Korean Barbecue Boneless Pork Ribs

Having recently become enamoured of Korean Barbecue Pork, I decided to try my hand at making some at home. I found a recipe on the internet that sounded promising, so I set to work. The first step actually begins the day before as the ribs must marinate for 24 to 48 hours before cooking.

The recipe calls for:

Boneless pork ribs

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 cup soy sauce (I recommend using low-sodium soy sauce)

1-1/2 tsp. sesame seeds

1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper

2 tbs. sesame oil

1/4 tsp. fresh ginger root, minced

1 green onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced or grated

2 tbs. brown sugar

The recipe also calls for 1/8 tsp. msg, but I omitted this ingredient.

The first step is to prepare the meat.

Cut the meat into thin strips. I later cut the meat into even thinner and shorter strips. It is a good idea to cut the meat when it is still partially frozen. I need to remember that for the next time. It would have made my life a bit easier.

After mixing all the marinade ingredients together, add the cut meat and seal the bag. Remove as much of the air from the bag as possible and place in a container in case of leakage. Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours, turning a couple of times.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the meat in batches.

You want the meat to become caramelized, but not burnt.

After each batch was cooked, I removed the meat to an oven-proof dish and set in a warm oven.

Meanwhile, we cooked some Jasmati rice and made pea salad to accompany dinner.

This was the moistest and most tender pork I have ever eaten.

Unfortunately, the dish was a bit salty even using low-sodium soy sauce. My daughter suggested that next time we add more sugar to "cut" the saltiness of the dish. I have already rewritten the recipe, increasing the amount of brown sugar to 1/4 cup.

We will be making the amended recipe again.

Friday Night Fajitas

I was suddenly struck by the realization that not only had I never made fajitas, but I had never even eaten them before. Well, there is no time like the present to rectify such a glaring oversight.

For my first foray into fajita fixings, I opted to go with the traditional beef filling. However, chicken, pork and shrimp are also equally at home in fajitas.

After searching online for a suitable recipe, I decided to start with Paula Deen's recipe for Gold Medal Sizzling Fajitas. However, as lime was my choice as the citrus for the marinade, I substituted the lime for the lemon that the recipe called for.

For the marinade I mixed together the juice of half a lime, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, a dash hot sauce, 2 tablespoons canola oil, 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt and one clove garlic, minced. I could not find skirt steak in the grocery store, so I purchased a flat iron steak for this meal.

After mincing the garlic, add a bit of salt and use the side of the knife to scrape the garlic across the board. The salt works as an abrasive to help break down the garlic as you scrape and smash the garlic with the knife.

Add the garlic to the marinade and put the meat in one hour before cooking. This thin of a cut of meat does not need to marinate very long.

And now we move on to the vegetable portion of the dish. Here we have 2 green onions, a Vidalia onion, half a red bell pepper, and an orange bell pepper.

I cut 1/4 of the Vidalia onion into slivers. I used half of the orange bell pepper and the half of the red bell pepper that was left over from an earlier dish. I sliced the green onion in half lengthwise and cut them into 4 inch pieces.

I wrapped a few tortilla rounds in aluminum foil and placed them in a warm oven while I cooked the fixings.

Quickly sear the meat over medium-high to high heat. Set aside and allow to rest a couple of minutes.

Add the vegetables to the hot pan and heat through. As I am not a fan of mushy vegetables, I did not leave the vegetables in the hot pan for very long at all.

Remove to a serving dish as you turn your attention back to the beef.

I sliced the beef across the grain. In deference to my husband's tastes, I returned the meat to the still hot pan for a mere 30 seconds to further brown the meat.

You may recall from my last post that I had made fresh tomato salsa. At this point it's a simple matter of laying out some meat and vegetables on the warm tortilla and topping with sour cream, shredded cheese and homemade salsa.

What can I tell you? The veggies were done to perfection, the meat was tender and flavorful, with just the hint of lime and garlic in the background. Even the house smelled wonderful afterwards.

Oh wait! I had also made some Jasmati rice for a side dish. It was very nice with some veggies over the top.

Now, why in the world did I wait so long to make such an easy and tasty meal? Oh, now I remember: I think it had something to do with the objections that my dear husband raised when I told him what I was making.

His response afterwards? He liked it. I must be doing something right.