Easy Korean Beef Bulgogi Recipe
Korean beef bulgogi is such a popular Korean dish but the great thing about it is that it’s super easy to make. With just a handful of tasty ingredients and quick prep time, it’s a sure way to ease your weekly cooking plans with this incredibly tender beef bulgogi. Truly a dish your whole family will enjoy. There’s nothing more satisfying than a perfectly marinated piece of cooked beef that just melts in your mouth and incites your taste buds. That’s exactly the experience you get from this recipe. Having just a few easy steps to prep and cook makes it even more tempting, since it takes away the worry around how much time or difficulty the recipe could bring.
Steak – Thinly sliced flank steak. You can use rib eye, sirloin or even tenderloin. Soy Sauce – I like to use low-sodium to be able to control the sodium level of a dish. Sugar and Honey – Brown sugar and a bit of honey for a little bit of added sweetness. Mirin – If you don’t have mirin or can’t find it, rice vinegar or a dry white wine will work as well. Garlic – 6 cloves of minced garlic to boost the flavor of the marinade. You can also add some minced ginger as well. Green Onion – Cut on the diagonal, this is used in both the marinade and as garnish. Kiwi – Or Asian Pear to help tenderize the meat. Sesame Oil and Sesame Seeds – To add a bit of nutty flavor and to fry our beef in.
This bulgogi recipe is really super simple, but so delicious! Kiwi pulp is used in the marinade as a special tenderizing agent. It’s a little-known secret trick that makes all the difference in the world. Then once marinated, the beef is quickly cooked and ready to eat in just a matter of minutes!
Make The Marinade
To start, you need to get your Korean beef marinade made! So combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, mirin, garlic, green onion, kiwi, black pepper, and sesame seeds in a medium bowl until the brown sugar has fully dissolved. Also, make sure that the kiwi is really mashed up well. And if you don’t have a kiwi you can use a grated Asian pear instead. However, whichever fruit you choose to use must be mashed or grated for the enzyme actinidain in the fruit to tenderize the meat.
Marinate The Beef
Next, add the thinly sliced meat to the marinade and massage it into the beef using your hands. This is a necessary step that helps to infuse the meat with all the flavors of the marinade and tenderizing agent. It’s essential that the beef be thinly sliced because the marinade can’t penetrate thicker sliced meat in the same way. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put the marinating Korean bulgogi beef in the fridge for 30 minutes. This too is an important step as the marinade needs time to do its job. So don’t remove the meat from the marinade until the full 30 minutes have passed.
Cook The Beef
Once your meat is done soaking in the yummy bulgogi marinade it’s time to cook! To begin, heat the sesame oil over high heat in a nonstick skillet until it’s nice and hot. Then cook the meat in batches while stirring constantly until it’s slightly brown on both sides. This will take about 3 to 5 minutes per batch. And do cook it in batches! If you crowd the skillet the meat will not cook as evenly or be quite as tasty.
Garnish And Serve
Now that your steak has been cooked to perfection, you’ll want to eat it right away. Korean Beef Bulgogi is typically garnished with sliced green onions and served over rice along with a side of kimchi.
What Is Beef Bulgogi?
Bulgogi means “fire meat” and it’s basically marinated thin slices of beef or pork and then grilled on a barbecue or stove-top griddle.
What Is The Best Cut Of Beef For Beef Bulgogi?
Usually bulgogi is made with ribeye steak thinly cut, but other cuts that can be used are flank steak, skirt steak, brisket, or sirloin.
What Does Beef Bulgogi Taste Like?
While this dish isn’t really a saucy kind of beef, the beef is marinated in a blend of soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, sesame oil, among a couple other ingredients, giving our beef a salty, sweet and nutty savory flavor.
What Is The Role Of The Kiwi In The Marinade?
The kiwi has a very important role. It is one of the best meat tenderizers, so this is why we end up with a super tender beef. Another option would be to use an Asian pear.
Leftovers
Leftover beef bulgogi, can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.You can also freeze in single portions in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to 3 months. Just reheat in the microwave or oven straight from the freezer.
More Delicious Korean Recipes To Try
Korean Bulgogi PorkKorean Fried ChickenBibimbap (Korean Rice Bowl)Korean BBQ ChickenKorean Beef Stir Fry
Other Delicious Recipes To Try
Mongolian Beef Easy Pepper Steak Prime Rib Roast Beef Beef Mushroom Stir Fry Instant Pot Corned Beef Asian Steak Bites Crispy Sticky Beef Instant Pot Beef Brisket
