Korean... Bulgogi and Kalbi

I have found some recipes for what I think is Bulgogi on this site, but what I'm wondering more than an exact recipe for both is how the cooking of each differs (although an exact recipe for both sounds good).

I found an Asian market that has both kalbi and bulgogi sliced and ready to go. Both look like excellent looking peices of meat, but after reading around I'm not seeing a huge difference in prep or cooking. I'm guessing since they have different names they should be different in some way other than the cut of meat.

Kalbi is made from narrow crosscuts of shortribs, bulgogi from thin slices of quality beef from a good cut. The marinades are similar--soy, sugar, garlic, onion and/or scallion is common, ginger is often included and they may or may not include fruit, often kiwi, Fuji apple or Asian pear. Sesame oil and/or seeds is often included as well, especiially for kalbi.

Cooking is different. Bulgogi is grilled on a Korean 'fryer', a coal-fired or electric metal-domed cooker (like a rounded smooth-surfaced grill) but it can be stir-fried as an alternative. Kalbi are grilled on an open grate grill over charcoal.

The finish for both is salty-sweet but be careful with the sugar quantity or they end up cloying, a common problem even in places where they should know better. The marinade concntrates as it cooks so it will sweeten further during cooking, something to keep in mind during the making of the marinade.

I picked up some kabli tonight. They actually had a few different cuts of kalbi... not sure which is best I didnt' have time to inspect the differance or even the price. I just grabbed what was handy and ran. I'm looking forward to this because it seems a lot of people really like this stuff.

The crosscuts with their attendent small bone pieces are standard. They hold together well on the grill, necessary since they have to be turned or moved fairly often. I've never ordered kalbi at a Korean restaurant and gotten anything but this cut, but I have seen other cuts offered as kalbi in meat markets--no idea what's up with that.

If you choose to use a fruit component in the marinade and should you choose kiwi remember that fresh kiwi contains enzymes in the vein of pineapple and papaya. A bit shorter marinating time is warranted lest the meat get mushy. You can, however, peel the kiwis, chop, then put in a small pot and cook gently till the fruit releases juices and some of the juices evaporate. This will concentrate the flavor of the fruit and inactivate the enzyme.

Simply put.... excellent. Marinaded them in soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, chili paste, and kiwi and then grilled. Very good and my wife who didn't know what was in the marinade could taste the kiwi flavor print. I was impressed when she asked what made this kinda sweet.

Thanks for the tips and this will be cooked again the future. Fun and tasty.