Detective Andy Spencer's Favorite Recipes
Favorite Recipes - Jacob Literary
Everyone knows what a world traveler Andy Spencer is. He's been to the deepest darkest jungles of Africa, to the wilds of Oregon and he even spent some time in India.
Combine that with the fact that he is a connoisseur of fine foods and you can imagine how vast his recipe book must be. Well now for the first time ever, Andy is sharing his best kept secret recipe's with the world in a segment we call:
The Gumshoe Recipe Archives
Andy is extremely excited to share this first recipe with his faithful fans. He found this recipe while traveling through Asia in the lower region of Korea. So here is the first installment.
Bool Gogi
This is a favorite for many people. Translated into english this dish is called "Fire Meat". While the world romanized the word out as Bool - Gogi, phonetically it is more correct to sound it out like this: (Pool - Ko - Gee). The first letter is actually a combination of the B sound and the P sound Like a cross between saying Bumble bee and Pool. Anyway, enough with the Korean lessons, on to the recipe.
Ingredients
1 lb - Flank Steak
4 - Cloves of Garlic
2 - Green Onions (include the green tops if desired)
1 cup - Soy Sauce
1/3 cup - Sugar
1/4 Tsp - Fresh grated ginger root
6 Tsp - Prepared Sesame seeds (See Method Below)
1/4 Tsp - Red Pepper
1/3 Cup - Red wine, or Cooking Sherry, or Saki (Your choice)
Marinade Preparation
Begin by adding Soy sauce, Sugar and cooking sherry to a large bowl. Stir solution to mix and set aside. Using a garlic press, add the pressed garlic cloves. Cut the Green onions being sure to include the green stem portions. Stir mixture and then add the rest of the ingredients and set to the side.
Slice the flank stake into thin slices approximately 1/8th inch by 2 inches. This is important. If the slices of flank steak are to thick the marinade will not adequately permeate the beef and the flavor will not be a robust, and that's what we are looking for.
After slicing the flank steak add it to the marinade mixture, and using a fork, kneed the mixture to ensure that all the meat is well covered with the marinade. I like to repeat this process every 15 minutes. Allow the meat to marinade for at least one hour for maximum taste.
An hour has passed and you and your intended guests are adequately salivating profusely so it's time to cook this feast. There are several different methods for doing this.
Method 1. You can place the complete marinade mixture, (DO NOT DRAIN THE MEAT), on a large cookie sheet that is 1/2 inch deep and place it on the barbecue. I love this method. I use a combination of hickory wood chip coals and hickory charcoal Briquettes to achieve a nice hot smokey cooking surface. Place the cookie sheet on the hot coals and allow it to cook for 10 to 15 minutes then, using a spatula, turn the meat over to allow the other side to cook completely. Now, using a colander, Drain the marinade and juices into a bowl and set aside. (You can discard this if you wish but by adding a few tablespoons of flour and cooking it on the stove you can make a yummy gravy, or just use it as is as a sort of Au Jus sauce.)
Method 2. Place mixture in a shallow cookie sheet as in previous example and set your oven to Broil at 500 degrees. Place the rack as close to the top of the oven as you can. Place the cookie sheet on the rack and remember to leave the oven open about 1/4. This will keep the heating coils hot. Allow the meat to cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, checking often. Rotate the meat to ensure even cooking throughout. The meat should not be pink but also should not be burned, Duh! When finished, take out of oven and let stand for a few minutes before separating out the Marinade.
Makes about 6 servings
Sesame Seed Preparation
- Using a non stick frying pan, place about 2 cups of sesame seeds in the pan and set the heat to medium high. Do not grease the pan or use any type of oil. You just want the dry seeds in the pan. As the pan heats the seeds will begin to pop. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula, continually agitate and move the seeds so that they are toasted evenly. You'll know they are done when they have a nice golden brown color, approaching dark brown. After they have toasted sufficiently, remove them from the pan and place them on a surface that will allow you to use a roller pin.
- Using a rolling pin, roll back and forth as you exert as much force as you can on the seeds. Continue doing so until they crush into a fine powder. You will need to scrap the crushed seed off of the rolling pin periodically. Continue this process until the majority of the seed are now a fine brown powder.
- I like to make up alot at one time and then save the unused portion in an empty herb jar or some other container. That way I don't have to go through this process every time I want a meal. There you have it.
Serving suggestions
While this recipe stands on it's own, there are a few ways to add some zest to your meal. Here are a few suggestions.
One of our families favorite ways to serve this is with plain white rice, Kimchi, and a bit of salad to top it off.
You can add bits of onion and carrot to the rice and then top it off with a fried egg.
How about some egg drop soup with your meal Yummy. Okay, enough of that I'm getting hungry.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and that you will stop by and visit Andy Spencer and the gang. While you're at it, why not take a moment and sign up for our newsletter. You'll get a free book as our way of saying thank you. Remember to leave your email address in our double opt in process. Here's the Web link.