Beef Wrapped in Lettuce Leaves
- 3 to 4 pounds short ribs
- ½ cup roughly chopped trimmed scallions, shallots, or onion
- 1 tablespoon roughly chopped ginger
- 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 16 to 24 romaine or other lettuce leaves, washed and dried
- Soy sauce or ground bean paste (available at Asian markets), optional
Instructions:
For bulgogi, a Korean beef dish sometimes made with short ribs, the meat is stripped off the bone, marinated in a soy-based sauce, and then grilled at the table.
- If time allows, freeze the meat for 30 minutes or so to facilitate slicing. Use a sharp knife to strip the meat from the ribs—it will come off easily and in one piece (reserve the bones and any meat that adheres to them for stock).
- Combine the scallions, ginger, garlic, sugar, pepper, soy sauce, and ½ cup water in a blender and purée until very smooth. Slice the meat into pieces between J and ¼ inch in thickness. Toss with the marinade and let sit from 15 minutes to 2 hours. Preheat a grill, broiler with the grill rack set 2 to 4 inches from the heat source. Or preheat a stove top grill, or preheat the oven to its maximum heat and put a heavy roasting pan in it.
- Remove the meat from the marinade and grill, pangrill, broil, or roast it, just until done, no more than a couple of minutes per side; it’s nice if the meat is browned on the outside and rare on the inside, but it’s imperative that it not be overcooked. Serve with the lettuce leaves. To eat, wrap a piece or two of meat in a torn piece of lettuce; garnish with a drop or two of soy sauce or bean paste, if you like.