Bulgogi
Updated May 29, 2024
- Total Time
- About an hour, plus time to marinate
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1pound well-marbled, boneless sirloin, tenderloin or skirt steak
- 4large garlic cloves
- 1cup peeled, chopped ripe Asian or Bosc pear
- ¾cup finely chopped onion
- 1teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 1scallion, chopped
- 2tablespoons soy sauce
- 1tablespoon roasted sesame oil
- 1tablespoon light brown sugar or honey
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- ½teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
- 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)
To Serve
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Preparation
- Step 1
Wrap beef in plastic wrap or butcher paper and place in freezer for 1 to 2 hours to firm up.
- Step 2
Cut beef across the grain into thin slices. If cooking in a skillet, slices should be less than ⅛ inch thick; do not worry if they are a bit ragged. If cooking on the grill, uniform slices, ⅛-inch thick, are best.
- Step 3
In a food processor, combine garlic, pear, onion and ginger and process until very smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
- Step 4
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.
- Step 5
When ready to cook and serve, prepare garnishes. Lettuce leaves should be mounded in a large basket or platter; small dishes can hold remaining garnishes. Keep vegetables cold.
- Step 6
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. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately, directly from the skillet (this will keep the meat hot). If using a charcoal or gas grill, heat to high. Working in batches if necessary, place the sliced meat on the grill and cook, turning often, just until cooked through and browned, about 2 minutes. If desired, heat an empty cast-iron skillet and use as a serving dish; this will keep the meat hot. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
To Serve
- Step 7
To eat, lay a lettuce leaf open on your palm. Add a perilla leaf (if using), a small lump of rice, 1 or 2 pieces of meat and any other garnishes on top, then dab with sauce. Fold or wrap the lettuce, making a bundle that you can hold in one hand. Eat in one or two big bites, to get a little bit of everything in each mouthful.
Private Notes
Comments
I am Korean, and I have made bulgogi so many times. This is a good recipe, but instead of pear, you can add grounded pineapple/kiwi that makes meat very soft &tender with natural sweetness. (You can reduce sugar when you do so). Also, you can add mushrooms, bell peppers, and carrots if you would like to! my favorite is adding different kind of mushrooms to bulgogi. if you want to try to add different kind of veggies, it is okay, but add little more of the sauce so it doesnt go too plain.
Just a tweak to the recipe...I spent a yera in the ROK and learned that I love Bulgogi. I also learned something about making it. What I learned is that they also put in a Tbs of soy sauce and use a can of pear nectar, using either a half a pear or no pear at all.
We didn't feel like making this in the little wraps. So I added a heaping spoon of the ssamjang to the hot meat after I finished cooking it and served the beef over steamed short-grain rice with some shredded carrot and cucumber on top. Delicious one-bowl dinner.
This recipe should be named how to ruin your cast iron skillet
Meat is mush if you make as directed. It’s good mush but no one wants to eat meat mush. I’m not sure how to fix. Wish the top comments would have addressed this. Was a lot of work.
This looks nothing like the picture when made. It is basically a steak soup. I would suggest separating the sauce from the meat as much as possible, and then grilling. Cooking instructions do not produce the desired result. That said, it was fairly tasty though that was also largely due to the supplementary sauce.
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