Galbi

GALBI

Cooking did not come naturally to my mom’s side of the family. In the Philippines, the family had a cook who prepared all their meals. None of them learned how to cook until they immigrated to the US. To this day, my mom barely cooks; if she does, it’s as minimal as possible. When galbi was introduced to our family gatherings many moons ago, it was something my mom & any one of my time-strapped family members could easily prepare, thus becoming a mainstay at the table of every family gathering.

I’m not exactly sure how or when galbi was first introduced to us. The Bay Area is a melting pot so it’s not far-fetched to believe that it was introduced by someone’s coworker or by going out to eat. I suspect it was my aunt who started it—she was always out “gallivanting” according to my Grandma & the one that cooks the most out of the siblings. When she learned & shared how easy it was to make, the rest is history. As simple as it was, my mom always had a million things on her plate so sometimes I would take over the prep duties. All it required was taking the short ribs out of the packets, placing them into a plastic bag, dumping jarred marinade into the bag & shoving it into the fridge until it was time to cook. We would line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up & bake until the meat was nicely caramelized.

Instead of using the jarred marinade, I wanted to try to make it from scratch. I took a little bit of creative license & subbed @sibeihosibeiho sambal since I didn’t have gochujang. You can probably decipher all the ingredients from the picture—just process them all together until smooth, pour over the short ribs & marinate overnight. The next day, just grill & enjoy. Again, this isn’t a traditional Noche Buena dish, but it’s been a part of my food memories for so long. This also serves as a reminder that while it is important to preserve traditions, it’s also okay to throw something new into the mix & make some new, delicious memories in the process.

@nomnom_nori & @triciasanmateo are going to continue the series by sharing their Noche Buena memories in the coming weeks. In the meantime, stay cozy and cook something delicious!

🖤Jane