Monday Made It: Food Edition

I have been meaning to link up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics and post this recipe for Monday Made It for oh, about 3 weeks now (oops). Better late than never!

The cultural diversity in Hawaii is reflected by both the population and the amazing ethnic foods, so I wanted to share one of my family's favorite recipes! This recipe is for a kalbi marinade, which can be used on chicken, beef, or even vegetables. Kalbi is a Korean dish that is very popular and super easy to make! I make this a lot for parties, and in advance of a busy week so I can freeze the leftovers and have ready-made meals, prefect for a girl on the go.

Ingredients:

4 cloves of garlic (or more, if you're a garlic lover like me!)

3 stalks of green onion (more or less to your liking)

1 1/2 cups of soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar (white sugar also works, but I like the flavor that brown sugar gives to the marinade)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup sesame oil

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

4 pounds of your preferred meat/vegetables

Salt and pepper to taste (the marinade has enough salt as is, so I usually just add a 1/4 teaspoon of pepper if anything)

   

   

Marinade/Prep:

In a food processor, chop up the cloves of garlic. You could use a knife or a garlic press, but I think that you keep more of the garlic flavor by using the processor. Finely chop the green onion, and combine your garlic and green onion in a bowl. Add in the remaining marinade ingredients and mix thoroughly. Put your meat/vegetables in a container/tupperware and pour the marinade over the meat/vegetables until covered evenly. Put the container of marinating food into the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours. ** I leave the meat in the fridge overnight to soak up more flavor!

   

Cooking:

Heat grill to medium-high (medium if you're cooking vegetables since they will take a shorter amount of time to cook). Take your meat/veggies out of the marinade and drain the excess marinade. If you want, you can save the marinade to coat the meat while you're grilling it. Grill meat until it is lightly charred and tender and cooked to your desired level of "doneness". 

Serve with hot rice and your choice of korean vegetables (my favorites are cucumber kim chee and bean sprouts) and enjoy!

xo,