Sweet & Spicy Ham

I am not one you would call a morning person. The only mornings that I enjoy are ones which I am still awake for from the night before. Anyone who knows me knows that in order for me to wake up while the clock still reads A.M. I need a darn good reason for it. I would love to say that waking up and smelling the roses and listening to birds chirping outside was enough to pull me out of bed excited for the day to come, but alas I would be lying to you. I need something more, something I can truly enjoy and look forward to and for me that’s FOOD! I love everything to do with food. I love to read about it, talk about it, smell it, cook it, and most of all eat it. And now I’m learning to write about it. Since this is my first post I figured what better way to start it off than with a yummy breakfast ham. I take after my mom in so many ways (it’s almost scary) and one thing we both love is the sweet & salty combination in our food. I’m generally not a big ham eater but with this recipe I really just can’t get enough! It’s super simple, fast and trust me, you’ll want it again and again.

Ingredients (for one person):

2 Slices of Ham (I like mine thinly sliced because it gets crispy under the broiler)

1 Tbsp - Brown sugar (packed)

½ Tsp – Chili Powder

¼ Tsp – Cayenne Pepper

Non-stick spray (like PAM)

1. Turn on the broiler in your oven. I set mine to High with the rack at the 2nd closest position.

2. Take a frying pan and toss the slices of ham in to heat them up. It doesn’t take very long.

3. While the ham is frying, mix together the brown sugar, chilli powder, and cayenne pepper on a small plate.

4. Take out a baking sheet and line it with foil and give it a quick once over with the non-stick spray.

5. Once the ham is warmed up take one slice at a time and press into the mixture on the plate. Make sure to get both sides and dust off any caked on sugar; you want a decent coating but not too thick.

6. Place the ham slices on the baking sheet and place it under the broiler for about 1 minute or so then flip the slices over and let it go for another minute. The sugar should be bubbly and

the ham slightly charred at the edges.

I like mine with a couple runny eggs and a small tomato which was put in the broiler with the ham. This is such a simple recipe that anyone can do and tastes so good. It has just the right amount of salty, sweet, & spicy. My mouth is watering just thinking about it...Enjoy!!!

Korean Spicy BBQ Ribs

Some of my best experiments have come from necessity.  We have a chest freezer in the basement and my boyfriend will bring something up and say, "I brought up a roast, let's do something with it this week."  I think, a pot roast would be great.  Later I go and pull the meat out and find out it's not a beef roast but a bag of country style ribs.  Ok, I was in the mood for something spicy anyway.  Do I do the same old dry rub that i always do?  I open the fridge looking for inspiration.  Hey, sometimes it actually works!  I see a brand new bottle of kim chee and realize my mouth really wants some korean flavors.  A few ingredients later and my Korean Spicy BBQ Ribs were born!

1/2 cup ko cho jang (Korean red pepper paste) see below

2-3T Sugar or Honey

1 1/2 T Mirin (Japanese sweet sake)

1 T Shoyu (Soy Sauce)

2 cloves garlic

1 piece Ginger, aprox 1 inch square

1/4 cup Green Onions, green part minced

1 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil

Mix the ko cho jang, sugar (or honey), mirin and shoyu in a bowl until well blended.  You can process the garlic and ginger any way you want.  Minced with a knife, grated through a fine grater or pulverized in a food processor.  Make sure you take the skin off the ginger if using any of those methods.  I like to use the garlic press.  Put the garlic through first, then the ginger.  You don't have to peel the ginger, just cut it into chunks that fit in your press and remove the skin from the press between pieces.  Ok I confess, I have my boyfriend or one of his sons do this for me.  I don't have the strength anymore to use the garlic press.  If they weren't around, I would probably resort to my microplane (like an extra fine grater)

Mix again until well combined and taste.  The measurements are guidelines there are no hard and fast rules.  If you like it a little sweeter by all means add more sweetener. Or more shoyu if you want it saltier.  It should have a subtle "bite" to it.  Add the sesame oil and stir again.

Now take some country style ribs, I use boneless but use what ever you want.  If they are really big you can cut them into smaller pieces.  I like them about 4"-6" long and not much more than 1 1/2 inches on the other  sides.  It's not a hard and fast rule, you can just leave them as is and watch the cooking time.  I pour about half to 3/4ths of the marinade over the ribs and using my hands, massage the paste in so that every piece of meat is well covered.  You can use the whole batch but I like to have some extra for other things (keep reading) so put the rest of the marinade in a clean container and refrigerate for later.  Add the minced green onions and mix again.  Let the meat marinate for at least 2 hours or even better, overnight in the fridge, stirring or flipping occasionally.  I like to take mine out about an hour before I want to start cooking them to let them come closer to room temperature.  Take out of the marinade and lay meat on a baking sheet.  Try to leave at least a little space between the pieces.  Bake at 375 degrees (F) for about 25 min.  Test for doneness with either a meat thermometer or by cutting into one of the thicker pieces.  I don't mind my pork just tinged with pink but they were completely done at this point for me so cook them to the doneness you prefer.  Take out and let stand for a few minutes.

Korean Spicy BBQ Ribs

You can serve this with rice and kim chee.  

I don't do much rice anymore so served this with both japanese soba noodles and shirataki noodles.  Soba noodles are made from buckwheat.  They are my go to pasta.  My favorite readily available brand takes only 3 min once the water boils.  Shirataki noodles are made from yam.  They have no calories, no fat, no carbs, nothing ( the tofu ones have like 5 cal a serving and negligible other stats).  They have always traditionally been served in things like japanese sukiyaki.  They don't have the texture of pasta.  They are more rubbery, but something I grew up with.  They almost remind me of my favorite traditional korean noodle, naeng myun.  I mix some of either with some of the reserved marinade (not the one you actually used on the pork, throw that one out).  Add some cilantro and/or green onions and serve either cold or at room temperature.

I also use the reserved marinade to spice up soups, everything from chicken noodle to ramen.  Just stir a spoonful in to taste.

The pork turned out so well that my boyfriend's son came in saying it was the second best ribs he's ever had.  the other ones are his uncles and evidently a 3 day process.  He came home after work and at the rest of the pan, like 4 or 5 big pieces AND he wants the recipe!  He usually eats so little so it made me happy he liked this so much.

In a couple  weeks we're going to try this on spareribs.  Can't wait!  I used the little bit of pork that was leftover to make bahn mi for dinner tonight too.  Awesome!  That's another blog though.

Note:  Ko cho jang (or Gochujang) is a red pepper and fermented soy bean paste similiar to miso but spicier.  It's thick and gooey.  It may also contain other things like wheat.  You can find it in a good oriental store either on the shelves or in the refrigerated section.  It comes in jars or plastic tubs.  Once opened, I refrigerate it and it keeps FOREVER.