Korean Spare Ribs (Kolbi)

Kalbi (Korean Barbequed Beef Short Ribs)
Recipe courtesy Judiaann Woo

4 to 6 servings as a main course

Ingredients
5 pounds Korean style beef short ribs*
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup mirin (rice wine)
1 small onion, peeled and finely grated
1 small Asian pear, peeled and finely grated
4 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
Preparation:
Directions
Sprinkle brown sugar over beef and mix well to evenly coat. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes while preparing marinade. In a bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Transfer beef into a large sealable freezer bag (you may need 2). Add marinade, press out excess air from bags, and seal. Turn bag over several times to ensure beef is evenly coated. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.

Heat gas or charcoal grill to medium-hot. Drain excess marinade off beef. Grill short ribs, turning once, to desired doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Garnish with thinly sliced green onions, if desired. Serve whole pieces as a main course or cut into smaller pieces, using kitchen shears, for a starter or party nibble.

* NOTE: Korean-style short ribs can be found at most Asian markets. The cut, also known as "flanken," refers to a strip of beef cut across the bone from the chuck end of the short ribs. Unlike American and European-style short ribs, which include a thick slice of bone-in beef, Korean-style short ribs are cut lengthwise across the rib bones. The result is a thin strip of meat, about 8 to10 inches in length, lined on 1 side with 1/2-inch thick rib bones. The thin slices make for fast cooking on the grill.

A viewer, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.

This Malaysian rice salad is ideal summer fare: light, cooling, and scented with
green herbs like basil, mint and kaffir lime leaves.

In Cradle of Flavor, James Oseland tells of stopping in a teashop on the northeast coast of Malaysia just before nightfall. The Chinese cook had only one dish left to offer him: a jasmine rice salad tossed with freshly toasted coconut and aromatic herbs so finely slivered that they looked like “green lace” draped over the rice. It was so intensely fragrant, Oseland says, that he became an instant convert.

Herbal Rice Salad is a perfect summer dish: light, delicately flavored, redolent of anise-flavored basil and cooling mint, citrusy lemongrass and lime. Before you begin, sharpen your knife since all the herbs must be slivered very finely. The author notes that the flavors of the salad are not cast in stone—you could add more of any herbs that please you, or even use other leafy herbs that are running riot in your garden—say lemon verbena, purple basil and black-stemmed mint.

Resist the temptation to skip the dried shrimp, however. They are available in most Asian markets, and, although pungent-smelling, these tiny crustaceans add just a whisper of the briny deep once they have been pulverized in a food processor and mixed with the rice. I did cheat on one ingredient, though—Instead of grating and toasting fresh coconut meat, I made do with the packaged variety, lightly toasted until it turned golden brown. I know fresh coconut would have been luscious, but even this poor second added richness to the rice salad.

This is a dish that engages all the senses—taste and smell of course, but also the sense of touch if you toss the rice with your hands as Oseland suggests. Its light green herbal flecks are cooling to the eye, and, as for the ear, well, you are likely to hear little whimpers of delight from everyone at your table.

Herbal Rice Salad

(adapted from James Oseland, Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore)
Makes 4 servings as a main course, 6 servings as a side dish

Ingredients:

4 heaping tablespoons toasted grated coconut (recipe follows)
About 50 fresh lemon basil, Thai basil or Italian basil leaves (about 1 small bunch)
About 35 fresh mint leaves (about 1/2 small bunch)
About 60 fresh Vietnamese basil leaves or cilantro leaves (about1 small bunch) (see note)
1 thick stalk fresh lemongrass
3 whole fresh or thawed frozen kaffir lime leaves (see note)
3 to 4 tablespoons small dried shrimp (see note)
3 shallots, very thinly sliced lengthwise
5 cups cooked jasmine rice at room temperature (recipe follows)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
About 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Prepare the toasted grated coconut: If using fresh coconut see recipe below. If using packaged coconut (very finely grated and unsweetened), heat a skillet over a medium low flame. Add the coconut and with a spatula, gently stir until it begins to change color. Continue to stir until the coconut becomes a light caramel color. If it darkens too quickly, remove it from the heat and keep stirring. After a minute or so, return the pan to low heat and continue to stir until it has turned a rich golden brown. Place the toasted coconut in a bowl and allow it to cool. (If you have used shredded rather than finely grated coconut, place it in a food processor, and pulse until it resembles sawdust, 30 seconds to 1 minute.) Set the coconut aside.
2. Working in batches, stack the lemon basil leaves, roll up lengthwise into a tight bundle and slice crosswise as thickly as possible with a very sharp knife. You should have about 5 loosely packed heaping tablespoons of the sliced herb. Cut the mint leaves in the same manner; you should have about 3 loosely packed heaping tablespoons of the sliced herb. Finally, cut the Vietnamese basil leaves in the same manner; you should have about 5 loosely packed, heaping tablespoons of the sliced herb. Set all the herbs aside.
3. Cut off the hard brown bottom and the bristly green top of the lemongrass, which should leave you with a pale white and lilac piece about 5 inches long. Discard the 2 or 3 tough outer layers. With the same sharp knife, cut the lemongrass on the diagonal into the thinnest possible slices, making them as close to paper-thin as you can. (The lemongrass slices will be difficult to chew if they’re too thick.) Set the lemongrass aside.
4. Again with the sharp knife, remove the tough center vein and hard stem of each kaffir lime leaf. Cut the leaves lengthwise into the narrowest possible strips—as narrow as a strand of hair if your knife will allow it. (The lime leaves will be difficult to chew if they are sliced too thickly.) Set the sliced lime leaves aside.
5. Place the dried shrimp in a small food processor and pulse until you have a fine powder resembling sawdust. Set the powdered shrimp aside.
6. In a large bowl, combine the sliced herbs, lemongrass and lime leaves; the powdered shrimp; the shallots; and the rice. With a large spoon (or better yet, your hands, which will allow you to distribute the ingredients more evenly), combine the ingredients until the herbs and the rice are well mixed and the rice is free of clumps. Add the lime juice and mix once more.
7. Add the salt and pepper and taste for seasoning. Because the herbs and shallots are intensely flavored, you may need to add less than 1 teaspoon salt. This dish should be neither salty nor acidic. It should be subtle and intensely fragrant with the clean taste of each herb clearly coming through. Add a squeeze of lime juice if needed.
8. Transfer to a serving bowl and eat at once. The herbs in this dish will wilt and lose their zing if allowed to sit longer than 30 minutes.

Note: Look for Vietnamese basil, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and dried shrimp at markets carrying southeast Asian ingredients. If you cannot find peppery Vietnamese basil, substitute cilantro—As Oseland notes, it tastes nothing like Vietnamese basil, but its fresh, clean taste makes it a pleasant addition to the salad.

See below for recipes for Steamed Rice and Toasted Grated Coconut.

Steamed Rice
(from James Oseland, Cradle of Flavor)

Makes 4 generous servings, or 6 small servings

Ingredients:

2 cups jasmine rice
2-1/2 cups water

Method:

1. Place the rice in a 1-1/2 or 2-quart saucepan. Fill the pot halfway with cold water. If any rice hulls or small twigs float to the surface, scoop them aside with your hand and discard them. Gently swirl your fingers through the rice until the water becomes cloudy from the surface starch on the rice grains, about 20 seconds. Be careful not to massage the rice aggressively. You don’t want to crack or break the grains. Allow the rice to settle for a few seconds. Tilt the pot over a sink and drain out all the water, cupping the rice with your hand to prevent it from spilling out of the pot. Repeat this process with 3 more changes of water. The water after the first 2 rinses will be quite cloudy; by the fourth rinse, it will be much less so. The water need not run completely clear by the final rinse. Slightly cloudy water is fine. Leave the rinsed rice in the pot.
2. Add the cooking water to the rinsed rice. Gently shift the pot back and forth a few time, letting the rice settle in a flat, even layer at the bottom.
3. Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a rolling, noisy boil. Allow the rice to boil vigorously for 15 seconds. Immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover the pot tightly with the lid. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. Don’t be tempted to lift or remove the lid during this time. You’ll lose essential cooking steam if you do.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the rice to continue to steam, covered, away from the heat for an additional 10 minutes. This period ensures that the rice will be fully tender and makes it less prone to sticking to the bottom of the pot. Open the pot and fluff the rice gently with a fork, being careful to break as few grains as possible.
5. Transfer the rice to a deep serving bowl and fluff it again well with a fork, lifting it into a peaked mound. Serve the rice piping hot. (Editor’s note: If you are making the herbal rice salad, spread it out on a platter so that it can cool to room temperature.)

Toasted Grated Coconut
(from James Oseland, Cradle of Flavor)

Makes about 1-1/2 cups

Ingredients:

Meat from 1 medium-sized coconut, cut into 1-inch pieces

Method:

1. Fill the work bowl of a regular-sized food processor one-third full with the coconut meat. (Be sure the pieces are no larger than 1 inch; larger ones will get caught in the processor blades.) Pulse until fluffy and light, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Don’t over-process, or the coconut will become gluey. Repeat until all of the coconut is grated.
2. Heat a 12-inch skillet (non-stick works best) over medium-low heat. When it’s hot, add the grated coconut and toast slowly, stirring often with a spatula and gently rotating the pan to disperse the coconut evenly around its surface. Continue until the coconut is the color of light caramel and pleasantly fragrant. (The coconut will color fairly evenly but some bits won’t noticeably change color.) This will usually take 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how dry the coconut is and the intensity of the heat. Resist the temptation to raise the heat. It’s easy to overbrown the coconut, which will make it taste bitter. (Conversely, if it’s underbrowned, it will taste bland.) If the coconut begins to burn or overbrown, immediately remove the pan from the heat, allow to cool for 1 minute, stirring the coconut constantly, and then return to low heat to continue cooking.
3. Transfer the toasted coconut to a bowl and set it aside for a few minutes to cool.
4. Place the cooled toasted coconut in the food processor, and pulse until it resembles fine sawdust, about 1 minute. Use immediately or store in the freezer where it will last for up to 3 months in a tightly sealed jar or plastic container or a zip-lock bag.