Korean Beef Stew

Trooping over to Korean groceries have been quite a usual habit for me. At the area where we stay, Asian groceries abound and thrive quite lucratively. Back in the day when Asian ingredients and condiments were exclusively accessed only from hard to find Asian specialty stores, I barely knew about, say, mirin or Kasugai! Okay, now is a totally different generation of convenience stores. It has come to embrace spices and other food stuff of countries outside this republic.

Okay, today’s menu had Korean beef stew in it. What I like about this dish is that it infuses flavors that make you savor it, bite after bite. Flavors that make you dump more rice onto your plate and totally enjoy the food! The sweet-salty sauce combo that smothers the fall-off-the-bones kind of short ribs just makes for a perfect meal.

KOREAN BEEF STEW

1/2  kilo beef short ribs

1/2 kilo beef brisket

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 chopped onion

2 laurel leaves

2 tbsps sliced ginger

1  cup soy sauce

1 cup brown sugar (adjust according to your preferred sweetness if necessary)

spring onions, chopped

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

1/4 cup sesame oil

chili flakes to taste

water

Procedure:

Season ribs with salt and pepper. Saute ginger, garlic and onion using sesame oil. Add short ribs and continue tossing the meat until well coated with the gisa mixture.  Add water (just enough to cover the ribs).

Halfway through the cooking add soy sauce and sugar plus the laurel and chili flakes. Simmer until meat of the ribs start to fall off and the sauce has been reduced to half of the original amount.

Note: Adding water may be necessary until meat is very tender.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and spring onions. Serve hot.

My Korean Beef Stew

Two weeks ago, I craved for Korean Beef Stew. The dilemma though was whether to run to the nearest KIMCHI outlet or to stay put in my kitchen to whip up the same tasting beef stew. I opted to stay. It was a hit and miss thing as I was going through the cooking. My salt and soy wrestled with my sugar. The ribs were starting to fall off the bones but the sugar has not blended well with the whole viand just yet. The whole process was definitely a balancing act. Like me riding a unicycle or you riding a unicycle while carrying me (now, that’s a balancing act, really! Lol!) In the end, all the ingredients just blended in harmony. My tummy pleaded for a second serving.  Alas, I’m stuffed. 2 more pounds to burn, haha. Anyway, am sharing with you the recipe for this Korean Beef  Stew. Hope you like it!

KOREAN BEEF STEW

1 kilo beef short ribs

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 chopped onion

2 laurel leaves

2 tbsps chopped ginger

1/2 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup sugar (or adjust according to your preferred sweetness)

dahon ng sibuyas

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

1/4 cup sesame oil

chili flakes to taste

water

Procedure:

Season ribs with salt and pepper. Saute ginger, garlic and onion using sesame oil. Add short ribs and water (enough to cover the ribs). 

Halfway through the cooking add soy sauce and sugar plus the laurel and chili flakes. Simmer until meat of the ribs start to fall off.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and chopped dahon ng sibuyas. Serve hot.