Kalbi Recipe
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Kalbi Ingredients Study |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: ===Traditional Ingredients===
The list of ingredients given below is from an amalgamation of 12 popular recipes with maximum quantities given. Not every ingredient is required. Adjust per taste.
Meat
• Beef or Pork, 3 to 5 lbs. Washed, and optionally tenderized. Franken style cut is preferred. Chicken and fish can be used, though the marinating time should be halved to avoid oversaturation of flavors.
=Wet assembly=
Combine and puree in a blender or food processor until sugar is dissolved. Thin with water if required.
• Water; up to ¾ cup
• Sugar: Brown Sugar, or Jaggery, or Honey, or Malt; up to 1½ cups.
• Alcohol: Mirin (rice cooking wine) or Sherry; up to ½ cup
• Sesame Oil, dark and/or toasted, up to ¼ cup
• Soy Sauce; ¼ to 1 cup (suggest “low sodium” for those with high BP)
• Black Pepper, ½ tsp. to 2 tbsp. as you wish
• Optional Orange/Pineapple Juice up to ½ cup
• Optional Chili or Red Pepper to spice it up
=Semi-Dry assembly, mix thoroughly=
• Onion, diced, small to medium
• Garlic, crushed, 4 tbsp. (4 to 6 cloves)
• Fruit (pick one): Korean/Asian Pear and/or Fuji Apple and/or two Kiwi, cored and chopped
• Optional fresh Ginger root, peeled/minced, up to 5 tbsp.
• Optional Scallion, peeled, sliced thin
• Optional Black Bean Sauce, 3 tbsp. See comments/recipe below.
Garnish
• Sesame Seeds, ¼ cup as garnish
• Green Onions, 2 sliced thin as garnish
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Directions: |
Directions:===Production Plan===
1. Blend assemblies together and place into a large deep casserole plastic bag or container.
2. Add meat and make sure it is submerged and covered. Squeeze out all the air if using a sealed bag.
3. Transfer to fridge and stir every 4 hours if possible, and store 12 hours/overnight.
CAUTION: Beef and Pork can be marinated overnight and beyond, but for Chicken and lighter meats, suggest ½ to ¼ the time.
2nd CAUTION: Enzymes in the marinade will naturally break down the tissues over time; avoid extended exposure or the meat will become too tender.
4. When ready to cook, remove from fridge, remove meat and let sit for 30 minutes to warm up.
5. Preheat grill/roasting oven @ 450-550°F, and add meat for 3 to 5 minutes/side until toasted, and do not let it char. If broiled, place on wire rack about 6” below the burner with a drip tray below.
CAUTION: DO NOT USE PYREX; metal pans are required for this temperature range.
6. Remove from grill and garnish with green onion and sesame seeds. |
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Number Of
Servings:8 to 12 |
Preparation
Time: |
Preparation
Time:Up to 90 minutes |
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Personal
Notes: Related Topics: Kalbi on Beef, Kalbi on Chicken. This is the first article in a 3-part series.
From Wikipedia: "Galbi" is the Korean word for "rib", and the dish is usually made with beef short ribs.
In essence, Kalbi is a marinade of a sweet and savory sauce usually containing soy sauce, garlic, and sugar. More completely, it is a type of Marinade that employs alcohol, fruit acids and enzymes, and salt that works over Time to soften tissue, dissolve fat, and break down gristle. This is everything that I know on how to make Kalbi Marinade Sauce which provides flavorful sweet and spicy caramelized broiled taste to meat.
In general marinades employ vinegar or wine, or a mixture of both, usually spiced and salted, in which meat is soaked or steeped before use or before being pickled and stored for a longer period of time. Marinating tenderizes muscle tissue without heat treatment.
Alcohol in a marinade bonds with both fat and water molecules, which allows it to carry aromas and flavor similarly to cooked sauces, making your food smell and taste better.
Raw fruits can be used to tenderize meat before cooking because they contain enzymes that break down proteins.
Fruit acids work in multiple ways to help flavor penetrate meat. Acids help break down the connective tissue in meat, which can slightly tenderize the meat and allow deeper penetration. An acidic flavor component is also important for balancing a flavor profile.
Adding salt to the exterior of meat draws out the moisture from within. The salt then dissolves in this moisture, creating a brine that is then re-absorbed back into the meat. In this process, the lean muscle proteins in the meat are broken down, made juicier and tenderer.
===Key points of this study===
• Off the shelf Korean Kalbi BBQ Sauce is ridiculously expensive and therefore we will create a homemade recipe.
• It can be cooked very quickly on the BBQ or Broiled in the oven.
• Meat is traditionally Beef or Pork Spareribs, and thinly cut perpendicular to Ribs in a manner referred to as a “Franken Style” or “Franken Cut”.
• For best results allow marinating for 12 hours to overnight in the fridge.
• SAFETY: The marinade can be stored in a well-sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days after first use. Unused portion can be frozen for future use. The best option is to follow your nose first and taste second; if something is not quite right, toss it.
• Kalbi treated meat pairs well with Asian Rice, leafy salad, steamed vegetables, and light-bodied beer such as a Pilsner or Lager.
===Ingredients Study===
After making my first marinade I felt like there was some duplication of ingredients and decided to dig deeper.
=Black Bean Sauce=
This has a more intense flavor than soy sauce, and can be purchased at the Asian section or made at home. Recipes vary widely and I have listed the most common ingredients below.
• Fermented Black Beans; let soak in water for an hour, rinse and drain to remove excess salt. Chop finely.
• Garlic, crushed
• Onion, chopped finely
• Sesame or Vegetable Oil
Optional ingredients to taste
• Ginger
• Green Onion, sliced thinly
• Shallot, sliced thinly
• Chicken or Vegetable Broth
• Shaoxing Rice Wine
• Vinegar
• Soy Sauce
• Cornstarch as a thickener
• Salt to taste
• Sugar to taste
• Sichuan Peppercorns, crushed to taste
• Chili Pepper to taste for heat
Slowly roast ingredients in a skillet for 20-30 minutes; about the time it takes to caramelize. Be sure to add enough oil to cover. Let sit for at least 6 hours for the flavors to merge before first use. Can be stored indefinitely in the fridge if placed in a sealed container.
Conclusion
Fermented Black Beans are the primary flavor of Soy Sauce and duplicates what’s listed in the Kalbi sauce. Decided to forgo making this and instead just processed the beans straight up.
=Soy Sauce=
The brand of Soy Sauce that I used is Kikkoman “Less Sodium”. The ingredients are:
• Water
• Soybeans
• Wheat
• Salt
• Lactic Acid
• Sodium Benzoate (preservative)
Watch out for brands that contain Corn Syrup and Caramel Color; these are “chemically brewed” and not good for you; read the labels!
Caution on Salt: I found that the “Less Sodium” Soy Sauce is still very salty and therefore avoiding adding more salt to the marinade.
=Mirin (Rice Wine for Cooking)=
I made a mistake and purchased Morita “Mirin Type” Sweet Sake Seasoning. The ingredients are:
• Water
• Corn Syrup <-- ???
• Fermented Rice Seasoning (Rice, Malted Rice, Salt)
• More Salt
• Alcohol 8.5% abv
Here’s a list of similarly low-quality products:
• Aji-Mirin brand has nearly identical ingredients, and called out “Glucose Syrup” instead of Corn, but it’s all the same.
• Chinese Shaoxing Cooking Wine; they use “Caramel” which is oxidized brown sugar, and brown sugar is White Sugar blended with Molasses.
Below are better quality alternatives; be sure to read the labels!
• Ohsawa Organic Genuine Mirin (locally @ Fred Meyer). Ingredients: Organic Sweet Rice, Organic Distilled Rice Wine (Water, Organic Sweet Rice, Koji Seed), Organic Koji (Rice, Koji Seed), Sea Salt.
• Eden Foods, Mirin, Rice Cooking Wine (found online). Ingredients: Water, Rice, Sea Salt, Koji (Aspergillus Oryzae).
===Conclusion===
At the very basic level, Kalbi is both a process and a result from marinating meat. Its’ primary function is to promote savory and sweet flavors through aging onto normally tougher meats while creating tender richer experience. Choosing the right ingredients can make a big difference on the outcome. It is possible to make your own Kalbi BBQ Sauce with a little bit of effort and for a lot less than you can buy in the store. Not only is it frugal, it’s worth it to explore and experiment; discover new ways, new ingredients, new processes, and enhance your senses!
Ready to try a real world Kalbi recipe? Check out my “Kalbi on Beef” recipe next!
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