DaFunkyUnit

so yeah, I'd like some recommendations on where to get the pre-made-ready-to-throw-on-the-grill Korean BBQ (or bulgalbi, I guess) around the Southern Cal area.

K-Town in L.A. really overwhelms and intimidates me, as theres so many shops and stores, and everything is in Korean (which I can't read) so....

but if anyone here can shed some info, and point me in the right direction, that would be great!

__________________

baggio248

Try Trader Joes. I think I bought some there one time. It was in the refridgerated section. The other option is to buy the meat and go to an Asian market not in K-town and find a marinade.

__________________
Peter: Lois, you've got a sick mind!
Lois: Peter, I'm talking about making love.
Peter: Oh, I thought you wanted us to murder the children and harvest their organs for beer money.

chrissy

Yep buy ours at TJ's too

I have a recipie somewhere too. If I haven't packed it away and you are interested I can write it up for you. it's not a hard one.

Maarchk

Tj's is good. Or just follow the locals around K-town and see what they buy.

__________________
"The girl is crafty like ice is cold."

"I left my heart in san francisco... And my liver at Moe's Tavern."

A real friend is one who listens to you as much as they talk to you.

oblongmelon

Whats the difference between Korean bbq and just regular bbq???

lindysd

I'd be interested in that recipe...... if you dont mind.

__________________

ShawnLee

No offense, but the idea of buying Korean barbecue at TJs bothers me.
I'm sure it's delicious, and I'm also sure that I'd complain about it.

I think I finally understand when my Italian friends said, "What!?!? Prego's not spaghetti sauce! You can't call that spaghetti sauce!"

As for my recommendation - Go to a Korean market with a Korean-American friend.
If you can't do that... Most of the larger chains have a food section where they have food in a buffet-style line. Look for that and find the pre-marinated barbecue, put the food in the plastic bin, let the lady weight it for you (it'll almost always be a middle-aged woman), check out. Pretty simple.

__________________

cheapie

i'm with obby. what is it?

__________________
70% of the world is covered by water. The rest is covered by Bob Sanders

chrissy

Bulgogi

3 tablespoons Soy sauce
5 tablespoons sugar
1 bunch (8 or so) Scallions, white and tender green parts coarsely chopped
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
5 tablespoons sesame oil
2 lb Beef tenderloin, sliced as thin as possible ( you can go into smiths, albertsons whereever you have a guy at the meat counter slice this for you)
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil (if cooking in skillet)

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly
Add the beef and marinade for an hour
Heat oil in large frying pan, add beef adn cook until done.

I grill mine. Either way it's yummy

chrissy

I didn't see it the last time I was in there last week. It is usually where the tri-tip is. But they also have Carne Asada and other pre-marinated meats. I buy them occasionally if I know I am going to have a busy week - something to take out of the freezer in the morning and forget until dinner time. I prefer to make things from scratch. Much better that way for anything.

oblongmelon

sounds pretty darn good to me! mmmmm...

TofuNinja

The TJ one is ok. It is good for a quick fix.

__________________
"To search for the old is to understand the new." -Gichin Funakoshi-

===>>>LABELED CANTACUZENE'S DUMBEST PERSON ALIVE!!!<<<===

Freelance Superhero

If you are, in fact, in the LA area and don't mind making the trip to K-Town, despite being unable to read Korean, I can recommend one of the big Korean supermarkets you can visit.

I only know it by it's Korean name (Gaju Market), which I think translates to California Market (I've never really been sure what "Gaju" actually means, but most Korean places seem to use it as a direct translation for "California"), and it's located on the northeast intersection of 5th and Western (that's about two blocks north of Wilshire if you're driving up Western). You can't miss it; it's a large supermarket with a big green sign.

Once you walk into the supermarket, you'll pass the kimbap and pastries counter on your right, and there will be some turnstiles there. When you go through the turnstiles, you'll be facing the fresh produce area. Walk straight through all the produce to the back, and you'll see a small section with tons of pre-packaged Korean side-dishes in plastic containers. Somewhere around there, you should see a bunch of them with pre-marinated galbi in them, and while you're at it, you could probably also pick up a few of the side dishes (they're all well made). If all else fails, most of the employees speak a little bit of English, so you shouldn't be afraid to ask them where the galbi is. Even if you just mutter "galbi" to them, they can probably point you in the right direction.

__________________
"I can't believe you can eat that; it looks like abortion." - Augusta, of the Tard-Blog

uncledaddy

I use the same recipe chrissy. Handed to me from my father who got it in Korea. Not exact same measurements (I've never measured) but all the same ingredients.

__________________

DaFunkyUnit

thanks for help everyone. I had no idea Trader Joe's had Korean BBQ. I'll have to go look for it.

Kimchi: As for K-Town L.A., um... I think I know what you're talking about, but I'm not sure. I know that theres a Korean Galleria, and another big mall (I know for a fact there are at least 2 in that area), but I'm hazy on the specifics. Seriously, Wilshire, Olympic, and Western, I confuse/mix up between whats on what street very easily. (I've been living in LA for ..... 8 years now?.. yea, I don't get out very often )

YellowCoffee

It's amazing that there's a sub-culture in LA that predominantly does not speak, or chooses not to speak English. It's especially strange, because I know many of these people have lived in the states for more than a decade, and don't know a word of English. I guess the convenience of living in a community where you don't "need" to learn English makes people comfortable not learning it. I don't really get it though.

Freelance Superhero

I think you thought I was KimchiCowboy, no? Which reminds me, I need to email that guy...

In any case, yeah, the Galleria is like a small Korean shopping mall, but it's further south on Western. Just keep going north from there on Western until you pass the Wiltern Theater, which is, appropriately, on the intersection of Wilshire and Western, until you see the big green sign to your right. Good stuff, and if you follow my directions in the supermarket, you'll find it easily. The cashiers all speak English, so no worries about that.

I personally don't find it that weird. I don't know what your ethnic background is, but coming from a half-immigrant family, and having lots of friends from immigrant families, it's easy to understand, I think. It's very easy to get plugged into one of these communities because it's comfortable and familiar, especially in a place that is completely foreign. The fact that, particularly in LA, there are so many others in the same situation fosters a tight community. Then again, that's mostly with my parents' generation. Most of the second-generation immigrants I know (of all nationalities) are pretty americanized.

I don't really have an opinion on the matter, but I do have to confess that I think it's great that here in LA I can get a pretty wide variety of ethnic food I want, and know that it's been made authentically, because there are so many little cultural enclaves. Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, Ethiopian, Armenian, Vietnamese, Indian... Not a whole lot of immigrants from across the Atlantic here though, unfortunately.

ShawnLee

Good post - but for explanation purposes... Here's one of your resident Korean guys to help.

The reason "gaju" translates to California is...

California transliterated into Korean sounds sort of like: Kah-Lee-Poh-Nee-Ah, not too different from how Governor Arnold pronounces it.

Most times, the K gets softened from the hard-K sound to the soft-K sound in Korean. The soft-K in Korean is actually halfway between a G-sound and a K-sound.

Ju (pronounced joo, or pretty much the same as "jew") is the Korean word for "state" and this especially pertains to use with US states.

Thus, California State becomes California-Ju.

Koreans also love shortening words (or perhaps more accurately, they hate pronouncing long words).
So Gah-lee-poh-nee-ah Ju, becomes GaJu.

The name of the market is technically California Market, but is known to the community as GaJu Market (or in Korean, Ga-Ju Mah-Ket).

There's your Korean-American cultural lesson for the day.

Freelance Superhero

I never knew that. Thanks man.

Hopper1

Korean BBQ is a style of restaurant, where you can order different meat dishes and grill them at your table.

Bulgolgi refers to the semi-sweet marinated thin slices of beef that can be grilled or cooked in a pan as per Crissy's recipe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_cuisine quick rundown of Korean Cuisine.

__________________
To alcohol! the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.

-Homer Simpson
Flickr

tweeteresa

this thread is making me hungry! i might just have to marinate some tonight...

Freelance Superhero

Whoa... there's an old face I haven't seen around here in a while...

=112=

shawn is right about "gaju". every korean market i've been to has bulgogi and galbi in the meat section. not the butcher/glass case section, but the pre-packaged meat section. they usually come in those plastic to-go containers. if you know which market you want to go to, i could call for you and find out exactly what they have or where they have it (hopefully they'll tell me). sometimes they only have galbi, or maybe they just ran out of bulgogi when i got there.

there's korean markets all over southern california, so you don't have to drive to k-town. maybe there's a closer k-market near you.

if you have time, i think making your own would be the best option. sometimes the quality of the meat isn't that great.

DaFunkyUnit

oh snap! I didn't even realize it....

i mean, I knew it was you, but I typed out KimchiCowboy's name in the response instead....

sorry about that!

tweeteresa

u can also do the shortcut route and buy the meet and marinate. it's at any asian market. i've actually seen this in ralphs as well.