Korean Beef and the Hudson River Greenway

Posted: June 17th, 2010 | Jessie | | Tags: beef, bikes, bok choy, flank steak, ginger | 1 Comment »

This week I was blessed with having four days off.  Tuesday was my third and since I’d already done most of my errands I had the entire day to devote to fun.  In the morning I finished an overdue library book, watched Food Network Star, and caught up on the food blogs I follow.  In the afternoon I decided to make a jelly roll cake filled with lime curd and blackberries.  I made my grocery list and headed to the fruit stand.  When I got outside though, I realized it was far too beautiful to spend the day inside.

It was warm and sunny, but not too hot so I decided to take a ride on the recently completed Hudson River Greenway path.  Until this year there was one detour around 80th street where you were required to ride up into Riverside Park.  Not really a big deal, but it’s very cool that you can now ride from Washington Heights to Battery Park on one continuous car-free bike path.

The cones signal the recently opened stretch of the bike path.

North of the George Washington Bridge is this unusual Greek-looking pavilion.  I’ve always thought it was beautiful and was so glad to have my camera with me to finally get a picture.  While I was uptown I figured I might as well ride across the George Washington Bridge.

This is the view from the New Jersey side of the bridge.  I’m such a sucker for bridges.  I think they’re so beautiful.

Here’s the view from the bridge.  It’s a very different experience than the East River Bridges since you’re up REALLY high!

This ended up being a 30 mile ride.  Two years ago before I hurt my knees this would be a ride I could do before starting work.  Now this is a pretty long ride for me.  I was starving when I got home.  In the past this would have been a time when I’d get take-out.  But since I have all of my CSA food to eat I felt obligated to make my own dinner.  I thought Korean-style beef would be a great accompaniment to my baby bok choy.  I found both recipes on Epicurious and couldn’t be happier with them.  It’s probably the best dinner I’ve ever cooked for myself.

Korean Marinated Beef

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
1 bunch scallions (white and pale green parts separated from greens), minced (1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
I have garlic scapes from my CSA so I used 1/2 cup of those
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger (I probably used at least 2 tbsp.)
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 lb flank steak, cut across the grain into very thin slices (no more than 1/8 inch thick)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Stir together soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, white and pale green scallions, garlic, ginger, and 2 tablespoons sesame seeds in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add steak and toss to coat, then marinate 15 minutes.

Heat vegetable oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until just smoking, then add steak in 1 layer and sauté, turning over occasionally, until browned and just cooked through, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with scallion greens and remaining 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, then serve with accompaniments.

Keep beef fat in a saute pan.  Use the fat to cook your baby bok choy.

Stir Fried Baby Bok Choy

1 1/2 pounds baby bok choy
2 tablespoons peanut oil I didn’t need this because I used the beef fat
1 (1/4-inch) piece fresh ginger, minced (about 1 teaspoon) (I probably used about 1 tbsp.)
2 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced I used about 4 or 5 garlic scapes
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper Regular pepper is fine

Trim 1/4 inch from bottom of each head of bok choy. Slice bok choy crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Wash bok choy in several changes of cold water and dry in colander or salad spinner until dry to touch.

In wok or large sauté pan over moderately high heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add ginger, scallions, and garlic and stir-fry until aromatic, about 15 seconds. Add bok choy, salt, sugar, and pepper and stir-fry 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon water, cover, and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds. Uncover, stir-fry 5 seconds, then cover again, turn off flame, and let steam in residual heat until just tender, about 30 seconds more. Serve immediately.

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