Korean beef bulgogi is marinated for a few hours, making it very tender, and then cooked quickly and dipped into sauce before eating. The marinade plus the dip provide the dish with a ton of flavour. We served it on white rice with a spicy kimchi, purple pickled cucumbers, and a cucumber salad. The only tricky part was getting the beef sliced really thinly.
It was fun to go to the Asian supermarket and choose some prepared pickled side dishes. I also bought an Asian pear that I was going to cut into matchsticks as a garnish, but totally forgot about it.
I found this in a cookbook called The Global Grill by Kathleen Sloan. It serves six people.
What you need for the beef marinade:
- 2 & 1/2 pounds (just over a kilogram) beef strip loin
- 1/2 cup light light sauce
- 1/2 cup dark soya sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 green onion, finely chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger root
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted and ground
What you need for the dipping sauce:
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 green onion, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons dark soya sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons rice wine or mirin
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted and ground
- 1 tablespoon hot chili sauce (I used sriracha)
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon bean paste
What you need for serving:
- rice (we used 2 cups of jasmine rice)
- sesame seeds for garnish
- green onions for garnish
- side dishes such as kimchi, pickled vegetables, salad
What you do:
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a container with a lid.
- Slice the beef as thinly as you can, using a very sharp knife. If you put the beef in the freezer for about 20 minutes before slicing it is easier to get the thin slices.
- Cover the beef with the marinade and refrigerate for about four hours.
- Combine all the ingredients for the sauce.
- Return the beef to room temperature before cooking.
- Preheat a grill or frying pan to high heat. Cook the beef for about 1 & 1/2 minutes per side. Serve it right away with the dipping sauce.
This sounds wonderful, I think I’m going to make it this weekend. 🙂
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it!