like it too. Maybe someday I'll have an actual winner here. I just picked up "The Kimchi Chronicles" which supposedly ties in with a PBS series. No idea when it get's broadcast. The newest edition of Gastronomica (University of Calfornia Press) just landed in my mailbox. It includes an essay discussing both sauerkraut and kimchi which I'm really looking forward to reading.
I'm with AJ. I made it again with flank steak and it was amazing. Short ribs are next.
Thanks AJ. So far I haven't killed anyone and have my fingers crossed that it will never happen.
I used your marinade for skirt steak, charcoal-grilled and served with a quick kim-chi, and man, was it awesome.
Thanks for experimenting. I thnk it works well with most kinds of beef grilled over sizzling hot heat. You can use it for short ribs too but the ribs need to be prepped so that they cook quickly on a grill rather than as a braise.
Awesome! Love Korean food, but I almost never make it. I need to give this a go.
Susan G, thanks for pointing out the "cut and paste" error in the ingredients which is now fixed. I love bipimbap too. I was going to turn in a recipe but I don't think I can make deadline. But the basic ingredients I use are spinach, shitake mushrooms, extra firm tofu, gochujang and the necessary poached egg to finish. You can expand from there.
Love gochujang. This sounds delicious.
I'll be using this sauce for something else... looks too good to pass up! Fortunately, pilgrimages to H Mart resulted in gochujang, which I've enjoyed in bibimbap. If you have instructions for that, I'd love to see it.
I know I'm going to hear from you guys on my sriracha opinion, so bring it. I have nothing but admiration for the guy who developed it and began by selling it door to door. But it's now joined the great American pantheon of most missused ingredients. It's a wonderful product but also an example of how good stuff goes wrong.