The recipe comes from The Paleo Slow Cooker by Arsy Vartanian. Check out her Facebook page at Rubies & Radishes. I usually tweak recipes when I use a cookbook, but not this one. If you like a spicier dish, you could add some red pepper flakes. I did not do this because my son does not like spicy, but I think it would be a delicious addition if you do like spicy.

This recipe uses raw coconut vinegar, which I have not introduced on my blog yet. Coconut vinegar contains 17 health-promoting amino acids, broad-spectrum B vitamins, vitamin C, and naturally occurring FOS (a prebiotic that promotes digestive health). It also has an alkalizing effect in the body, much the same as apple cider vinegar. Although vinegar is an acidic food, when it is metabolized by the body, it becomes alkaline producing. The naturally occurring organic acids found in coconut sap vinegar, provide the body with important minerals such as potassium, calcium, sodium and magnesium. These and other minerals form compounds in the body that convert acid body fluids into alkaline. These are known as alkalizing minerals.

Remember, an acid body is a magnet for sickness, disease, cancer and aging. Eating more alkaline foods helps shift your body’s pH and oxygenates your system. Alkaline foods keep your body healthy and functioning correctly, preventing and combating cancer. Cancer cannot thrive in an alkaline environment.

With cheaper/toughter cuts of meat I always add a tablespoon of  vinegar to my cooking liquids. By doing this, roasts, stew meats and steaks come out tender and juicy every time. The vinegar helps break down meat fibers, making them more tender and flavorful.

I also used coconut aminos for this recipe, which is a healthy alternative to Soy and Tamari sauce. No table salt or preservatives are added — most soy sauces contain sodium benzoate and all contain soybeans (91 percent of soy crops are genetically modified.) The most notable nutritional benefit of coconut aminos is the amino acid content compared to soy-based sauces — commonly described as the building blocks of protein.

Although it’s often lauded as a healthy, cholesterol-free, cheap, low-fat protein alternative to meat, soy is not a health food. Any foods that list soy in any form as an ingredient should be avoided. Soy protein, soy isolate, and soy oil are present in about 60 percent of the foods on the market and have been shown to impair fertility and affect estrogen in women, lower sex drive, and trigger puberty early in children. Soy can also add to the imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. The only soy products fit for human consumption are fermented and organic and you will never find this type of soy in any processed foods.

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Crock Pot Korean Beef (Bulgogi)

Cook Time: 8 hours

Number of servings: 4

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

WholeFoodRealFood.com

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp coconut vinegar or mirin
• 4 tbsp coconut aminos or Tamari
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 lbs flank steak, thinly sliced
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp ghee
• green onion for garnish
• salt and pepper just before serving

Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients except meat, onion and ghee in a bowl.
2. Pour marinade over meat and marinate for at least a few hours or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
3. Remove meat from marinade and let stand to dry a bit.
4. Reserve the marinade.
5. Sauté the onion in the ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat for 5 minutes, until translucent.
6. Transfer to the slow cooker.
7. Turn the heat up to medium high and brown the meat in batches for about 5 minutes each batch.
8. Place in slow cooker.
9. Add the marinade to the slow cooker.
10. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
11. Enjoy!

Notes:

Slice the beef very thinly AGAINST the grain. Meat is made up of bundles of long muscle fibers that are laid out parallel to one another. If you slice parallel to the grain, you end up with long muscle fibers that are tough for your teeth to break through. Slicing thinly against the grain, however, delivers very short pieces of muscle fiber that are barely held together.

Crock Pot Korean Beef (Bulgogi)

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp coconut vinegar or mirin
• 4 tbsp coconut aminos or Tamari
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 lbs flank steak, thinly sliced
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp ghee
• green onion for garnish

1. Mix all the ingredients except meat, onion and ghee in a bowl.
2. Pour marinade over meat and marinate for at least a few hours or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
3. Remove meat from marinade and let stand to dry a bit.
4. Reserve the marinade.
5. Sauté the onion in the ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat for 5 minutes, until translucent.
6. Transfer to the slow cooker.
7. Turn the heat up to medium high and brown the meat in batches for about 5 minutes each batch.
8. Place in slow cooker.
9. Add the marinade to the slow cooker.
10. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
11. Enjoy!

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