Last week I was semi-but-not-quite-lamenting the fact that during my very brief not-quite-a-sabbatical we sort of jumped seasons. One minute it was winter, then like that it was summer. That still seems true – unless you live in Denver.
But now that the summer holidays are coming up it’s time to move some of the cooking outside. Probably. Or at least to make food that seems like you might have could have cooked it outside if it wasn’t for an epic downpour and high winds and gigantic deadly bolts of electricity shooting from the sky because that change in the seasons doesn’t just come with warm weather and lemonade stands and long evenings with mosquitos.
At least here in Ohio it also comes with thunderstorms. Sometimes they’re spectacular and exciting light shows that leave you in awe – even if the pets are hiding in the basement. Sometimes they extinguishes your carefully tended charcoal fire and turn your burger buns into mush.
This week’s menu is a cookout menu – whether you’re cooking out or not. It’s almost a traditional cookout menu: cole slaw (sort of), pasta salad (kind of), baked beans (almost), and BBQ ribs (nearly). But everything has a little twist.
I’ve been effusive in previous menus about my love for the flavors, techniques, and unique ingredients used in and developed by Korean cuisine. Those ingredients – developed over centuries by generations of Korean cooks – are now readily available in the States and elsewhere, and can add amazing layers of flavor to dishes.
This week’s recipes make generous use of a few ingredients common in Korean and Korean-American cooking: Toasted sesame oil (available in most grocery stores); Gochujang – a sweet and spicy fermented pepper paste now available in many groceries, and Napa Kimchi – korean style pickled napa cabbage that you can often find in the refrigerated produce section of better markets. Contrary to their reputation, these components aren’t all spicy – though some can be. They are incredibly flavorful – adding layers of spice and sweet, and umami that make otherwise simple dishes fabulous. I’ve also found that they pair remarkably well with some traditional summer barbecue foods - so that’s this week’s menu.
Kimchi Slaw
Folding minced napa kimchi into a traditional mayonnaise based slaw adds acid, spicy, and a different kind of crunch. This dish is easy and quick to make, and is a fun alternative to its boringly delicious precedent.
3 cups finely shredded green cabbage
½ cup finely minced napa kimchi
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp Huy Fong foods Sriracha (optional)
In a non-reactive bowl, toss the shredded cabbage with salt and sugar, then cover and set aside for 1 hour.
Pour off any liquid that has accumulated after an hour.
Combine the mayonnaise, kimchi, and sriracha (if using) and toss with the shredded cabbage mixture.
Chill for at least two hours before serving to allow flavors to combine.
Gochujang “Baked” Beans
These baked beans aren’t really baked – though it would be easy enough to prepare them that way. Instead, they’re soaked, then simmered in a flavorful mixture of sugar, ketchup, and onion purée and Gochujang – along with a little smoked pork for fat and flavor. The pork, while not strictly necessary, adds smokey flavor, salt, and fat that helps make the beans luscious and tender.
2 cups great northern beans, soaked overnight
1 medium onion
½ cup ketchup
½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup cubed fatty smoked pork (bacon, jowl, etc.)
2 tbsp hot gochujang
Peel, trim, and cut the onion into quarters.
Add the onion, ketchup, brown sugar, gochujang and 3 cups of water to the container of a blender.
Process until smooth.
Add the pork or bacon to a pan over medium heat.
Cook until most of the fat has rendered, but the pork isn’t yet crisp.
Add the beans and the purée mixture.
Bring to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender – adding more water if necessary – 60-90 minutes.
Taste for seasoning and add salt if to taste.
Spicy Sesame Pasta Salad
Year ago, I worked in a small café/restaurant in my hometown. I made coffees and sandwiches and pour drinks – but I also spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing dishes for the cold case. One of those dishes was a cold spicy sesame noodle dish made with peanut butter, soy, and sesame oil. We sold a lot of it. Which meant I made a lot it. Batch after batch after batch. You’d think I would come to hate the stuff – but truth be told I still love it.
This is sort of a play on that dish. Subbing in tahini (sesame paste) for the peanut butter and using penne pasta instead of long noodles. You can use pretty much whatever pasta shape you desire – rigatoni or radiatore would be particularly fun.
½ lb dry Penne pasta
¼ cup finely sliced green onion
2 tbsp tahini paste
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
2 tsp roasted sesame oil
2 tbsp finely minced garlic
1 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp finely minced red pepper
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Additional green onion as garnish
Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
In a large bowl, mix the tahini, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili sauce, mixing until as smooth as possible.
Add the green onion, garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, and red pepper.
When the pasta is done, fold into the sauce mixture – working to coat the pasta well.
Refrigerate until cold.
Serve chilled.
BBQ Ribs with Gochujang and Crunchy Cucumber and Carrot Salad
I prepared a version of these ribs for a recent gathering – a gathering that involved cooking in a place with no running water and no easy access to electricity.
My smoker is electric.
So I went with a modernist method and cooked them sous vide before the event – then finished them on a flaming hot wood fire.
You don’t need to do that. You can make them on a normal grill, or even an oven. It’s the rub and the sauce that make them what they are. That being said, I’ve provided sous vide instructions below just in case.
I’m leaning heavily on gochujang here again – just as in the beans. I’m also, as in the beans, using an onion puree as a base for a sauce. This is a technique I’ve been messing around with for the past few months, and it’s really yielded some fun results. Pureeing large amounts of raw onion and then slow cooking it gives sauces a lot of body and flavor –the slow cook eliminates the harshness of the onions and turns the base almost sweet.
1 rack pork ribs
1 recipe spicy rib rub (below)
1 recipe Gochujang BBQ Sauce (below)
1 recipe Crunchy Cucumber and Carrot Salad (below)
Traditional Method
Remove the thin membrane on the back of the ribs by grabbing a corner with a towel and puling.
Season the ribs well with the spicy rub – I use a small sifter to spread it evenly.
Allow to rest uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Prepare your grill or smoker.
Grill over indirect heat, or smoke, until the internal temperature of the ribs has reached 180°F.
Brush both sides generously with sauce, and return to the heat, basting with sauce as necessary, until the internal temperature has reached 190°F.
Cut into individual ribs and top with Crunchy Cucumber and Carrot Salad.
Sous Vide Method
Remove the thin membrane on the back of the ribs by grabbing a corner with a towel and puling.
Season the ribs well with the spicy rub – I use a small sifter to spread it evenly.
Allow to rest uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Prepare a sous vide bath with a circulator set to 170°F.
Add three drops of liquid smoke to a bag suitable to sous vide.
Place the ribs in the bag, seal, and cook at 170°F for 18-24 hours
Allow the ribs to cool slightly, remove from the bag, and pat dry with a towel.
Brush both sides generously with sauce, and broil, or use a torch, to finish.
Cut into individual ribs and top with Crunchy Cucumber and Carrot Salad.
Spicy Rib Rub
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp Korean chili powder
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Combine all ingredients.
Optionally, process in a spice grinder until very fine.
Gochujang BBQ Sauce
2 cups cold water
½ cup white or rice wine vinegar
1 medium white onion
1 apple
1 cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup dark soy sauce
4 cloves garlic
4 tbsp hot gochujang
1 tbsp Korean chili powder
1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger
4 drops liquid smoke (opt)
Using a spoon, peel the ginger then cut into 1 inch or smaller pieces.
Peel, trim, and cut the onion into quarters.
Peel, core, and cut the apple into quarters.
Add all ingredients except the sugar to the container of a high-speed blender.
Process until very smooth.
Add the puree and sugar to a pan over medium heat.
Bring to a simmer and cook until very thick.
Crunchy Cucumber and Carrot Salad
1 English cucumber
1 medium carrot
2 green onion
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp sesame oil
Trim the ends form the cucumber, half, and cut into quarters lengthwise.
Cut the cucumber into thin matchsticks 3-4 inches long.
Clean, peel, and remove the tip and stem end from the carrot.
Cut the carrot into thin matchsticks 3-4 inches long.
Trim the green onion and working diagonally across the stem, slice thinly – this will give you long thin slices.
Mis the salt, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil.
Toss the vegetables with the dressing immediately before serving.