Monthly Archives: May 2011

Meat Jun

Meat Jun

Meat Jun

Meat jun is a “Korean” food I discovered while living in Hawaii. It’s basically thin slices of beef that are marinated, coated in flour and egg, and fried. It is usually served with a soy sauce based dip and/or a gochujang-based hot sauce, rice, and various vegetable sides (banchan). Any time I went to the Ala Moana food court or stopped by a Yummy’s I would almost always fore go trying anything else just so I could order meat jun. The gold standard for meat jun however is Soon’s. I used to live right across the street from the place for a while but it became out of the way when I moved closer to the University area.

After I left Hawaii I always scanned the menu at Korean restaurants looking for meat jun, but I could never find it. Only later was I told by a Korean restaurant employee in Seattle that it is not actually Korean and seems to be a dish that was developed in Hawaii. That explains why many Korean people I asked did not know what it is.

The bottom line was that if I wanted to enjoy meat jun again before my next trip to Hawaii I was going to have to learn how to make it myself. In my typical fashion I scoured the web for recipes and picked bits of pieces of various recipes and came up with one which I thought I would like. Having made this several times now the result is a recipe which I have written down and come back to over and over again.

Ingredients

2-3 lbs. beef, thinly sliced
1 cup shoyu
3 Tbsp sesame seed oil
3-4 stalks green onion – finely chopped
2-3 cloves minced garlic
6 eggs – beaten
Flour – about 1 1/2 to 2 cups
Oil for frying (I use vegetable oil)

Preparation

Cut meat into thin slices if using a large cut, or use thin sliced beef (about 1/8 inch thick)
Place in a bowl – add shoyu, sesame seed oil, green onions, and garlic, mix well. Let sit for about 15 minutes. I like to do this a few hours before and let it marinate in the refrigerator.

Marinating Meat Jun beef slices

Marinating Meat Jun beef slices

Cooking

First make a little assembly line with the meat on the left, the flour in a flat pan or large plate in the middle, and the egg in a bowl on the right, closest to the frying pan. Dip the marinated meat pieces in flour and coat well, then shake off the excess. Transfer the meat into the beaten eggs to coat, covering the floured meat completely but allowing the excess to drip off. Fry on medium heat (about 6 on my electric stove top, 5 when I’m using cast iron) until barely golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Dipping Sauce

My favored sauce:

1 cup shoyu
1/4 cup rice vinegar (Mirin)
1 stalk green onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Shoyu Meat Jun dip

Shoyu Meat Jun dip

My wife’s favored sauce:

Similar to the one above but add a tbsp of gochujang (Korean hot paste) and about a tsp of sesame oil, and no sesame seeds. We usually have both sauces at the table. I like spicy, but for some reason I just have to have my favored sauce with meat jun.

Gluten free variation:

  • Replace the shoyu (soy sauce) with a gluten-free soy sauce or tamari. We use San-J brand but any brand you like will work. I find it a bit of a waste to marinate with San-J so if you can use a cheaper wheat-free brand for the marinade and use the “better” brand for the dipping sauce.
  • Replace the flour with a gluten-free flour blend. We make one similar to the one found here.

I made the version for this recipe with gluten free ingredients only and it tasted the same as usual, so know that you won’t be missing out on anything at all.

Note:

Don’t buy meat which is sliced too thin. I always end up doing that then have to deal with the meat shredding apart. What’s too thin? Well for one if it’s cut for Sukiyaki (or hot pot) then it’s too thin. It should be about an 1/8 inch thick. The ones I get always end up being closer to a 1/16 inch thick – like a Sukiyaki cut – and they fall apart. Oh I still use them and they taste great, but it’s a bit inconvenient and harder to work with.

Prime Rib Roast

Prime rib roast just out of the oven

Prime rib roast just out of the oven

A prime rib roast is an easy to make dish for any special occasion. Around the holidays beef usually goes on sale and the week before Easter this year was no exception. How you season it is really up to you. I used to simply use Hawaiian salt and cracked black pepper, and garlic, but I once tried using McCormick Grill Mates Steak Seasoning – which I like to use on steaks – and have used it since.

Ingredients

5 lb rib roast (serves 5 – 10) depending on number of side dishes.
4 Tbsp McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning
2 Tbsp Hawaiian salt
1/2 tsp Cracked black pepper
3-4 cloves garlic

Putting in the garlic

Putting in the garlic

Preparation and Cooking

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Make 1 inch deep slits around the roast. Put in a sliver of garlic in each, buried completely so they do not burn. Mix the Montreal Mix, cracked black pepper, and Hawaiian salt together and coat the meat all over. Place the meat in a roasting pan fat side up – the fat will baste the meat as it melts. Put the roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 325 degrees. I crack the oven door open for about 10 seconds when I do this to allow the temperature inside the oven to drop.

Continue to cook for about 13 to 15 minutes a pound or until the desired internal temperature is reached. I use a meat thermometer that can stay in the meat as it cooks and remove the roast when the internal temperature reaches 120-125 degrees, for rare to medium-rare. The meat continues to cook a little while it rests.

Remove the roast and allow it to rest, loosely covered in foil for 10-20 minutes before slicing. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat and not run all over the place.

Serving suggestions are a side of mashed potatoes, vegetables and/or a salad, and popovers.

Seasoning the meat

Seasoning the meat

Notes:

For rare internal temp should be 120-125 degrees.
For medium internal temp should be 140-145 degrees.

Know your thermometer. I find that some seem to run on the low side while others run on the high side. Remember that the internal temperature WILL rise about 5-10 degrees while the meat is resting.

Pollo alla Cacciatore

Chicken alla Cacciatore in pot

Chicken alla Cacciatore in pot

A favorite from my childhood, Pollo alla Cacciatore is a dish I don’t make frequently enough these days but which is also a favorite in our young family. Translated as hunter style chicken I am not sure where this dish originated from as just about every other recipe for pollo alla cacciatore uses plum tomatoes or tomato sauce, and this family version does not. Evidently every region, and even every family, has their own variation. I had never even heard of it having tomato until I once saw this on a restaurant menu. I tried it, and here is the version as we make it.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, cut up
5-10 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup white wine (not sweet)
3-4 leaves sage, torn
1 sprig rosemary (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)
olive oil for browning the chicken
1-2 tsp white wine vinegar
salt
pepper
water

Preparation

Heat a wide pot on medium to medium-high heat (6-7 on my electric stove top). Brown the chicken in batches without overcrowding to prevent boiling (you know, when too much liquid builds up in the pot and the meat doesn’t brown but turns gray instead), adding salt and pepper to taste. Remove the browned chicken from the pot to make room for the next batch and keep at it until all the chicken has been browned.

Cacciatore browning

Cacciatore browning

When done return all the chicken to the pot, reduce the heat a notch (6 on my stove), and add the garlic. Quickly sweat the garlic to release the flavor stirring everything together to avoid burning. Add the sage, the rosemary, give it all a quick stir, then add the white wine and bring to a medium boil, and allow the wine to reduce by half. Add about 1/2 a cup of water and reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes. Check on it periodically, adding a little more water if needed to prevent the liquid from cooking out completely. After about 30 minutes add the vinegar, adjust the salt and pepper if needed and cook for another 5 minutes.

Cacciatore simmering

Cacciatore simmering

A few serving suggestions for this dish are wild rice, mashed potatoes, polenta, risotto, a pasta such as farfalle, or simply with a salad. A baguette or other crusty bread is also must to soak up the sauce.

Notes:

The amount of garlic in this dish can vary widely depending on your taste. I love garlic so I use a lot and mince it. If you are not keen on garlicky foods you can put less garlic and slice it instead of mincing it which will reduce the intensity of the flavor.

If the heat is too high when you add the garlic and you find it turning brown, quickly add the white wine to stop the frying of the garlic. You don’t want it to burn as it will imbue a burnt flavor to the dish. (Mind you I’d still eat it but it won’t be the same). You can add the sage and rosemary right after.

If you are not partial to vinegar you can omit it from the recipe. Indeed adding the vinegar is a new development as my mother never added it when I was living at home. It is something she introduced us too on one of her visits and we have continued to use it since as it adds an extra dimension to the dish.