Kalbi Jim
Rustan's supermarket often has these meat specials where, on a particular day, they will feature one sort of meat and slap on a buy-one-take-one sign. I love that. We got lamb chops, porterhouse, and short ribs that way. Every single time I got those meats, I didn't really need them. Not even craving for some kind of food having any of those kinds meat in the recipe when I got them. Oftentimes, what's on special on that day that I find myself in a Rustan's supermarket set the tone on what the next lunch or dinner would be at the house.
I have lambchops, so I make pan grilled lambchops with balsamic reduction. I have porterhouse, I grill it and baste it with Budweiser barbecue sauce (my absolute favorite barbecue sauce). I got short ribs, I make Kalbi Jim (Kalbi Jim calls for thick-cut short ribs but the ones on sale were not the thick-cut style, but it works fine for me either way.) which I have learned to cook using a pressure cooker.
My mom is a big fan of the pressure cooker. Me, I always stayed away from it. It intimidated me. Have you seen how that thing works? When the stuff in it boils, the pressurized pot looks like it is going to explode sending smithereens of pressure cooker shrapnel through the air and hitting some random part of my body. Yesterday, our helper was laughing at me because I was so jittery trying to light up the stove with a match. Also, I scream every time the thing I'm frying pops and sends splashes of hot oil in my direction. I am not very brave when I cook.
In a way, cooking Kalbi Jim weaned me out of my wariness of the pressure cooker. Sure, you can stew Kalbi Jim the conventional way, in a regular harmless little pot, for, oh, about 2 hours. But with a badass pressure cooker, you're done in a little over half an hour.
Kalbi Jim
(original recipe: http://koreanfood.about.com/od/meatdishes/r/galbijim.htm)
Ingredients:5 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, minced
3 scallions, chopped
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp sesame oil
3 Lbs short ribs, rinsed in cold water
2 small potatoes, cut up into large chunks
2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths
Procedure:
Score the ribs so that they absorb more of the braising liquid.
Mix all the marinade ingredients (spices and liquids) together.
In a pressure cooker over high heat, put in the ribs and pour the braising liquid over them. Mix well, making sure all the ribs are covered. The liquid should come to about half the 1/3 to ½ the level of the ribs in the pot.
Make sure to read your pressure cooker manual to ensure correct usage and safety (read: http://missvickie.com/workshop/stepbystep.html). Cover and seal pressure cooker.
When the pressure cooker starts to make whizzing noises, start timing the cooking for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, turn off the fire. Wait until after the whizzing stops before opening the pressure cooker (see: http://missvickie.com/workshop/release.html).
With the lid off, bring back pot to the fire, add in potatoes and carrots and simmer for another 20 minutes, or until tender. Check for flavor and adjust according to your taste.
Comments