I made this recipe a few weeks ago after someone mentioned it as their favorite dish. WHAT!?! I had never heard of it before; my daughter had not only heard of it but actually had it in Korea WHAT!?! Hers was in a bibimbap bowl over rice and assorted vegetables. Why has she not made it since being home? it’s been years; I have no idea. It was really easy to make and so delicious I am making it again this week. It has so much flavor, a little spicy a little sweet and a little salty; and did I mention super easy what else do you need?
The term Bulgogi in translation means bul (fire) gogi (meat). It is a very popular Korean BBQ dish with thin sliced beef marinated in soy and a few more ingredients. I cooked the beef in my cast iron skillet on top on my stove and it took less than 5 minutes from skillet to plate. There is a marinating process but you could put together quickly in the morning and come home, I mean leave the other room aka home office.
I served mine over rice and topped scallions and sesame seeds. that was the most common way I saw online. Some other options would be some kimchi, turn it into a taco with a lightly dresses slaw or a some quick pickle veggies. I have some steamed buns in the freezer and I think a bulgogi steamed bun sounds pretty fantastic. I might have give it a try.

Korean Beef Bulgogi
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pound boneless rib eye steak or use shaved steak much easier
- 1/2 small pear peeled and coarsely grated - I chopped mine
- 1/4 cup soy sauce can use reduced sodium
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger fresh grated best but squeeze tube works
- 1 tablespoon gochujang Korean red pepper paste
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil divided - 1 tablespoon per batch
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- If you are using a steak, it is best to freeze for 25-30 minutes so you can slice it thinly enough a whole lot easier. You'll want to slice it 1/4 inch thick
- in a bowl or in a gallon ziploc bag add the pear, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and the gochujang. Mix it all together and if you used a bowl add to a bag along with the steak. Marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight. turn the bag occasionally
- I wanted to mention that cooking the beef goes really fast so you will want to make sure how ever you are serving this you will want to have ready so you can just add the beef and eat!
- Heat 1 tablespoon (save the other tablespoon of oil for the next batch) of oil in a cast iron pan over medium-heat. working in batches, add the steak to the hot pan in a single layer cook, flipping once until charred and cooked through. about 2-3 minutes per side. repeat with the rest of the beef.
- serve immediately, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if you want to
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