Korean Food While Traveling

Tell Them I didn't Cry, is Jackie Spinner's memoir from her duty as an embedded reporter for the Washington Post. In the book, she talks about Friday night dinner parties that she hosted. Her meals became quite popular with the journalists and contractors in Iraq and featured a wide range of cuisine. The Friday night menu depended on what was available at the supermarket that she would go to in Baghdad.

Spinner described the problems with keeping a supermarket stocked in a war zone. She explained that markets in Iraq rely on vendors from a wide range of countries and a store could sell food from Mexico one week and the following week, the stock could come from the Philippines.

After completing my first week away from home, I promised my housemates that I would make Bulgogi for Sunday dinner.

Bulgogi is a traditional Korean meal consisting of strips of marinated rib eye steak cooked on a tabletop grill. This is only a part of a meal that includes lettuce, rice, and Kim Chi. I have never been to Korea, however, I have always been interested in exotic food and learned to cook Asian food in 2002.

The commissary provided the essential ingredients for making bulgogi. While deli sliced rib eye from an Oriental market is preferred, the Navy Exchange Commissary offered flank steak. The garlic and green onions and Asian pears were plentiful and I got several hot peppers to grill with the meat.

There was plenty of rice and lettuce. There was no Kim Chi in stock; however, a large Papaya from the produce section was fine. Also, I got the ingredients to make a small batch of corn bread to enjoy with the meal.

It would have been nice to have garlic paste and a bottle of Sochu to serve with a traditional Korean meal; however, that was not a problem

But the commissary does not sell Sake.

Sake, a Japanese rice wine, is blended with the onions, garlic and pear to add additional flavor to the marinade. After searching the wine aisle for few minutes, I realized that a bottle of Sake that could not be found in the commissary.

When cooking wine, price is not important. With this in mind, I looked through the wine section for a cheap bottle of wine.

The wine selection was very impressive with Australian Chardonnays, Chianti's and California wines. Searching further, the less expensive wines were closer to the floor.

And on the bottom row, I found $1.99 bottle of Thunderbird.

This is a recipe that can be found at www.fooddownunder.com and I have gotten progressively better at making it. Several websites describe how to prepare bulgogi with only slight variations on this basic recipe. The meat is best cooked sliced and is available at most Asian supermarkets.

Bulgogi
2 tablespoons sugar
1 scallion, white part only, trimmed and minced
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sake
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
2 tablespoons honey
4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 Asian pear, peeled, cored, diced
2 pounds sliced ribeye

Combine the sugar, scallion whites, garlic, and pepper in a bowl and mash to a smooth paste with the back of a spoon. Add the soy sauce, sake, and honey and stir until the sugar and honey are dissolved. Stir in the green onion, sesame seeds and pear. To correct the seasoning, add extra honey, for sweetness or soy sauce for salt. Lay out sliced ribeye into a shallow bowl and pour marinade over the beef and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.
Meat can be cook on a tabletop grill or stove top with garlic and hot peppers. Best served wrapped in lettuce with bean paste or garlic paste.