My Kitchen, My World…Korea!

This week of MKMW we were cooking Korean cuisine, thanks to Elra of Elra’s Baking. I’ll be honest, other than having an adopted cousin from Korea, I really know nothing about the country in general. Actually, that’s not entirely true. My aunt did have an exchange student from Korea for a few years (yes, years!!) who decided to stay on after graduating last year and attend Virginia Tech (Hi there Hoil! as if a college boy is reading my stupid blog about food. seriously)
When he graduated, his Mom came over and made everyone an authentic Korean dinner. If I had known then that I would be making Korean food, I would have paid more attention.
But I digress.

On Thursday night of this week, we had a dozen or so friends and family up for a dinner, and because I knew we wouldn’t thrill everyone with an entirely Korean schmorgasboard, I opted to have one of our meats be Korean. And Korean it was. Kalbi Venison, in fact. Yeppers…deer meat… That my husband hunted, killed and butchered himself. (He’s a country boy, and that’s what country boys do. – Sorry vegans, it isn’t to upset you.)

We served the venison alongside a bounty of chicken, fresh melons, garden corn on the cob, pasta salad and home grown green beans with garlic (thanks Lea)…it was all delish. So good – and not one bite of thevenison was spared. In fact, it was devoured before the chicken!
SO, here is the recipe for the Kalbi Venison, which I imagine would be just as tasty on a regular cut of beef if you don’t have access to deer.

Kalbi Venison
From “Jim Zumbo’s Amazing Venison Recipes”

1 1/2 lbs venison loin steaks, sliced 1/2-inch thick (we grilled the whole loin in one piece)
6 slices gingerroot, 1/8-inch thick
4 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce, up to 3/4 cup
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup green onion, chopped tops
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Directions
1 Place the ginger root, garlic, onion, soy sauce and sugar in a blender and blend until smooth (about 30 seconds). Taste marinade and add additional soy sauce to mellow the flavor if desired.
2 Place venison in a glass casserole dish and pour the marinade over the venison. Sprinkle sesame seed and green onions on top. cover with plastic wrap. For best results, marinate overnight.
3 Grill venison based on preference of well, medium, or rare.