[Food Stop] Korean BBQ for an American Holiday

Hi there!

For the last holiday, we had a Mexican-themed Memorial Day weekend on this post here, and I promised that I would feature a post on our usual barbeque fare, Kalbi or Korean short ribs.  The difference between this and regular American ribs is the marinate and the cut.  The ribs are cut flanken-style, which simply means the meat is cut thinly across the ribs perpendicularly instead of parallel to the bone.  Instead of your classic barbeque sauce, Kalbi is marinated in a sweet soy sauce, made by mixing soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, pepper, and sliced green onions.  If you want it easy, you can pick up a bottle of Mr. Yohsida's at your local Costco to use as your marinate.


We love green beans with our Kalbi.  A fail-proof way to make them crisp and not soggy is to blanch them in boiling salted water for 45-60 seconds, then immediately dunk them in a bowl of ice water.  I didn't take a picture of the rice, but steamed white rice (brown rice, if you want to be healthier), is a perfect contrast to the grilled short ribs.


I don't usually stock soda in the house; only for parties and special occasions will we have it.  The hubby wanted his Diet Coke, so there it is, a classic American beverage!  And July 4th wouldn't be complete without ice cream, and boy, do I have a recipe for you!  I found this Bon Appetit recipe from Epicurious.com in 2001, and we all just love it, plus it's super easy to make.

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Cake (Serves 16)

Ingredients---

5 whole graham crackers, broken up
1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted


4 pints dulce de leche ice cream
2 pints strawberry sorbet (we use strawberry ice cream sometimes, which makes a creamier dessert)
Note:  We like Haagen-Daz ice cream or sorbet


2 1/2 pounds strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup sugar, if desired


Caramel sauce, optional (for a homemade recipe, here is a delicious and easy one I found here)


Directions---

Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine crackers, nuts, 1 tablespoon sugar, and salt in food processor.  Blend until nuts are finely chopped.  Add butter; blend until mixture is evenly moist.  Press mixture over bottom (not sides) of a 10-inch-diameter springform pan.  Bake crust until golden, about 8 minutes.  Cool completely.

Slightly soften 1 1/4 pints ice cream; spread over crust.  Freeze until firm, about 1 hour.  Slightly soften 1 pint sorbet; spread over ice cream.  Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.  Slightly soften 1 1/4 pints ice cream; spread over sorbet.  Freeze until firm, about 1 hour. 

Slightly soften 1 pint sorbet; spread over ice cream.  Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.  Slightly soften 1 1/2 pints ice cream; spread over sorbet for top layer.  Cover; freeze until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 1 week.

Cut around cake to loosen.  Release pan sides.  If desired, stir berries and 1/3 cup sugar in large bowl.  Let stand until berries release their juices, about 30 minutes.  (Note:  We just slice fresh strawberries without adding extra sugar...it's sweet enough, especially if you add the caramel sauce too!)

Cut cake into wedges; arrange on plates.  Spoon berries atop wedges; drizzle with caramel sauce, if desired.

So that's our typical barbeque holiday at our house!  Have you ever tried other types of barbeque recipes, especially ethnic ones?  Let me know since I am always open to expanding my taste palette with different foods!  Thank you for visiting and being a part of my journey!

See you later!

Cheryl