Bulgogi (Grilled Korean Beef)
I’ve made this recipe a few times but have never written about it – I figure it’s time to finally share! While bulgogi isn’t something I normally order at a Korean restaurant, I do love making it at home. It’s also an easy crowd-pleaser when you have people over. The marinade can handle more meat than the recipe calls for, so if say you wanted to make two pounds of bulgogi, just multiple the marinade ingredients by 1.5x! Here is the original recipe from New York Times:
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound well-marbled, boneless sirloin, tenderloin or skirt steak
- 4 large garlic cloves
- 1 cup peeled, chopped ripe Asian or Bosc pear (I’ve also used an apple in a pinch!)
- 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar or honey
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 sliced white onion and 5 white mushrooms (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
DIRECTIONS:
- Wrap beef in plastic wrap or butcher paper and place in freezer for 1 to 2 hours to firm up.
- Cut beef across the grain into thin slices. If cooking in a skillet, slices should be less than 1/8 inch thick; do not worry if they are a bit ragged. If cooking on the grill, uniform slices, 1/8-inch thick, are best. As an alternative, you can purchase pre-sliced meat from the Japanese or Korean market. For this particular post, I used some beautifully marbled thinly sliced Prime Beef Shabu-Shabu Style Chuckroll from Mitsuwa and it worked perfectly after a couple of trims (they come in long thin strips).
With Sliced Prime Beef Chuckroll - In a food processor, combine garlic, pear, onion and ginger and process until very smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
Bulgogi Marinade - In a bowl or sealable plastic bag, combine steak, marinade, scallion, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar and pepper and mix well. Cover or seal, then refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- If using a cast-iron grill pan or large skillet, heat over high heat. Add all the meat and its juices to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, until most (but not all) of the liquid has evaporated and the meat begins to brown around the edges.
Added Sliced Onions and Mushrooms
TO SERVE:
- Whole, fluffy lettuce leaves for wrapping, such as green leaf, oak leaf or romaine; and whole perilla leaves (optional)
- Any or all of the following: hot cooked short-grain rice; long green hot peppers, sliced crosswise into 1-inch chunks; small peeled garlic cloves; carrot and cucumber spears or sticks, 1 to 2 inches long
- Korean Barbecue Sauce (Ssamjang, see recipe)
The great thing about this recipe is that you still get the sweet-and-savory flavor of bulgogi without added sugar. We served this with sprouted brown rice (only 1/3 cup per meal, thanks to the gestational diabetes), kale sauteed with garlic and sesame, steamed broccoli, and plenty of MSG-free kimchi.
I haven’t made panchan (Korean side dishes) from scratch before, but there are SO many of them and one recipe makes far too much to eat for just one meal (or a couple meals if there are leftovers). I learned my lesson from the batch of Pickled Daikon and Carrot which we STILL are trying to get through. The thought of driving to Koreatown just to pick-up some sides was too much to bear, but luckily Lissette had tipped me off last month about a little Korean market hidden in the valley. I picked up japchae and a plethora of mixed panchan to top off our meal. Thanks again for the tip, LG!
