Backyard Bulgogi (뒷뜰 불고기 바베큐)

[흥부]

By MARK BITTMAN

In looking to create a menu for an early-season barbecue that would appeal to everyone — meat lovers, vegetarians, culinary thrill-seekers and whoever else might show up — I realized that such a menu already exists. It’s just that it isn’t what we think of as “American food.”

Still, it is American to not fuss about the origin of recipes, especially when the menu spotlights both intensely flavored grilled marinated meat and a bunch of quirky, flavorful and mostly meatless side dishes.

In this case, the source is Korean. And with a little planning and advance work, you can make beef bulgogi and banchan (the name for the little tidbits either served first or as accompaniments) at home. And you’ll make them as well as or better than you’ve eaten them on 32nd Street in Manhattan or wherever your local joint might be. In other words, you’ll kick off the grilling season with an appealing, exotic, even exciting menu that will make most others seem dull.

The exoticism and excitement derive from both the ingredients and the techniques. Many of the ingredients you’ll need can be found at any halfway decent grocery store, but there is one important exception: gochujang, or Korean chili-bean paste. This combines the salty, complex tang of miso with a mild fire, and it’s an absolute must as a condiment for the beef. (If you’ve eaten Korean barbecue, you’ve been offered it.)

Gochugaro, Korean chili powder, which contributes heat to the kimchi and scallion-salad recipes, is also difficult to find in most supermarkets, but a substitute of red-pepper flakes or not-terribly fiery ground chili powder will give you a similar effect. Depending on where you live, you may well be able to find mung bean sprouts (which star in a simple salad), daikon radish (pickled along with cabbage in kimchi) and hijiki (which is soaked and then stir-fried in what is quite possibly the best seaweed preparation I’ve ever had) in your local supermarket.

The instantly recognizable profile of Korean food, however, comes not from obscure ingredients but from the relatively mainstream ones: sesame (both seeds and oil), garlic, soy sauce, garlic, rice vinegar, garlic, sugar and scallions. And garlic. I’ve more than once called Korean food “Japanese food with guts,” not as a slight against Japanese food (wonderful in its own right) but as an endorsement of Korean cuisine’s vigorous, muscular, completely unsubtle flavor profile. Korean food’s aggressive seasoning is really just right for grilling, where attempts at nuance are usually in vain.

Some elements of this barbecue are familiar but tweaked. (Some of that familiarity comes from the American presence in Korea, now going on 60 years.) Korean potato salad, for instance, is similar to American potato salad in that its dressing is mayonnaise-based, but the Korean version sometimes uses julienned rather than chunked potatoes and also contains carrots, peas, scallions and chives. It’s far from conventional and far from bland.

I will not (and cannot) claim that every element of this menu is legitimately Korean. In fact one recipe, the plum-and-herb cocktail, is plain made up: a sangrialike concoction of white wine, gin, rosemary-infused simple syrup and fresh plums. I see it as a tribute to the sweet plum wine so often served in Korean restaurants. (If you want to be authentic, drink soju — it will get you drunk in a hurry — or beer.) But if my cocktail isn’t authentic, it is good and, like the rest of the menu, very potent.

Beef Bulgogi
Time: 45 to 150 minutes

1 bunch scallions, roughly chopped

8 or more garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon sugar or honey

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 pounds sirloin, rib-eye or skirt steak, thinly sliced, or 3 to 4 pounds beef short ribs, boned and thinly sliced

Boston or loose-leaf lettuce leaves for serving

Gochujang (Korean chili-bean paste) for serving.

1. Combine the scallions, garlic, sugar, pepper, soy sauce and oil in blender and purée, adding water as needed to form a smooth mixture. Toss the meat with the soy mixture and marinate for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Heat a grill with the rack 4 to 6 inches from the flame; the fire should be as hot as possible.

2. Remove the meat from the marinade, and grill until browned outside but still rare inside, no more than a couple of minutes per side; do not overcook. Serve the meat wrapped in lettuce leaves, with gochujang for dipping.

Serves 4 to 6.

Sesame Spinach and Tofu
Cook 1 tablespoon minced garlic in 2 tablespoons sesame oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute; add 1 pound chopped spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to wilt. Crumble in 1/2 pound extra-firm tofu and stir until warmed through. Stir in 1 tablespoon soy sauce, a pinch of sugar and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Serve hot or warm.

Korean Potato Salad
Cook 1 pound julienned or shredded potatoes and 1/2 pound julienned or shredded carrots in salted boiling water until barely tender, about 5 minutes; add 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas for the last minute of cooking. Drain and rinse with cold water. Whisk together 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 3 tablespoons rice vinegar; toss with the vegetables, 1/2 cup chopped chives and 1/4 cup chopped scallions. Garnish with more chopped scallions and chives, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Grilled-Scallion Salad
Brush 1 pound untrimmed scallions with 1 tablespoon sesame oil; grill over moderately high heat, turning once, until charred and tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Roughly chop and toss with 1 / 3 cup rice vinegar, 1 to 2 tablespoons gochugaro (Korean chili powder) or less if using red-pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and 2 teaspoons sugar. Serve immediately.

Kimchi
Layer 1 small green or white cabbage (separated into leaves) and 1 small-to-medium daikon radish (cut into 1-inch cubes) with 1/2 cup coarse salt in a large bowl. Let sit until the cabbage is wilted, about 2 hours, massaging and weighting it if needed to help soften. Rinse and dry well. Roughly chop and toss with 15 to 20 chopped scallions, 1/4 cup fish (or soy) sauce, 1/4 cup minced garlic, 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons minced ginger and 1 to 2 tablespoons gochugaro (Korean chili powder) or less if using red-pepper flakes. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to a week.

Fried Hijiki
Soak 1 ounce dried hijiki in 2 cups hot water. When it’s tender, about 5 minutes later, drain, squeeze dry, remove any hard bits and chop. Cook 1 tablespoon minced garlic and 1/4 cup chopped scallions in 1 tablespoon neutral oil (like grapeseed or corn) and 1 tablespoon sesame oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute; add the hijiki and cook until browned and beginning to shrivel, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon each soy sauce and sesame seeds and a pinch of sugar. Serve hot or warm.

Plum-and-Herb Wine Cocktail
Cook 1 / 3 cup sugar, 1 / 3 cup water and 1 sprig fresh rosemary or thyme over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves; cool and remove the herb. Combine 1 bottle not-too-dry white wine (like Riesling), 1/4 cup gin, the juice of 1 lemon, 2 to 4 chopped plums and 1/4 cup of the rosemary syrup. Chill for at least 2 hours, taste and add more syrup if you like and serve.

[이건일]

미국인들이 이제 한식을 발견 하고 있습니다.
뉴욕등의 대 도시에서는 아주 허름한 한식집 에서도 젓가락을 능숙하게
사용하는 미국인들을 항상 볼수 있게 되었습니다.
동부 (NYC,Boston)나 서부 지역 (SF,LA) 에서는 전통 한식이나
modified Korean foods 나 다 같이 유행 입니다.
이제 곧 미국 전역으로 퍼져 나갈 기세 입니다.