COOKING WITH CLORIS--DENG SHIM GUI WITH GUEST AUTHOR JUDYTHE MORGAN

Lucky Cloris is off judging a TV food competition this week. Filling in for her is award-winning author Judythe Morgan, here with a recipe for deng shim Gui, Korean Grilled Steak. Judythe is also an antiques dealer, former public school teacher and one time Department of Army Civilian (DAC), but storytelling is, and always will be, her passion. Read more about her on her website and blog. -- AP

Deng Shim Gui (Korean Grilled Steak)

You’ll find Green Beret Alexander C. (Ace) Cabot ordering this marinated sirloin every chance he gets in my upcoming release Love in the Morning Calm, set in 1960s South Korea.

Ace meets Lily Reed, a Department of the Army civilian (DAC) employed at Headquarters, Eighth Army while on temporary assignment. He’s a high-potential career officer who should resist the temptation of any woman, but he can’t ignore his attraction to her. A firm supporter of the budding women’s lib movement, she isn’t interested in the love-marriage-baby carriage syndrome dominating the era, but finds the Green Beret testing her resolve.

In writing Ace and Lily’s love story, I drew from my experience as a DAC in South Korea. That’s why you’ll find the story sprinkled with cultural details like this delicious BBQ-like dish.

Deng Shim Gui (Korean Grilled Steak)

Ingredients:

2 lb thin tenderloin or sirloin steaks, through any other good steak cut works

salt and pepper

bulgogi marinade (provided below)

Pound meat to tenderize and flatten to about the thickness of a pancake. Score meat on both sides. Season steaks with salt and pepper. Can be cut into 1” strips.Marinate in bulgogi sauce for at least 1 hour. Grill or broil about 2 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the steak.

Basic Bulgogi Marinade

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp chopped garlic (about 2 cloves)

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp fresh squeezed juice from an Asian pear*

1 Tbsp Japanese rice wine*

1 Tbsp sesame oil

3 green onions, finely chopped (including white part)

1 tsp pepper

Mix ingredients together until sugar and honey are dissolved and evenly distributed. Store in refrigerator or freezer for use on beef, pork, and chicken.

*No juicer for the pears? Puree two pears in a blender and then press through a strainer.

*No rice wine? Substitute a splash of dry white wine.

I grill the marinated steak strips on a bulgogi cooker like the one pictured, but you can use any lined barbeque grill or a pancake griddle. The spicy scent as the meat cooks will have you salivating.

Love in the Morning Calm

In the furor of the 60's, when women fought for their rights and men fought the Viet Cong, a young Tennessee preacher’s daughter seeks her liberation only to discover a love that defines her even as it replaces her newfound freedom with responsibility.

Also by Judythe Morgan:

The Pendant’s Promise

Twenty years after they met in South Korea, Lily and Ace meet again. Old passions return, but Alex feels betrayed by Lily’s fabricated marriage and widowhood. Lily believes revealing the truth could cost her the only man she’s ever loved and her daughter. Is the flame of love strong enough to be re-ignited, or, is it too late?

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