For my grandmother who always tries to give me the best of what is on the table and JCM, whose daughter also has many allergiesExcuse the long name of this dish. I have no idea what to call it. I described it to my mother - she's never heard of it. It is something that I've eaten ONE TIME, in some remote restaurant in the outskirts of Seoul. I ate it while sitting with my extended family in Korea, and I only remember this dish in that particular meal. I remember eating it, loving it, and leaning over to my grandmother and asking her, "WHAT IS THIS?" as I'd NEVER had it before. Understand that my mother and both grandmothers are truly excellent Korean cooks so I've often felt that there was very little I hadn't tried in terms of Korean food. My grandmother immediately understood I liked it, gave me two more slices from her plate and said to me in Korean, "It is beef that has been coated in sweet rice flour and cooked." I never made it however, because I just didn't remember eating it - until a week ago, when I bought a box of mochiko (sweet rice flour)and was contemplating what to do with it. I am so glad I remembered it because I am forever trying to come up with ways to feed son who is allergic to all essential Korean ingredients (soy sauce, tofu, sesame seeds, sesame oil) and it bothers me that I don't have more things in my repertoire to cook for him. I also need things that are fast and easy, and believe me, it doesn't come faster or easier than this.
You simply take UNMARINATED bulgogi beef (thinly sliced rib eye), dredge it in sweet rice flour (mochiko) and saute it in oil. The result is a slightly crispy and chewy piece of thinly sliced meat. It's vaguely reminiscent of a chicken fried steak but it is far more subtle and tender than that. The touch of scallions and the sprinkle of salt finishes the dish. Son chomps this down with Garlic Bok Choy and eats with such relish I want to give him what's on my plate.
Sweet Rice Coated Thinly Sliced Beef (surely there is a better name for this than that)
Serves 4-6
1 lb of bulgogi meat (thinly sliced ribeye)
1/2 cup of mochiko (sweet rice flour) - more as needed
2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
Canola oil (or some other mild flavored oil)
salt and pepper to taste
Heat a fry pan over medium heat and put 1 tablespoon of oil.
Take each slice of meat and carefully coat both sides with flour. Place two or three slices of coated meat in fry pan. Do not over crowd. You want to crisp up the coating, not steam it. Remove when meat is cooked and slightly caramelized. (this is the yummy part)
Place on serving platter and sprinkle with a dash of salt. Continue with beef until all is cooked.
Before serving, sprinkle the top with green onions. Serve with dipping sauce (optional).
Dipping sauce (optional)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
dash of black pepper
Mix soy and vinegar together.
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9 comments:
oh my grandma makes this whenever she pulls out dinner for our family. SO GOOD. i definitely have to try it if i get my hands on some proper cuts of beef. (:
this sounds so good! i don't think my mom ever made this. i know you didn't marinate the beef in typical bulgogi marinade because of your son's allergies, but could you marinade it before dredging in the flour? for extra flavor?
i love recipes like this with stories behind them!
Mina - your grandma has made this? As I said, I've only had it at the restaurant that one time. Do you know what she calls it? Christina - I guess you could do the marinade, but I'm wondering if it might interfere with the crispy texture and create sort of a thick sauce (the marinade coming out of the beef) instead of a crisp exterior? Perhaps you can experiment and tell me. My guess is that you'd have to cook it on a hot frying pan over high heat to get the crispy factor, otherwise you may end up with some sticky goop.
Sounds yummy! I've been reading some of your past entries and I'm curious- do you follow your son's dietary restrictions because you are still breastfeeding (I know some parents who don't believe in weaning their kids until they're 2 or older)? I hope his allergies are ones that will go away when he gets older. Especially if he's going to eat Korean food! =)
Hi Sarah -
thanks for stopping by and reading older posts. I appreciate it. If the posts are before January 2009, I was still breastfeeding and had eliminated a plethora of things from my diet in order to try and control my son's eczema. He was weaned from January 2009, and so after that, some of my posts are geared towards him - trying to make things that he can eat, and also trying to eliminate multiple meals (one for the family and one for him.) As it is, his diet is super restricted in grains (really can only eat rice or millet) so I sort of give up on that front and focus on trying to find proteins that we can all enjoy together.
i made this for myself tonight. very simple but really tasty. that crispy texture IS really nice. in a time crunch, this would be a great thing to have for dinner served with some sort of kimchee or den jang jigae.
Oh yes, regardless of what you call it, this dish looks amazing! It looks crispy indeed and the meat must be very tender when sliced that thin! thanks!
I've never heard of this before and I've eaten a lot of Korean food in my day...being Korean and all. :-) I'll have to give it a whirl. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi, there,
Looking at the description and the picture, the item looks like "San-Jok 산적". San-Jok is usually lightly pounded to make marinade sink better and to tenderize the meat as well.
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