BULGOGI - MARINATED KOREAN BEEF 🇰🇷

What comes to your mind when you think about South Korea? Perhaps for many, it’s Kpop and Korean BBQ. For me, it’s definitely the FOOD - not just Korean BBQ, but all of it! Just thinking about all of my favorite childhood Korean food dishes makes me drool from the corner of my mouth! When I was younger, my mom used to make us Bulgogi quite often that it was nothing special.. It’s funny, I’ve taken Korean food for granted all my life until I moved to Germany. Now, all I crave is Korean food and I wish I would have bulgogi already made at home and Korean side dishes would be available in my fridge :’(

If you haven’t tried Korean food, let me tell a bit more about it. Korean food is very flavorful and because of the the variety of dishes served together, it is a combination of savory, nutty, tangy, and a bit of sweetness. Depending on what you eat, it honestly feels like a discovery channel in your mouth where there are so many taste profiles that come through as you eat. So, if you haven’t tried Korean food, you must try it!

If you are familiar with Korean food, you’ve probably heard about our oh-so-famous bulgogi. It’s a very flavorful and tender marinated beef. It has all the flavors of Korean food! The aroma is full. It’s soy sauce based marinade with the garlicy flavor, juicy carmelised onions, and sweetness. If you have never tried Korean food, this is a great first dish to try! I have never met anyone who didn’t like bulgogi.

The key of this recipe is the marinade. It’s sweet and savory! The marinade contains ingredients which helps to tenderise the meat. Bulgogi usually requires using Korean pear to help tenderise the meat but these are quite hard to find sometimes. I have not come across these pears in Germany so I did some digging and found kiwis as an awesome alternative! Kiwis are a powerful meat tenderiser and it also gives some additional sweetness to the dish. So, I’m here to share it all with you so you can enjoy it with me!

It’s easy to make and you don’t need to go to a restaurant to eat it anymore!

-Ari Yori

BULGOGI - MARINATED KOREAN BEEF RECIPE

prep time: 10 minutes (if already have pre-sliced beef)

20-25 minutes (including slicing your beef)

marinate time: 1 hour - overnight

cooking time: 10-15 minutes

portion: 3 servings as a main entree

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INGREDIENTS

1 pound (450g) marbled rib-eye (entrecôte) - sirloin/tenderloin/skirt steak substitute, very thinly sliced

Marinade:

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp (20g) kiwi, finely minced into puree (if you can find Korean pear, use 1/4 cup of it)

1/4 tsp ginger, grated

1 large onion, thinly sliced

3 green onions, cut in 1.5 inches long from bottom end until 2/3 of the onion. cut the green part in thin slices

3 tbsp (35ml) soy sauce

2 tbsp (20ml) rice cooking wine mirin (any red wine or shaoxing wine or sake substitute)

1 tbsp (10ml) toasted sesame seed oil

1 tbsp (8g) brown sugar (white sugar substitute)

1 tbsp rice syrup (honey substitute)

1/2 tsp black pepper

salt

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds for garnishing

Serve with:

Rice

Lettuce leaves (optional)

Ssamjang, Korean meat dipping sauce (siracha substitute or omit)

DIRECTIONS

1. If you were not able to get a hold of thinly pre-cut beef slices, then you’ll have to cut it yourself. First, place your beef into the freezer for 3-4 hours so it is firm enough for you to cut it easier with a knife. With a sharp knife, cut it as thinly as you can against the grain. If you break the meat, that is perfectly fine! The thinner the better! Place your sliced meat into a bowl.

2. In a bowl, prepare your marinade by adding garlic, pear, ginger, soy sauce, mirin, sesame seed oil, sugar, rice syrup, black pepper and salt.

3. Pour in the marinade into the sliced meat. Then add half of the onion slices and the 1.5 inch pieces of the green onion. Leave the half of the onion slices and the thin green onion slices for later when you cook the meat.

4. Cover the bowl and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour to overnight. If you marinate it overnight, it will be even better!

5. Place your cast iron pan (or any skillet) over medium heat and lightly drizzle with cooking oil. Add the thinly sliced onions until they are translucent or caramelized. Then add the marinated beef until it is cooked through. Give it a taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Because of the marinade, it will produce some delicious juice broth. I personally like to have some bulgogi broth because I like to mix in with my rice. Or, you can cook it a bit longer and reduce juice down - this will make the bulgogi flavor more intense and the meat slightly more crispy. Depends on what you like!

6. Once the meat is cooked to your liking, sprinkle some of the chopped green onions, sesame seeds and lightly drizzle some sesame seed oil.

7. Serve with a bowl of rice, ssamjang and lettuce leaves. To make ssam, take a lettuce leaf and add a tbsp of rice, some beef and ssamjang then wrap it and eat it as a whole! This is a true party in your mouth packed with flavour(s)!

PRO TIPS

• Make sure you cut the the beef against the grain! Assess your cut of beef and see the direction the beef muscle fibres are running and you want to cut against it. This will shorten the fibres, rather than cutting in the same direction that they run. This will make the the meat more soft and not rubbery!

• Be careful with ginger! If you add too much it can overpower the dish.

• Taste the beef while you are cooking and see if you need any additional salt & pepper. If you feel like something is missing, it is probably because it is not seasoned enough.