For Sunday lunch, Andy took Pete out for pancakes and bacon at Johnny's (our local retro-chic "luncheonette") and I took the girls out for Chinese. Pete's been eating almost nothing lately and has abandoned some of the few relatively healthy things he used to eat, so when he expressed an interest in a hearty, protein-rich (if saturated fat– and nitrate-laden) meal, we jumped at it. Lately he doesn't even want Chinese ribs—he just eats the steamed white rice—so this seemed like a good compromise. The girls and I shared ribs (I get the boneless ones, just because it's easier for Steph to bite and easier for me to cut up for Julie), beef teriyaki (which Steph adores), veggie lo mein (which Julie adores), and rice. We also got a lychee slush for dessert, but none of us liked it very much.
Anyhow, yesterday I was thinking about how much Steph likes beef teriyaki, and how gung-ho she's been about trying new foods for dinner*, so I decided to try making Korean bulgogi for her. I bought a big sirloin tip roast (nearly 2 lbs.) and popped it into the freezer for about an hour. That made it easy to slice it very thinly across the grain. I marinated the slices for a few hours in this mixture:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp sugar
2 chopped scallions
1 large garlic clove, pressed
Then Andy grilled each slice for just a minute or so, and we served it with white rice (which I always make with chicken broth instead of water—it adds flavor and also some nutrients). Well, Stephanie declared it the best thing she'd ever eaten! She ate so much I was almost worried. Oh, and she started off with a salad of cucumbers and red peppers, so it was even a well-rounded meal. And now I'm glad I bought such a huge piece of meat, because she wants leftovers tonight.
Julie had some trouble chewing it, although it wasn't even remotely tough. We cut it up into little bitty pieces, but she still had to spit some out after chewing for a while. But she liked it! Pete, who started off with cucumbers and carrots and then ate a ton of rice, didn't actively like the meat, but he did say it wasn't that bad. I cut up small pieces and mixed it into his rice to make it easier for him. I think if I really shredded the meat and distributed it through the rice, he'd eat even more.
*I haven't been keeping you up-to-date on our New Food Initiative. We haven't been doing it every night; some nights there's just no way I can have a whole family meal ready early enough and other nights Andy and I just want to eat alone. Anyhow, here are the last two I can recall: Steph liked the chicken parm (chicken cutlets patted dry in some flour, then dunked in beaten egg, then dredged in a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs and cornflake crumbs; browned in some olive oil and butter; topped with mozarella cheese and tomato sauce; baked until hot and melty), but Pete flat-out refused to even try it. I think he wasn't feeling so well; I hope he'll try it next time because I think it's something he'll tolerate, since he likes pizza and (used to like) chicken nuggets. Neither Steph nor Pete liked the pork chops (although Steph loves applesauce); Julie had trouble chewing them, too.
Bulgogi!
You gogi, girl!
I love bulgogi...but it's even better with kimchi and washed down with lashings of hot soju. But you can't give that stuff to the kiddos, lest they explode.
Posted by: Elisson | March 29, 2005 at 06:34 PM
That sounds really yummy, although I would have to say hold the kimchee.
My boy tried mashed potatoes for the first time ever this week, and pronounced them "not terrible." That's real progress here.
How in the world does any kid not like mashed potatoes?!
Posted by: terrilynn | March 29, 2005 at 11:23 PM