Two Brothers Large Kimchi Bacon Pizza

Do I need to say anything more than Large Kimchi Bacon Pizza?


Completely swoon-worthy. This time I upgraded to a large from the medium I picked up last time. Yep, it's just for me. And none will be wasted.


Available at Two Brothers in Fountain Valley. $18.30 on a VISA.

Two Brothers Kimchi Bacon Pizza

There's a place around the corner and up the road called Two Brother's Pizza. A former coworker told me about it a few years ago. They offer kimchi bacon pizza.


Did you catch that? It's kimchi bacon pizza!


This is more along the lines of what I'd expected from that other Korean pizza place. But this is the real deal. East meets west, bacon meets cabbage, spicy meets savory.


The crust is skinny and chewy, the toppings somewhat sparsely distributed. But let me tell you - major flavor explosion! Kimchi on pizza is absolute genius.

Medium Two Brother's Kimchi Bacon Pizza: $16.15 out the door.
 

I paid cash, doing what I can to keep the cash in the mom and pop's pockets, but FYI VISA and Mastercard are accepted with a $0.50 fee. Get there early, they close at 9 p.m., even on the weekends.

Korean-Style Oven-Browned Short Ribs

While I'm a huge fan of Chef Bruce Aidells, I admit I was skeptical about the Korean-based recipes in The Complete Meat Cookbook. Of course, I had to give one of them a try. Which one to choose? Well, Aidells knows big beefy pieces in stew, so I had to see how he'd handle beef ribs.

Korean-Style Oven-Browned Short Ribs

from The Complete Meat Cookbook can be found here and here

click to print

10 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 c San-J Gluten Free soy sauce

1/4 c light brown sugar

3 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped

6 whole green onions

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 c water

3 lbs English-style bone-in beef short ribs, trimmed of external fat

2-3 tbsp sesame oil

If you haven't yet, get your short ribs out of their packages and trim the excess fat.

That's two packages of bone-in ribs, weighing in at a combined total of 4.48 lbs, taken out of the packages and then trimmed of excess fat. Why did I get two packs? I have no idea. And my fat-trimming needs some work -- the beef looks like it has scabs!

Put all but the sesame oil in a Dutch oven, ensuring liquid covers the ribs. Add water and soy sauce as necessary to cover the ribs.

I added the liquids, then the solids, putting the garlic, ginger and onions over the beef. Then I remember a rule about adding things in order they're listed in the ingredients list. So I moved things around so the beef was on top before adding additional soy sauce:water in relative ratios.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer; skim any foam from the surface. Cook, uncovered, 1.5-2 hours or until the ribs are tender.

Beef brought to boil and then simmered 1.5 hours skimming foam occasionally; while quite tender, the beef was allowed to simmer another 30 minutes. By then, bones had fallen from the meat.

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Remove the ribs from the pot and liquid, reserve liquid; drain ribs well, patting them dry if necessary.

My ribs sat in the colander 10 minutes. Over that time, gravity as well as heat from the ribs themselves yielded pretty dry bones and meat.

Lay the ribs bone-side down on a broiler rack over the pan. Brush the ribs with sesame oil.

Pieces of meat that had lost their bones during simmering above were simply placed atop their bones. I don't think it mattered, except to maybe help prevent the meat from sticking to the broiler pan.

Roast in middle of oven until rib edges become crispy, 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, skim fat from the braising liquid surface. Taste the liquid. If it does not have a rich, beefy flavor, boil the liquid to reduce volume and concentrate flavors. The sauce should remain soupy. Ladle sauce into shallow bowls and put a rib or two in each. Serve beef over rice with vegetables, such as steamed spinach and kimchi.



Well, I'll be! These ribs were quite good, distinctly reminiscent of Korean Braised Short Ribs, Take 2, adapted from my first take of the Week of Menus's recipe. I wondered back when I did the Korean Braised Short Ribs what all of that soaking and rinsing of the beef would do -- looks like it eliminated the need to skim foam.

During the simmering portion, the aroma was heart- and apartment-warming. Once the simmering session was complete, I was a little disappointed about the meat losing their bones, but it turned out that had little effect in the outcome, so don't worry if you didn't set the timer.

The beef was certainly flavored like Korean-style beef should be and so very tender under a very slight crust. I particularly enjoyed just the hint of sesame oil flavor. I guessed the beef would be so tender that the soy sauce reduction would only wet my rice, not necessarily adding to the dish (but a spoon requirement). I was correct in that prediction and simply enjoyed the juices from the meat itself.

Bruce Aidells hit another one out of the park, one I'd certainly do again. Next time, for a house-hold of one, I'll stick to one pack of ribs.

Cost:

• garlic cloves: $0.26
• soy sauce: $1.20
• ginger: $0.13
• green onions: $0.45
• vinegar: $0.15
• bone-in beef short-ribs: $16.53

Total: $18.72 or $3.12 for each of six servings.

Rice and Kimchi and Blogger Photos

Sometimes all I want is a simple bowl of steamed white rice piled with Mom's kimchi.

I really like when she comes to visit as:

• she and I eat out a lot, chowing on Korean as much as possible, even in local places I could easily, but don't normally, try because of being "too busy,"
• Mom gets to eat stuff she can't order in her neck of the woods and doesn't make at home,
• Mom gets to exercise her Korean, which makes me realize how much it sucks that I don't know much,
• Mom makes kimchi from scratch, yo!

And I see now, inserting thumb into mouth, that my Blogger/Blogspot photo capacity is nearly at it's free capacity. I was dumbfounded when a few photos from recent posts wouldn't blow up to monitor-sized ginormousness, instead popping up the size of a postage stamp. That's no good!

I use my blog as a reference when preparing my weekly food plan and when cooking, thus the many Takes and the labels (which I realize need a serious overhaul). I want to be able to see what's going on!

That leads me to a point where I am forced to reflect. I don't normally do that in the grand scheme of things. My tendency is to look at details with scrutiny, agonizing over them, and adjusting things so that I am happy with them before finally saying, "that'll do, Cook, that'll do." I like that every single revision of any recipe I've tried is available to me with a quick search. Now that my photos aren't being supported as I'd like, something has got to give.

I've looked at and fooled with other free photo sites, but didn't find them to be as easily utilized as the Picasa/Blogger relationship I'd been using since day one. I've also considered simply starting a brand new blog as so much has changed since I first started blogging: my agenda, output of new recipe execution, and really, even my photography, is different from what it was when I first started the blog nearly 4 years ago. Really! Look at what I was doing at the beginning of Smells Like Food in Here. I didn't even have semblance of a format, I thought I knew what I wanted to capture, but it took some time before I really got it to where it'd be something I'd utilize. I do like that all of that is documented, while it is a little embarrassing.

A new blog though would be like starting anew, which would be just as I've grown quite a lot since the beginning. And if I started a new Google blog, it'd be a fresh start, a new chapter, and would be a defined point to continue growing from. I'd eliminate the many photos of oil heating in a skillet, freeing up time in two areas (at the time of execution and editing), streamlining and making more accurate how long it takes to complete a recipe.

But then it seems that Smells would soon become a blog like many others, with the perfect photos and the seemingly perfect execution of any recipe. That's not real! That's a food blogger spending many hours of time repeating recipes until they get it to where it is finalized and then posted, making any reader believe it was performed to perfect execution day one.

You know what? I wasn't sure what to do when I began writing this post, but I realize now that my true agenda was to try recipes and find which worked, which did not, and why those that did not failed for me. I'm my own America's Smells Like Food in Here Test Kitchen.

Update, 110911:
I figured out what was going on with the postage stamp sized photos. First, to clarify, the photos weren't popping up in a huge size when clicking on them. They looked normal in the posts.

The problem? The postage sized photos were due to broken links to the photos uploaded via Blogger into Picasa. How did that suddenly happen? I started using Google Chrome instead of Internet Explorer (IE). Silly me, I thought using Chrome, Blogger, and Picasa, all of which are Google family would streamline things! El wrongo!

I went back to IE, deleted the photos with broken links in few posts, uploading and situating them. When re-posting them, I see that the links are not broken. Clicking on any photo uploaded on Blogger through IE yields big images, just like I like! I hope to finish this little project tonight.

Those of you following, if you get a bunch of alerts to "new" posts that are old ones, it's just that I'm taking care of this image-link problem. Thanks for the patience.

Korean Tacos leftovers

For late breakfast/early lunch, I'm having what's left from dinner last night. Yep, Korean tacos!

Remember when I marinated all of that flank steak, froze a bunch of it, and then found a bag of flank in my freezer? I let that bag thaw in the fridge a couple days, broiled the marinated flank about 8 minutes until it was just medium rare, whipped out some Korean-style slaw and had tacos for dinner.

What's really cool is that one end of the flank steak was more toward rare so when I warmed up the leftovers for chow today, it was medium rare! Note: I didn't go crazy with the microwave time, keeping it to just a minute or so on lower power in order not to overcook it.

Having the tacos on the pillow-like Romero's flour tortillas was different, but still kick-ass.

Nachos with Korean Beef

I had a quarter of a Korean Marinated Flank Steak leftover from taco night and was out of cabbage. Time for nachos.

Nothing fancy, just some chips, topped with shredded cheese, the chopped beef and some green onions.

That went into a 350°F oven for about 10 or 15 minutes, until the cheese got gooey.

That's when I realized I put the onions on prematurely. They were a little dehydrated out of the oven. So I put salsa on the nachos.

Sort of weird, but distinctively different. Woulda been better with the slaw instead of salsa, but I liked it.  

Korean Tacos with Beef Cooked Just Right

Here's Take 2 of the Korean Tacos. I thawed some of the Korean Marinated Flank Steak I had in the freezer and made a new batch of the Spicy Slaw, the majority of which I ate standing in the kitchen right out of the mixing bowl like a slaw hound.

The flank was broiled for the 8 minutes I suggested in the earlier post and it came out just right for me. It was perfectly medium rare and so wonderfully delicious.

Still, I'd opt for bulgogi in the tacos as the flank just didn't have enough caramelization. I could've fried the broiled pieces in a pan, but that might make the beef tough. Maybe I'll try it anyway.

Korean Tacos

The Korean tacos I'd been preparing for were really good. There are a couple tweaks I'd make, but let's start with the highlights.

The Korean Marinated Flank Steak was flavored exactly as I'd hoped. The flank steak was tender but not mushy, and Korean flavors were evident. The Korean-Style Spicy Slaw, well, the slaw was simply amazing.

Unfortunately, the steak and slaw did not combine well in a taco. It was as if they were both jumping up and down, waving their report cards, each listing perfect scores. That said, the beef needs tweaking. Again, the flavors were excellent, but the cut was just not quite right. Next time, I'll forgo the flank stank and opt for bulgogi. I think the smaller pieces, more toward caramelized, will lend itself a better fit for a Korean taco than the sliced flank.

 

The slaw? I will not move away from that. It really is perfect.

Korean-Style Spicy Slaw

I selected this recipe to dress my Korean tacos. What I didn't realize was that I'd end up eating the slaw directly from the mixing bowl as I stood in the kitchen because it's so freaking good!

Korean-Style Spicy Slaw
from Week of Menus

1/2 head of cabbage, thinly shredded

2 Persian cucumbers, julienne
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 c chopped green onions
2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped (optional)

Dressing
1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp sesame seed
2 tbsp Korean red pepper flakes (gochugahloo-고추가루 )
1 tbsp crushed garlic tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp Vietnamese fish sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil

Mix all the ingredients of the dressing together. It'll get really thick and pasty.

Place the vegetables in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and carefully mix the dressing into the vegetable until combined. Serve.

This slaw is totally tip-top. I love it. Should I ever run into Joanne Choi, I will kiss her feet hand. The recipe took just minutes to put together and the julienne efforts, which I typically abhor as my knife skills suck, were worth it. English cucumber was a doable substitute for the Persian cucumber. And the garlic powder turned out to be a decent replacement of the crushed garlic. I was concerned about the garlic powder, but had used all of my fresh garlic to make the potatoes the other day.

Cost:

• cabbage: $0.69
• English cucumber quarter: $0.17
• white onion half: $0.27
• green onion: $0.33
• cilantro: $0.12

Total: $1.58 plus a $1 SWAG for the dressing makes it $2.58 or $0.65 for each of four servings.

Korean Marinated Flank Steaks, Bagged and Ready to Freeze

As I'd purchased about $18 worth of flank steak from Costco to make Korean tacos, and they are all for me, I figured I'd bag the other three Korean Marinated Flank Steak halves in quart-sized freezer Ziplocs and stow them for later. I did it while my first flank was broiling.

It was easy: place a marinated steak half in each of three bags, prop the bags upright in a large bowl for ease, tuck in some green onions, and divide the marinade among the three bags. Express the air as much as possible and throw the bags in the freezer.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Korean Marinated Flank Steak

A little too done, but this Korean Marinated Flank Steak will do the job when it comes to making some tacos!

Since I had Kim's tacos, I've been hell-bent on making them at home.

Korean BBQ Flank Steak

from Week of Menus

3-4 lbs flank steak
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c water
1/4 c sesame oil
1/4 c sake
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp black pepper
1 bunch of scallions

Prepare marinade by combining soy sauce, white sugar, water, sesame oil, sake, garlic, sesame seeds and pepper in a large bowl.

Rinse the flank steaks and divide each in half lengthwise, across the grain.

Submerge each flank steak half in the marinade completely; place in a long storage container.

Layer in green onions as you place the flank in the storage container. Pour remaining marinade over the beef.

Cover beef and refrigerate overnight, turning flank halves half-way through marinating time to ensure each steak has been completely marinated.

When you do this, you'll see that the steaks are still pretty red and not at all marinated where they were touching each other.

24-hours later, the flank steak looked like this:


Broil flank steak 12 minutes, turning half-way through cooking time.

 

Remove from heat and let stand before slicing thinly across the grain.


The marinade smelled so good as I prepared it and the beef smelled exceptionally good when broiling. The steaks were simple to prepare and certainly worth doing again.  12 minutes under the broiler was too long; in the future, I think maybe I'll do 8 minutes to achieve more of a medium or medium-rare.

As for the time invested to do this, I'm going to estimate 30 minutes for the marinade/steak prep and 15 minutes to cook.

Cost:

• beef flank steak: $17.51
• scallions: $0.33
• everything else, SWAG: $1

Total: $18.84 or $0.59 for each of 32 tacos.