A little picnic in the office

Look at the little soy sauce!

If you read the latest edition of Yakima magazine’s “Fresh Sheet” feature, you heard about our coworker, George May, who brings in his homemade goodies from time to time (you also heard about Joy Garden’s lovely bulgogi). As if on cue, George brought in one of his “little picnics” on Friday, complete with chopsticks and tiny soy sauce, for me to nibble on while working away on spreadsheets and such. He made chicken and pork bulgogi, white rice and spicy kimchi, which he told me to wrap up in a seaweed paper, kind of like a taco. I did. It was delicious.

Here’s George’s basic recipe for bulgogi:

Bulgogi

“You can vary the amounts to suit your taste,” George advises. “The most important thing is to mix the soy sauce and oil, and then add your sweetener until the marinade is a little sweet to the taste. It should taste good before you proceed. You can use whatever sweetener you want. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Low sodium soy sauce is good to use if you want it less salty.”

This makes enough marinade for about a pound of meat of choice.

4 oz soy sauce
1 oz sesame oil
2-3 packs of equal or 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp fresh ginger, crushed and chopped (optional)

Mix soy sauce and oil. Add sweetener until marinade is a little sweet to the taste. Add rest and mix. Add a little water, a tablespoon or two to dilute the mixture. Marinate meat for at least 20 minutes if sliced thin. If the pieces are bigger, you can marinate for up to three days. This is good for drumsticks, thighs and country style pork ribs. Even if the meat is thin, you can marinate up to three days as well.