Korean Beef Stew

One of my favorite food court places is Kimchi, that Korean stall that's been around forever. I remember as a child, my lola would pick me up from school, we'd then pick up my brother and we would all head straight to Greenhills for merienda. Beside Unimart, where all the tiangges now are, there used to be a food court. And Kimchi was one of the stalls. I remember always being torn between the beef stew and the beef bbq. Such were the decisions I had to make in my childhood :-)

After Kimchi, it was a scoop of Coney Island ice cream for dessert. My favorites were New York, New York and Mandarin Orange Royale. My brother would choose between Grape Cordial and Bubble Gum.

I look back now and I can't believe we would eat all of that for an afternoon snack! No wonder we're all "not slim"...

Anyways, I've tried my hand at Korean beef stew several times in the past, but this, I think, is my favorite recipe. The broiling step makes a huge difference.

Korean Beef Stew

1 kilo beef ribs, cut into 2 inch cubes

2 cups water

1 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup dark brown sugar

6 slices ginger

10 cloves garlic

6-8 green onion stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 tsp. sesame oil

sesame seeds, toasted

chili flakes (optional)

In a heavy pot, simmer ribs in the next 7 ingredients until tender. If you're using chili flakes, this would be the time to add it too. This step takes about 2 hours. Just make sure the liquid doesn't all evaporate. If the liquid runs low, just keep adding water so that the pot doesn't dry out.

Once the ribs are tender, take them out, drain well and put them on a baking sheet or broiler pan. Broil for about 5-10 minutes until you get some dry, crisp spots. Flip and broil another 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, reduce the sauce until thick and syrupy. Put the meat back in and simmer for a few minutes more, just until all the meat gets wet again. Drizzle with sesame oil and sesame seeds. Serve with lots of rice, kimchi and blanched bean sprouts drizzled with sesame oil.