Summer Dinner Get Together

Final get together of the summer, as a lot of people are going off for a bit before school starts anew. Hope everyone enjoyed the food. Here was the menu and how it all went down.

Calbi (Korean Short Ribs):
Korean short ribs were on sale at $2/lb at 99 ranch and seemed to be an awesome choice for a big dinner. I hope I was right. Came out a little salty, but seemed to be good overall. Based off this recipe (1).

• 12 lbs Korean Short Ribs
• 32 cloves Garlic (crushed)
  
• 12 Green Onion (sliced)
  
• 2 cup Soy Sauce
• 1 1/2 cup Rice Wine
• 1/3 cup Sesame Oil
• 2 cup Sugar

On a large surface layout short ribs and rub with a total of 1 1/2 cup sugar on both sides. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. In large ziplock bags, place 4-5 short ribs and pour in 1/6 of total sauce into bag. Remove air and seal (total of 6 bags, hence 1/6 to each bag). Keep in fridge overnight (~18 hours total marination) flip over at some point (hours before cooking).

To cook, remove from the fridge and let warm to near room temperature. On a grill or pan heated to medium heat place 3-4 short ribs and cook for around 4-5 minutes on each side (or as wanted).

This was cooked during dinner with people taking turns being in charge of the meat. It seemed to work out pretty well. Fed 14 people easily with 1/4 of the meat left. $30 for the dish total.

Spicy Garlic Eggplant:
This dish was apparently spicy enough for the hot food lovers who came over, and it was quite spicy. Taken mostly from this recipe (2), but adjusted to be more wet and more spicy.

• 5 large Chinese Eggplant (sliced thin)
• 16 cloves Garlic (minced)
• 1/4 cup Ginger (minced)
  
• 1 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
• 1 1/2 cup Rice Wine
• 1 cup Water
  
• 1/3 cup Sesame Oil
• 1/3 cup Chili Oil
• 1/3 cup Hot Chili Sauce
• 2 Green Onions (minced)
  
• Few stalks Cilantro (minced)
  

In a large pan, heat oil to medium-high heat. Saute 1/3 of the garlic until beginning to brown. Add enough eggplant to the pan to cover in one layer (about 1/3 of total) tossing in the garlic. Saute the eggplant until the garlic is browned and then add 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup rice wine, 1/3 of the ginger, and 1/3 cup of sesame oil, chili oil, and chili sauce mix. Bring to boil, making sure that the eggplant is well coated. Add 1/3 cup water and cover. Let sit, mixing every few minutes, until soft all the way through. Remove from pan and repeat with the rest of the eggplant. Garnish with green onion and cilantro.

Ended with around 1/3 of the eggplant remaining. Perhaps it was too spicy, but I felt it was flavorful through the heat. $7 for the dish.

Home Style Kang Kong (Kong Xin Cai):
Made this dish before on the blog, but I'll list it again. This one appeared to be a favorite - completely demolished by the end of the night.

• 3 lbs Kang Kong (Kong Xin Cai)
• 12 cloves Garlic (minced)
• 3 cups Chicken Stock
• 3 cups Rice Wine
• Garlic Salt and White Pepper

Trim the kang kong and then cut into 1-2" pieces. Heat oil in large pan on medium-high heat. Saute 6 cloves minced garlic until golden and then place in 1/4 of the kang kong. Pour in 1 cup chicken stock and 1 cup rice wine and mix. Let sit for a minute and add another 1/4 of kang kong along with 1/2 cup stock and 1/2 cup rice wine. Stir and cover. Let sit until the stalks have softened (about 8-10 minutes). Remove and repeat with other 1/2 of kang kong.

Simple and clean flavor and recipe. Came out to $7.

All the dishes were serve with steamed rice. Veggies eaten quickly as people were hungry while waiting for the meat the cook XP. $54 total for 14 people with quite a bit of leftovers. Hope everyone enjoyed it as much I enjoyed making it. Cheers.

Cites:
(1) http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Korean-Barbecue-Beef-Marinade-1-109586
(2) http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/ubbs/archive/VEGETARIAN/Asian_Hot_and_Spicy_Eggplant_Stir-Fry_with_Ramen_Noodles.html