Korean Bulgogi & Kalbi

   When I think of comfort, Korean BBQ is one of the first things that come to mind. Bursting with flavor and juicy goodness--it's an indisputable favorite in my family household!
   As I sit in my East Asian Humanities class at the University of Southern California, all I think about is Korean BBQ. I try to listen to my professor--I really do!
    "The Koreans followed a unique bone ranking system..."--bones... yea, Kalbi has nice, flavorful bones...
    "The Hwarang system advocated wholesome understanding of military art, virtue, love of country, and harmony between beauty and..."--beauty and the match-made-in-heaven combination of hot, savory meat and the steaming pillow of white rice!
   *Caution: Vegetarians beware; bulgogi may cause uncontrollable temptations. We are not liable for sporadic meat fantasies nor any insatiable cravings for Korean BBQ's food coma inducing tendencies.

**Because the marinade for the Korean BBQ will impart the same flavor to any cut of meat, the type you choose to marinade is flexible! Many asian grocery stores such as 99 Ranch Market carry frozen, pre-sliced rib-eye cuts (both marbled and top round for those opting for a less fatty cut) that work fantastic. Bone-in and boneless short ribs are also great cuts to use; in this instance I chose what was on sale. I bought a couple pounds of boneless beef short ribs that I sliced across the grain.

Marinade:
5 cloves of garlic
2 scallion stalks
1 small Korean pear or 1/2 of a large one
2 TB brown sugar
¼ cup carbonated drink such as Sprite, Coke, or 7 Up
5 TB soy sauce (light soy sauce is okay)
1 tsp sesame oil
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1.    Peel the Korean pear, and either grate it or puree it in a blender to extract the natural juices and sugar
2.    Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a Ziploc bag
3.    Throw the meat inside of the bag, seal it, and then give it all a good toss to make sure the marinade has covered the meat
4.    Let the meat sit in the fridge for as long as possible to soak up the flavors; preferably at least an hour or two
5.    Heat up your grill and prepare to cook the meat

6.    Place your meat on the grill and cook it through until it’s done

7.    Enjoy it with a nice bowl of hot, steaming rice. If you want to eat it like my family does, be sure to eat it with seaweed like sushi! Trust me, it is incredible!

*The brand of seaweed my family and I swear by is Jayone; up until recently we have only seen this particular product in a tiny Korean market in my city Arcadia, so we would stock up on it every time we went there. But as I was shopping at 99 Ranch the other day, a familiar glint of blue packaging caught my eye. There I saw it, my beloved seaweed—ON SALE TOO! Life had just gotten 10xbetter.