Ribs...Korean Kalbi Style in an RV

 Featured Austerity Meal...#13, #14...whatever it is...I've been sick pretty much this entire month, but now I'm on some serious antibiotics and I am feeling tons better. I have been craving Asian. Korean to be exact. Korean Kalbi Ribs, to nail it down.

 I like cucumbers. I can eat cukes 10,000 different ways and never get sick of them. They are one of my favorite veggies. I halved and seeded two cukes.

 I discovered a couple of pretty ripe bananas hanging around...I decided to create something with them.
Tropical Banan-Coco-Choco Muffins
***makes 6 jumbo muffins, 12 regular sized ones

1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon (yes...tablespoon) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Up to 1/2 cup buttermilk (you could totally sub Greek yogurt or sour cream, instead)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (use a couple teaspoons of lemon juice and some zest, if you prefer)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 mashed, ripe bananas
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. In a smaller bowl, mash the bananas until fairly smooth and combine with egg, buttermilk (start with 1/4 cup and use more if you need to), oil and extracts. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. Mix in the chips and coconut.
Line a jumbo muffin tin with paper liners (I buy mine at a restaurant supply store and get 500 for under $5)
Divide batter equally among the six cups.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

 The Korean Cucumbers are simple:

2 peeled, seeded and cut cucumbers
1 carrot, peeled
4 green onions, chopped
Dressing:
1/3 cup vinegar (I would use rice wine vinegar, but I couldn't find mine, so I used cider vinegar)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Sea salt & pepper, to taste
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds (or white...it doesn't matter!!)
Combine all the dressing ingredients. Combine all the salad ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Let set in fridge for a couple of hours for flavors to combine.

 Here is the star of the evening...Korean Kalbi Ribs!

 Yummy ribs...out of all the 85-86 countries that I have cooked from, to date, this is, by far, Bob's absolute favorite country. I mention Kalbi and that man is all ears. He loves the stuff!!

 The marinade is the key to this recipe...that and a long soak in that marinade for the ribs...I've done it overnight and OMG!

 I will share my basic recipe that I created and used a long time ago and you can tweak from there by using some grated fresh ginger or some Sriacha or whatever is that you want to use!

Kalbi Marinade for Flaken Ribs

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons sesame seeds (toasted in a dry skillet)

Combine all of this in a gallon-sized, resealable freezer bag and add in flanken ribs and marinade 4 hours to overnight.

Grill over high, direct heat...about 3-4 minutes per side. In other words, stay there...don't leave!!

 So from my home to yours...enjoy! PEACE!