Korean Flank Steaks

Many of you know of the wonderful dish Korean BBQ right? Well, my first experience of it was this past summer. I was at a friend of mine's BBQ and another couple that was there, brought some Korean BBQ over. Being the Asian cuisine lover that I am, I was intrigued. The aroma itself was enough to sell me on the dish. Sam, the griller, is a pharmacist for Kroger and happened to be good friends with the butcher. He said that he would get the guy to cut the ribs across the bone instead of along side the bone. It made the pieces of meat thin and grilled fast. He said he marinated it in soy sauce, ginger, and garlic... the holy trinity of most Asian cuisine in my opinion. So since then, I've always wanted to try to make my own, and this weekend, I had a couple friends over and had to give it a try.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons chardonnay, or other white wine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 & 1/2 lb. flank steak, sliced across the grain
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

The marination is pretty much where most of the "cooking" or work is done in this dish. Combine all ingredients (except for steak, cornstarch, and vegetable oil) in a somewhat deep glass dish (like a casserole dish would be perfect). Make sure sugar dissolves and ingredients are well combined. Add in steak strips and coat well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Ideally, you would want to grill these, but since it was bloody cold outside, I opted to cook these over the stove top. Once again, ideally, if you were doing this inside, a grill pan would be best, but I don't have a grill pan, so I just used my skillet.

Heat skillet (or whatever else you want to use) under medium high heat and add vegetable oil. In batches of about 4 or 5, brown both sides of the steak, about 30 seconds to a minute for a nice medium-rare to medium.

Continue with remaining flank pieces and tent the cooked steak with foil to keep hot.

If you want to make a quick "gravy", if you will, using the leftover marinade, just add it to the same skillet used for steak and scrape up brown bits. Heat until bubbling and then bring to a simmer. Combine 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and mix until dissolved. Add mixture to "gravy". Increase heat and allow mixture to thicken while constantly stirring. Pour gravy on top of steaks! I served this alongside some simple roasted sweet potatoes!


This was definitely a great take on meat and potatoes. The sweet potatoes brought out the sweetness of the marinade, while still maintaining the savoriness of the steak. This is really not close to the Korean BBQ I talked about before hand, but more of a "distant cousin". I know that they were both really frickin' delicious though! Enjoy!

Asian Meatballs w/ Fried Rice

I'm starting to be at a crossroads in my life. I'll be turning 25 this year, and I've been in college since I was 18, still with nothing to show for it. It's starting to really bother me. I'm antsy to make something of myself, but at the same time realize it's still going to take time to accomplish that. So here in lies the crossroads. Go to pharmacy school or finish up my biology degree and go to graduate school for food science? I love both fields, I mean, I've worked for a pharmacy for about 5 years and there's nothing better than the satisfaction you get out of really making a difference in someone's life. But then again, food science! Wow, I could work in research & development in food labs. I'd be hands on with products and potentially incur the same revenue as I would as a pharmacist. Either choice would allow me to finish up about the same time, so time really isn't an issue. I think this all just came about really because I still haven't heard back from my pharmacy school application. Am I just paranoid? I need a back up plan in case all else fails, but this is just downright nerve racking! Anyway, this all has nothing to do with today's dish, really, just had to vent for a minute.


Ingredients:
Adapted from Vanilla Sugar's blog

1 lb. ground pork
1 small onion, grated
1 egg
5 garlic cloves, minced and divided
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons black bean sauce with garlic
pinch of cornstarch
pinch of powdered ginger
2 cups jasmine rice, cooked
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/4 cup shredded carrots
4 green onions, chopped
1 small can water chestnuts, drained
1 small can bamboo shoots, drained
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
3 tablespoons pad thai sauce

Whoa that's a big list of ingredients! Don't let it deter you! Most of it, if you cook enough Asian foods like me, will already be in your pantry! If not, still give it a go because it's definitely worth it!

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Combine pork, egg, grated onion, 3 garlic cloves, fresh ginger, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and panko bread crumbs in a medium bowl. Mix well and form about 1-2 inch meatballs.

Heat canola oil in a large skillet and brown meatballs on all sides. Do not cook all the way, just get them nice and browned. Then place on a greased baking sheet and bake in oven for about 15 minutes.

Drain most of oil off of skillet, but leave just a bit. Combine honey, black bean garlic sauce, corn starch, powdered ginger, and 4 tablespoons of soy sauce in a small bowl. Add to skillet under medium heat and cook until it bubbles and slightly thickens. Pour mixture over meatballs and coat well.

Heat up a little more canola oil in another large skillet under medium high heat and add garlic. Stir until fragrant, about a minute or so, and add in cooked rice. Then add carrots, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and peanuts. Mix well. Add pad thai sauce and a few dashes of soy sauce to the rice mixture. Incorporate the sauces well throughout the rice. Top with chopped green onion.

Serve meatballs on top of rice and dig in!


These were some of the most flavorful and delicious meatballs I've ever had. Definitely has one leg up on the Italian variety! Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup w/ an Asian Twist

It's been quite cold here in Louisville lately, and today is not exception. There's a few inches of snow on the ground and I'm sure the city is in mass hysteria... especially the thousands that can not drive in the snow. I don't know what it is, but this city is NEVER prepared for snow. The snow trucks never come prepared, or salt the night before a known snow is coming. People drive just like they normally would on a sunny day, which is not the right way to drive in the snow. That's how you end up in a ditch or a median. But best of all... on the seemingly coldest and most snow filled day of the year so far... I am intending to test drive and purchase a new car. Am I crazy? Yes. But more importantly, I'm in need of a new vehicle... and why not today. When the salesman don't want to spend hours outside and more time inside signing paperwork and getting the deal done. That's my viewpoint anyway, I'll keep you updated on whether this plan actually worked or not.


Ingredients:
Adapted from The Way The Cookie Crumbles' blog

3 chicken breasts, sliced into medallions
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 small onions, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 to 1 box of spaghetti noodles
5 large shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced thin
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
pinch or two of red pepper flakes (optional)
2 scallions, sliced thin

This is definitely a crockpot soup. Or I made it that way anyway. Turn your crockpot onto the high setting to get it warmed up.

In a large skillet, heat up oil under medium high heat and cook the chicken medallions until no longer pink. Transfer chicken to crockpot and cover.

In same skillet used for chicken, saute the onions, garlic, and ginger for about 5 minutes, when onions are soft and translucent. Add mixture to crockpot over chicken.

Deglaze skillet of brown bits by adding 1 cup of water to pan and scraping of the sucs. Then dump that water into the crockpot. Add remaining 3 cups of water and 4 cups of chicken broth into crockpot as well. Let simmer in crockpot until almost ready to serve, stirring occasionally. Mine was in there for about 45 minutes.

About 15 minutes before you're ready to dig in, add in noodles and mushrooms. When noodles are soft, stir in rice vinegar, soy sauce, chili flakes, sesame oil, and scallions.

Ladle into bowls and serve hot!


The only problem I had with this dish was that I used too many noodles. But besides that, the flavors were all there and it definitely warms you up on a cold and frigid day. Just a different take on a classic. Enjoy!

Ginger Soy Grilled Chicken

This past weekend I made Andy come with me to watch the Julie & Julia film. Let's just say he felt a little emasculated after it was all said and done. Me, on the other hand, can totally relate to the movie and I thought it was rather cute. Kind of made me think of one day publishing an Asian-Fusion cookbook for Americans. Really, I think there's a market for it. How many people pack into Asian/Chinese buffets every single day? Tons! And that's not even the best part of Asian-inspired cuisine! There's such a range and such a flavor in Asian dishes that I don't think it gets enough credit.

That's exactly why I'm posting this dish. This is by far, the best way to cook chicken, in my opinion. The ginger, the soy, they mix to make just a delicate and delicious balance of flavors.


Ingredients:

2 lbs. chicken thighs (about 10)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup mirin or 1/4 cup sake (I put in both)
2 cloves chopped garlic
4 tablespoons grated/minced garlic
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (you can buy them that way or you can quickly saute them in a pan to get them hot and voila! they're toasted!)
freshly ground black pepper

This recipe is absolutely fool-proof! If you like a different part of the chicken, be my guest, but for those of you that are always scared of drying out chicken or cooking it for too long, chicken thighs are ALWAYS your best bet! It's practically impossible to dry them out so they're perfect!

Just mix all ingredients in a big enough tub to cover the chicken and let sit in refrigerator for about 6 to 8 hours, or leave in overnight so the chicken and the marinade can become one! Osmosis is your friend!

When chicken is ready, heat a grill to medium heat and cook until cooked through. Like I said, it's practically impossible to dry out chicken thighs, so really all you're worried about now is burning the chicken, so watch the grill with a keen eye!


Enjoy!