Midnight Moon Bulgogi - Skirt in the Kitchen

Moon Bulgogi, exclusively Skirt in the Kitchen

I’m glad you’re here! Let’s wash and peel potatoes–a pound of russets…

I like to use the old knives, the cruder the better–but mostly, the knives that were my parents’ because I feel like I’m cooking with them when they can’t be here.

I purchased this knife a while back. It has a ceramic blade. I’ve nicked it a time or two so be careful–it’s very sharp!

Now that we’ve rinsed the potatoes and quartered them, let’s cover them with cold water and start cooking!

We’ll sprinkle some coarse salt in the water and cook the potatoes until fork-tender. Let’s add a little bit of butter–like half a stick.

When the potatoes are cooked, steaming hot, let’s drain the water and place them in a medium-size bowl. I love this vintage strainer, even how the paint is chipped. The red is still vibrant and gorgeous–the wire, stunning!

The vintage design of the utensil is practical for straining the size of potatoes that we’ve cut.

We can salt and pepper the potatoes and stir in some softened butter. We’ll have to put a lid on them to keep warm. The meat won’t take long to cook, so the potatoes will set just right.

I like using this knife--usually for cutting a whole chicken–but it’s one of the main knives I find myself grabbing for just about anything. I’ve even cut apples with it! It’s my father’s knife.

I have a pound of beef tip brought to room temperature for bulgogi–a Korean dish.

I want the fat cut away from the meat so there won’t be any gristle when thin strips of beef are grilled tender. I want this to be a delicious experience with tender texture as well as intense flavor.

I cut and brought in some fresh herbs from the garden–yes, even in winter–rosemary, oregano, and thyme! Run your fingers along a main stem. Find which direction of the stem easily takes off the leaves with the movement of your fingers. That’s how I do it. Sound kooky? Probably, but it works!

Let’s get the onion ready!

I want to scatter the herbs over the chopped onion, then add salt and pepper before cooking in the skillet.

I think we should chop some garlic and plenty of peppers from the freezer. I like to freeze peppers because they are easier to slice and chop when frozen.

Get the skillet hot, then put in some olive oil and we’ll toss the meat to slightly brown on a high flame. Consistently move it around in the skillet with a bamboo spoon I have next to the stove.

Remove the meat. Let’s quickly pour in some Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon moonshine, the strawberry flavor with the fruit in the booze. Be careful, stand back–it will try to ignite! Start with 1/4 cup, then a little more. This will get the seared meat drippings off the bottom of the skillet; plus, it will be the robust flavor mixed with the garlic paste, later on, in the cooking process. It’s a series of steps in building such flavors that come together harmoniously.

Next, we’ll saute the onions and peppers with the garlic and herbs. What’s that? Yes, I’m being dramatic–I’m adding green apple! Actually, I think it will be good in the bulgogi sauce. It’ll go well with the garlic sauce. Even though we’ve got fresh garlic in this stir-fry, the garlic sauce has more of a seasoned flavor with a hint of chili. I want, both, to compliment the dish. The apples will soften enough and become like a vegetable. Let’s add more moonshine to the vegetables, but first, stir in a few tablespoons of Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic Sauce. Even 4 or 5 tablespoons won’t hurt a thing. We’ll taste as we go, to adjust the ultimate flavor.

Let’s put the meat back in! We’re rockin’ the bulgogi! Doesn’t this look good?! Thicken the sauce by allowing it to cook down a minute or two on a slightly lower heat, but still on a high flame. Add some dark brown sugar, more moonshine, and a little bit of HOT water. The hot water will keep the over-all taste of the sauce from getting too strong, and it will prevent the food from sticking. Be careful not to add too much hot water, though. This is going to be amazing–you’ll see and taste what I mean. Taste to adjust for possible additional garlic paste, salt, and pepper.