Korean BBQ
By Michael · from our van kitchen
Korean barbecue has become one of our favorite family meals on the road. The first time I did it in the van was the night we got to VanFest in Florida, with a brand new grill pan I’d never used. It was pitch black and in the 50s outside, so we cooked inside. A couple of nights later, at a campground outside Orlando, we did it again, this time outside at the picnic table.
Watch me make it at the campground. The VanFest version is in this video.
What we put on the grill
It’s a simple dinner. At the campground we had short ribs, marinated pork and squid, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, corn and steamed egg. At Silver Springs we did three proteins, bulgogi, pork belly and shrimp, plus short ribs. The short ribs were LA galbi from a Korean supermarket in Orlando, on sale for $9.99 a pound. The packs are big, about $40, so I picked the one where the marbling looked really good. That market also had a lot of meat already marinated, nicely packed, which makes this easy.
At VanFest I couldn’t find short ribs, so I grilled one ribeye straight and sliced the other one up and marinated it in a Korean barbecue sauce from the supermarket. The marinated beef came out pretty tender. The plain ribeye I overcooked a little because I was too busy doing a bunch of stuff. If you want a ribeye done right, here’s how I cook a steak. I also put a little beef tallow on the grill before the meats.
Spencer’s on corn duty
Spencer helps every time. He lines the corn up around the side, Rina puts the cheese on, and at Silver Springs he peeled and cut the garlic. When I asked him what his favorite was, steak or corn, it was the cheesy corn.
What I’d do differently
Marinate the short ribs longer. At the campground I didn’t give them enough time and they were just not flavorful enough. The steamed egg came out really fluffy at VanFest, but it needed a little more seasoning, so add some salt. And get kimchi. The first two times we didn’t have any and kept saying we should have gotten some. At Silver Springs we finally did.
Cooking inside worked, but it’s better outside. Outside, though, we had one flame in the middle, so it wasn’t as hot as the stove and the sides cooked slowly. It still all cooked eventually.
I think this is going to be one of our campground meals moving forward. We have the pan and the camp stove. All we need is marinated meats, and we can do this anytime.
Ingredients
Meats
- LA galbi (beef short ribs), marinated
- Marinated pork and squid (we bought it already marinated at a Korean supermarket)
- Bulgogi
- Ribeye, sliced and marinated in a store-bought Korean barbecue marinade
- Shrimp
- A little beef tallow for the grill
Veggies
- Zucchini
- Mushrooms
- Eggplant
- Garlic cloves
Cheesy corn
- Corn
- Butter
- Shredded cheese
Egg for the rim
- Eggs
- Water
- Chicken bouillon
- Butter
- Salt
On the side
- Kimchi
Steps
- Shop at a Korean supermarket if you can. That's where we find the short ribs and the marinated meats. At a regular supermarket we couldn't find short ribs at all, only a bottle of Korean barbecue marinade.
- Marinate the short ribs before you start, and give them enough time. I didn't marinate mine long enough once and they didn't have enough flavor. I take out as many as we'll eat that night and put the rest in the freezer.
- Set the grill pan on the camp stove. Make sure it sits flat and steady. If you're on a slope, put the oil catch tray on the low side. If you're cooking inside, turn the exhaust fan on first.
- Put the corn in the channel around the side of the pan, butter it up, and sprinkle cheese on top. Let the cheese get a little crispy.
- Mix the eggs with water and chicken bouillon, mix again right before you pour it in, and pour it into the egg ring on the rim with a little butter. Add a little salt. Ours needed more seasoning.
- Veggies go on first: zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant and the garlic cloves.
- Add a little beef tallow, then the meats. Keep the raw stuff on one side.
- Don't wait for everything to be done. Eat things as they're ready, and cut the meat with barbecue scissors right on the grill.
- Watch the heat. With one burner in the middle, the sides cook slowly. On a stove with three burners, I turn off the two back ones so the cheese doesn't burn and move the meats to the front.
Amounts are what I said in the video. Where I didn't measure, it says "to taste". Cook it your way.
