Friday, July 13, 2012

Baby's First Kalbi - Korean Baby Food

Baby's First Kalbi
Lil T will eat just about everything.  Oddly enough though, I've definitely noticed a pattern in his disinterest in 'leftovers'.  I work so I tend to prepare his food for a few days.  I steam a bunch of Broccoli or other veg for a few meals ahead of time.  The day of, he will eat his green veg like it's candy.  By day 3, he's throwing it at me saying what I believe is 'bat' or bad.  Sigh.  I don't have the same issue with fruit though.  He'll eat anything sweet with gusto.  Proteins? Well, it's similar to the Veg situation.  He doesn't really like it on day 3.  Man! Who's kid is he anyway?  I love leftovers.  Since vegetarian food can be a bit labour intensive, I used to make big batches and eat it for a few days; soups, salads, stews, sauces.  D on the other hand regards leftovers differently.  He doesn't like to eat something two days in a row but he'll keep leftovers longer than I would.  So what's up with lil T and his aversion to the refridgerated treasure trove.  I reckon he picked it up while we were living with my folks for a few weeks when we moved to #Toronto.  Mom is a zealot about fresh food.  My dad has never had a leftover in his married life.  Lil T better get over it tout suite!

I've been easing the lil dude into 'real' food though.  What I mean is that I'll give him steamed veg or grilled meats or Tofu but I've been very careful about Asian sauces since they tend to have alot of additives.  He's had our Tomato sauce which he adores but Asian food is difficult.  He can't have anything too spicy nor too Salty.  I searched for a while for Organic Soy Sauce with no success.  D said I should use mom's soy sauce.  She makes it from scratch.  I said, well, while I know she's not adding any preservatives, I think she used too much Salt and since she buys her soybeans at the market in bulk, I'm fairly certain they're not Organic or nonGMO.

I have since conceded on the organic bit and at least insisted he get Low Sodium Soy.  I started by sprinkling a bit on his Organic Brown Rice and he just shovelled it in with both hands.  I then asked mom to make some Kalbi for him with Low Sodium Soy.  She also went the extra mile and reduced the amount of sugar.  She's been using Raw or Brown Sugar instead of White for a while but she started to cut that back and replace it with Apple or Pear purée.  That made me particularly happy.  I cooked one bone's worth in the toaster oven on a sheet pan at 375 for 11 minutes.  It's fairly thin so it cooks quickly. 

Success!  Lil dude devoured it with two hands full at all times.  I cut it up into tiny bits.  He only has two teeth for the moment.  You can feel his molars just under the surface so he's never had an issue with chewing.  D reckons he liked the sweetness of the Kalbi marinade.  In anycase, after having him throw some grilled simple Organic Flank Steak at my face last week, I was thrilled. 

 Now I know the food in the photo looks like alot but I cooked extra vegetables in case he didn't like the Kalbi.  I needn't have worried.  He was double fisting while still chewing.  He didn't touch the Sweet Potato.

Side note.  I'm having mom and dad talk to him in Korean but they've both been here for so long that they speak a brutal Korglish.  I have to keep reminding them to say Guk-soo instead of Noodle or Bego-pa-yeo? instead of Hungry-ya-yeo? The one thing I've had to ask my mom to avoid in Korean is Baby Talk for food.  Food in Korean is 'Bap' which also means Rice, probably because we have Rice at every meal.  I still feel funny if I don't get a starch.  Anyhoo, Baby Talk for Food is not 'Bap' which is easy for lil T to say since he only says B words right now, it's 'Mamah'.  My mom insists up and down that Mamah and Mama are different.  Brutal.  But it's confusing for me and T when my mom asks him if he wants 'Mamah'. 

Next up will be some #Korean BBQ Chicken... (similar to Teriyaki).



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