Saturday, April 04, 2015

Short Rib Saturday - I MADE KALBI!


Quick post after a long week at work, just to say "I'm still here" and also share something else besides ospreys that I was REALLY REALLY HAPPY ABOUT this week. See that nice meal? That was dinner on Saturday and that's proper Hawaiian-kine kalbi I cooked, as featured in many a fine Hawaiian plate lunch, including the one featured If Tillerman and Tillerwoman went to Hawaii they could try some new foods. I didn't get the Tillers to go to Hawaii but boy did I have fun writing that.

I absolutely love kalbi, and when my local grocery store started carrying flanken cut short ribs I had to try this! Other reasons I had to try:

1. the L&L Barbecue in Manhattan (former NYC plate lunch source) closed.
2. Then my favorite Korean restaurant on the way home from work closed.
3. Then the Korean restaurant that wasn't quite as convenient as my old favorite Korean restaurant, but still close enough to be my new favorite Korean restaurant after my old favorite Korean restaurant closed, closed.

Enough already. Time to make my own, yeah?

I did a quick Internet search for kalbi recipes. Things don't always end up being cooked in Hawaii in exactly the same way they are in other places, so since I was after that taste from "small-kid time", I specified "Hawaiian style kalbi".

I found a promising page and used the first of the 2 recipes.

It's a keeper. Onolicious, and easy, too! Came out so well I had to serve it with two scoop rice, just like back at home, even though it was just for me this time. If I'd wanted to do a proper homage, I should've made some creamy mac salad with Best Foods mayonnaise, but I had some other things to do on Saturday, which was a little dreary and thus a good getting things done day - as it was I added some of the home-grown Swiss chard I froze at the end of last season. Pretty good dinner and I've been enjoying the leftovers through this very busy week at work.

Have to keep this one in mind for a potluck sometime. I do love Ivory Hut's chicken adobo for a potluck, but this would be good too.

Here's Sarah Vowell reading an excerpt about Hawaiian-kine plate lunch from her book Unfamiliar Fishes, which I finally read, and enjoyed, during my sailing trip in January. 



8 comments:

Haralee said...

Flanken Ribs are one of my favorite for the grill. They are done quickly and with a marinade just yummy. Yeah ALOHA!

Rena said...

I don't think I have ever heard of them but they sound delicious.

pia said...

It looks great!!!
What's with all the Korean restaurant closings?

Baydog said...

for some reason I thought they were braised. I suppose they'd be good that way too

bonnie said...

I don't know! L&L, which is an actual Hawaiian chain, closed a while back; my favorite on the way home was there for a year or two after that so that was my standard stop for kalbi cravings - but then they closed, and I did some online research to find another good Korean restaurant within walking distance of work. I tried 2, 1st very close by but the kalbi wasn't that great; 2nd one was a little further, over on 1st ave near St. Mark's Place - there was some famous-person connection, it was partially owned by a rock star or an actor or some such person, but the main thing was the kalbi was very good - but they'd closed by the next time I wanted to go! :(

Baydog said...

braised that is. I bet they would be good cold, say, on a boat the next day............hint hint

bonnie said...

Oops, I was answering Pia at the same time Baydog was talking braising. Interesting thing when I posted this over on Facebook - turns out flanken was my friend Rochelle's Russian grandma's usual Shabbos dish - simmered with potatoes and beans for hours and hours and hours. That sounds pretty good too.

Recipe I followed called for grilled or fried - I fried 'em in the big cast-iron Dutch oven TQ gave me a couple of years ago, figured that would do the best job of searing. Worked great.

bonnie said...

And I'll keep this in mind for sometime when I might find myself on a boat the next day.