Riding Shotgun

It has been quite marvelous to see how much Germans enjoy the flavors of soy sauce and chilies.

Most recently, I finished a month long run with the creative team from Mercedes Benz and The Avant Garde Diaries, where we spent all day and all night together curating all the little particulars that go into throwing any type of party. In this case, it was a party for the city of LA at MOCA.  They were from Berlin, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt. The three things that stood out the most in my time with them were:

1. Hilarious dry humor
2. Smoke cigarettes like chimneys
3. Can’t get enough of Korean BBQ flavors.

They were fun dudes with wicked appetites.

Who knew?!

I haven’t had that much interaction with people from Germany in my life.  In college, there were three girls from Stuttgart that stayed at our crib, and it was a blast.  They were walking around naked all the time, having a blast, till they got drunk.  Then they started getting depressed and violent.  Downright scary.

Next morning, they’d make scrambled eggs, though…

I also was really into a Euro Disco band called Bad Boys Blue. Pretty Young Girl on My Mind is one of their most famous jams. Check it if you want to go down memory lane.

Then my uncle ran a diabetes machine company out of Frankfurt for awhile and would always send me pictures of grey, dark, rainy mornings.  Every year he sent different versions of basically the same picture.

Later, in hotels I had some good fortune to work briefly for German chefs and saw the difference in philosophy between the French and the Germans in their approach towards cooking and holding a knife.

During the World Cup, Alemania is always on my mind. Germany is a force in soccer and when they charge down in that black jersey it’s always scary as an opponent.

I drank a lot of Grolzs beers. Is that German?

I’m a Rick Steves junkie.

And I used to love bratwurst more than any man should love cylindrical things..

You know what?  I actually have had a lot of German interaction in my life!  And now on Twitter, I have a new German friend who hopefully will make this Summer a little stinky with some Korean BBQ.

This is for you, Markus.  It’s a little different than a traditional marinade.  This one tastes almost like an emulsified tahini milkshake.  Use it on vegetables or meats or anything.  I hope you enjoy!

Korean BBQ Marinade

2 cups of soy sauce
1 whole onion, peeled, cored, and rough chopped
1 cup full of garlic cloves
1 full bunch of green onions, washed, trimmed, and rough chopped
1 cup of Aji Mirin (use sweet sake or rice vinegar if you cannot find, or omit)
2 cups of fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of pure sesame oil
1/3 cup of toasted sesame seeds
1/2 of an Asian pear or apple (eat the other half yourself)
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
Pinch of black pepper
A splash of champagne or sparkling water or 7-up if you happen to be drinking. Just a tiny splash. If you are not drinking any of the three then don’t worry. Omit.

After you’ve done your due diligence in cleaning and prepping all the vegetables, please put it all in a blender and purée away!  That’s it.

Marinade ready for making friends all Summer long.

Spread the love.

Maybe next time I visit Germany it won’t be only CurryWurst I smell from the streets.

Cheers.