Bulgogi Korean Style Grilled Beef

Moooooooo!

Seems like I've been on a Korean food kick.. hiyaaaa!

As I mentioned in my last post, one of the dishes that comes to my mind when dreaming of Korean BBQ is Bulgogi. 

Bulgogi is the kind of dish everyone enjoys and every family seems to have their own recipe. I can't say there is a correct way to prepare the marinade, but there are definitely tons of options. I've come across recipes that use corn syrup as the main sweetener, while I have ordered plates of bulgogi in restaurants that had entire pieces of sliced oranges, indicating that oranges and orange juice can also be used. My favorite combination includes both asian pear and kiwi. As I also mentioned in my galbi recipe post, I like to add Korean pear for its subtle sweetness and kiwi for its warmth. The sweetness of the Korean pear allows us to use less granulated sugar- this causes the final product to be sweet, but not cloyingly so. 

Thinly sliced beef- ribeye and sirloin are appropriate picks for this dish- is marinated in a deliciously sweet and savory mélange of soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, Korean pear, kiwi, black pepper, sugar, scallions, and a kiss of rice wine. The marinade is strikingly similar to the galbi marinade- however, the ratios are adjusted differently. Because of the kiwi in the marinade, I do not allow the mixture to marinate past an hour. Especially since the beef is thinly sliced, the acidity in the kiwi will cause the meat to break down too much, resulting in a dry and mushy texture. We want our meat to still feel like meat! The reason why I marinade the galbi overnight is because the cut of meat is thicker, plus the bones are left in- therefore it can withstand the acidity of the kiwi.

The Cast. Some of the cast members didn't make into the family portrait. Those would be rice wine, black pepper, sesame oil, sugar, and our main character, LE BOEUF.

Bulgogi marinating

Frying time. Don't forget to give it time to sit and caramelize for a bit before stirring too much.

The Recipe

1 pound thinly sliced sirloin or ribeye

1/2 yellow onion

3 tablespoons sesame oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine

1 tablespoon sugar

2 scallions

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon black pepper

1/2 korean pear

1/2 kiwi

1. First, remove the meat from the packaging. I like to use thinly sliced beef (the kind you buy in packages for shabu shabu) instead of slicing the beef on my own. Ain't nobody got time for that!

2. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut the mass of sliced beef randomly so that the beef is no longer in individual slices, but shaggy and broken up. This will help the meat to absorb the marinade better.

3. Slice the onions thinly, mince the garlic, and grate the pear and kiwi. Next, slice the scallions and separate the white part from the green. Place all of the ingredients, except for the green part of the scallions, into a large bowl and add in the sugar, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper.

4. Add the beef into the marinade and let it sit for one hour. 

5. In small batches, and without removing any of the onion slivers, fry the beef in a hot skillet coated with oil. I like to use canola oil for this, as its flavor is neutral and will not change the taste of the meat. Make sure to let the beef sit for a few minutes here and there so that the edges can caramelize.

6. When plating, sprinkle the green part of the scallion over the top and grind some extra black pepper over the dish if desired. Serve with white rice and side dishes. You can also spoon some into a toasted corn tortilla and top with chopped kimchi to make a taco!

I'm going to post this photo again to make you drool. Just kidding, we were so hungry we didn't bother to take more photos before digging in!

Happy eating!

XOXO,

The Bustling Cook