Korean Short Ribs from Ally's Kitchen Cookbook

 

So many of us want to travel the world, taking in the sights and sounds, experiencing adventures in far-flung places, right? But travel is expensive, the kids are in school and there's no time to get away...it's hard to actually go anywhere. So if you're looking for a taste—and I mean this both literally and figuratively—of exotic locales, you just need to get this new cookbook.

I'm talking about Ally's Kitchen: A Passport for Adventurous Palates by Alice Phillips. Some of you may already know her from her fabulous blog; if you don't, you should! Ally's food writing offers a wonderful mix of creativity, information, color, and fun. She approaches food as a bohemian, bringing eclecticism and boldness to her dishes:

"I wanted this cookbook to be a ‘passport’ for most every homecook to travel the world without leaving their own kitchen~~whether this person was in a large metropolitan area or a rural town, I wanted to be able to land in their kitchen on my magic carpet and share the glorious world of food!" ~Ally Phillips

And Ally herself is full of so much joie de vivre. Her voice is strong throughout the pages of her book; joyfulness and passion practically leap from each page. On a personal note, she has been both a role model and mentor to many food bloggers, including me. I am incredibly greatful for her generosity of spirit.

There are so many gorgeous recipes in this book; I chose to make her Korean Short Ribs. It's a dish I've loved in restaurants but have never before made on my own. I'm happy to report it was not only a delicious dish but a very simple recipe to follow.

My short ribs, marinated and ready to bake!

 
Galbi ~ Korean Short Ribs
from Ally's Kitchen: A Passport for Adventurous Palates

Ingredients

serves 6

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup puréed apples (or first-stage baby food)
• ¼ cup puréed pears (or first-stage baby food)
• ¼ cup minced white onion
• ¼ cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TB rice wine vinegar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp chili pepper flakes (optional)
• ¼ tsp ginger powder
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• 2 lbs. Korean or flank beef short ribs
• 2 green onions, sliced (for garnish)
• 1 TB sesame seeds (for garnish)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large zipper bag, mix together the soy sauce, brown sugar, apple purée, pear purée, onions, water, garlic, rice wine vinegar, salt, pepper, chili pepper flakes, ginger powder, and sesame oil. Add the short ribs and marinate for at least an hour. For even more intense flavor, let them steep in the marinade in the refrigerator overnight. 

Remove ribs from marinade and place them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour marinade over the ribs. Bake 20 minutes. (Everything can be done up to three days ahead at this point; simply cool and refrigerate the baked ribs until ready to grill.) When ready for dinner, heat up your grill to high. Grill the ribs 3-5 minutes per side and and garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with hot, cooked rice.

 ***

I served my short ribs with some brown rice, seared snow peas, and raw chunks of pineapple. It was a lovely balance of flavors, temperatures, and textures and was a perfect summer dinner! 

It started pouring so I had to rush everything indoors and just snapped a quick pic of my plate with the snow peas! Not great lighting, but you get the idea, right?

I just want to end with a little funny story. When I made these short ribs, I posted a photo of them on my personal Facebook page. There were lots of comments about how delicious they looked. One comment was from my friend/neighbor, whose grilled pizza dinner had just been ruined by the thunderstorm. I told her to swing by and pick up our leftovers! It seemed a great way to honor the boho spirit of food, fun, and friendship that is the core of Ally's cookbook.

 

Where would you most like to travel, if money and time weren't a concern?

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