Ribs and Rolls

Another successful dinner tonight...Korean BBQ beef ribs and Vietnamese rolls. I had originally planned to grill the beef but alas, the weather did not cooperate. It's been raining on and off since 2 days ago. Not a very good start for the summer...

So I used the broiler and the ribs still turned out very well. We just had to contend with the smoke detector. Hehe!



KOREAN BBQ BEEF RIBS

3 lbs beef ribs (Korean style cut)
1 cup light soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar (dark brown, preferably)
2 tbsp. vinegar
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. grated ginger
1/2 tsp. chili in oil (optional)
1 tsp. sesame oil

1. Marinate ribs for a few hours.
2. Grill or broil until charred in a few spots
3. Serve with rice, lettuce leaves and kimchi. The lettuce is used to wrap a small portion of rice topped with some beef, like so...

Now for the VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS

For 6 rolls, you will need:

• 6 rice paper wrappers
• 9 pcs. shrimp, boiled/steamed, shelled then cut in half (butterfly style)
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• a handful of rice vermicelli, soaked in boiling water until soft
• 18 very thin cucumber slices
• 18 thai basil leaves

1. Soak the rice paper wrapper in a bowl of water for several seconds until slightly soft.
2. Wrap all the ingredients.
3. Serve with dipping sauce.

For the dipping sauce, mix:

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 tbsp. water
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. sweet chili sauce
• 3 thai basil leaves, sliced thinly
• 3 slices cucumber, sliced into thin strips