Lazy Sunday: Korean Short Rib and Kimchi Tacos

On this rare occasion of actually being home on a Sunday with nothing to do aside from trying to meld with my couch, I realized that I needed something equally lazy to make. Following some of Cafe TH's addictive Vietnamese tacos for lunch Saturday, I decided to stay with the Mexican-Asian Fusion theme of my weekend and to revisit an old friend long neglected since I left L.A.- the powerful and pungent kimchi.

Would having to go to two stores for supplies ruin my lazy Sunday? Would my tacos burn after their wonderful aroma lulled me into a deep sleep?

Korean Tacos
Adapted from Foodie with Family
Servings: 10-12 tacos
Time: 5 1/2 hours (inactive for 5)

The super packed braising liquid

Slow Cooker
10 oz pear juice
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 white onion, sliced
4 tbsp ginger, minced or grated
1 1/2 jalapenos, seeded and sliced
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup gochujang (which I couldn't find so I used Korean BBQ Marinade)
1/4 cup mirin
2 tbsp sesame oil

You'll somehow find room for the meat

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 pear, peeled, cored and grated
5 lbs beef short ribs on the bone
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp canola or peanut oil

Serving
Flour tortillas
Kimchi
Cilantro
Sriracha
Jalapenos
Pear slices
Sriracha

1. Combine the pear juice, garlic, onion, ginger, jalapeno, brown sugar, gochujang (or Korean BBQ marinade), mirin, sesame oil, soy sauce and grated pear together in a slow cooker. Cover and turn to high.
2. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. 
3. Heat a large pan over medium. Add oil and brown each side of the short ribs until a crust forms (about 2-3 minutes per side). You may have to do this in shifts. You don't want to overcrowd the pan.
4. Add the short ribs to the slow cooker. Cover and let cook over high for 5 hours until tender and falling off the bone.
5. Take the ribs out from the slow cooker. Lightly pull the short ribs, removing the bones, excess fat, and connective tissue. You may want to let the fat separate out from the liquid before adding it back to the short ribs, or you may end up with an overly oily taco.
6. Serve in a flour tortilla topped with kimchi, cilantro, jalapeno slices, pear slices and sriracha.

Short ribs at their tender finest

I don't even know where to begin with these titans of the taco realm. The short ribs themselves were fall apart tender, but also maintained a lot of moisture and flavor on their own without the need for additional liquid. But that is not to say that you should ignore the braising liquid as it is a treasure trove of amazing (again, just make sure you separate out some excess oil). The dominant flavor is a wonderful sesame and soy combo highlighting the Korean origins, while the cooked down onion and jalapenos are perfect at delivering all that soaked up goodness. It only got better with the toppings, as the kimchi really stood out with the powerful, spicy, tangy and crunchy fermented cabbage, while the pears added even more juiciness and freshness, and the sriracha helped cement a wonderful lip-tingling spiciness. If only all Sundays could be like this.

Works even better with HEB Southwest Tortillas

Kimchi Pancakes

Last Saturday night, Jaime, Dennis and I needed something to eat with their homebrews while watching Hot Tub Time Machine (one of the most woefully under appreciated films of all time). So Jaime busted out his culinary skills to prepare these non-traditional spicy pancakes with a masterful dipping sauce. They were so good that we forgot all about the grilling we were going to do and just devoured them.

Kimchi Pancakes
Adapted from RasaMalaysia
Servings: 1 giant pancake
Time: 20 minutes

Jaime's hand modeling career begins!

Pancake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1/2 cup water
2-3 tbsp kimchi juice
1/2 jar of kimchi, sliced into one inch pieces
2 scallion stalks, cut into small rounds
1/2 tsp salt
Oil for pan-frying


Sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp rice wine vinegar
Red chili flakes to taste
1/2 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 scallion stalk, cut into small rounds

Amazing spicy sauce

1. Whisk the flour, egg, water, kimchi, kimchi juice (note more you put the redder and spicier the pancake will be), scallions and salt together in a bowl. If you don't have any kimchi juice left in your kimchi jar make sure you substitute in water so the batter isn't too dry.
2. Heat up oil in a pan over medium heat. Drop in some batter to form a giant pancake and pan-fry for several minutes until the bottom edges start to brown.
3. Flip like a pro and cook until the bottom is browned.
4. Cut like a pizza.
5. Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce and serve.
6. Liberally add beer and BROing out.

These pancakes were pan-fried to perfection yielding a perfect pancake texture surrounding flavorful bites of kimchi that provided a wonderful kick (seriously load up on the kimchi because biting into it is the best part). Combined with the dipping sauce this savory and salty appetizer was absolutely incredible paired with the always sophisticated combination of beer and a movie.

Dennis digs in.

With the third straight fantastic meal at Jaime's (see Cajun Shrimp with Bacon Wrapped Asparagus and The Pear Ginger Crumble), I was almost prepared to declare his house the culinary destination for foodies in the greater Houston area. Before doing so, he was going to have to prove himself with his pancake flipping abilities. He started the night 2 for 2, but how would he respond to the whole world watching (read: my loyal blog following that rivals the size of a baseball team)?

After 2 perfect flips, the pressure was on for Jaime

I guess I'll just have to keep searching...

Kimchi Fried Rice

Back when I started grad school, my classmates and I discovered the most amazing hole in the wall restaurant with the world's greatest kimchi fried rice: Gushi. It's the rare restaurant whose name describes how you feel after eating there. Best of all, it was right across from grad housing, so any big problem set or cume studying bender had to be accompanied by a trip there.  Then I moved and found that there was another Gushi a block away. This Gushi, however, tried to be a fancy sit down restaurant and just never seemed as good. The moral of the story- kimchi fried rice should be quick and dirty. Its flavors do all the work.

Kimchi Fried Rice

Another quality fake meat from Gardein

Servings: 2
Time: 10-15 minutes

1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 cup kimchi, drained
2 tbsp onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
Bacon Salt to taste
1 1/2 cups long grain rice, cooked
Gardein beefless tips, defrosted
2 fried eggs

Heart-shaped pans are preferred.

1. Sauté the kimchi, onion and garlic in 1/2 tbsp of the butter over medium heat until the veggies start to become translucent.
2. Stir in half the soy sauce and another 1/2 tbsp of butter. Continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
3. Add the beefless tips, the rest of the soy sauce and bacon salt and cook until the faux meat is heated through. Most of the best Korean dishes are pork based, so it's nice to impart that flavor without using actual pork.
4. Turn off the heat and add the pre-cooked rice and remaining butter. Stir until the rice is completely coated.
5. Top with a fried egg and serve.

You can also make this dish with steamed tempeh instead of the beefless tips. The tempeh really absorbs the kimchi flavor. Also, the marinated kimchi provides all the spiciness you'll need, but feel free to add some sriracha to take it to another level.