Image: stu_spivack, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Bulgogi is thinly sliced beef in a sweet-savoury marinade of soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil and pear or apple. Very high heat keeps the beef juicy.
Ingredients
- 600 g beef, sliced very thinly against the grain
- 1/2 firm pear or 1/2 sweet apple, finely grated
- 5 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 1 carrot, cut into fine strips
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- Sesame and rice to serve
Method
- Mix soy sauce, pear or apple, sugar, honey, sesame oil, garlic and pepper.
- Mix beef, onion, carrot and spring onion with the marinade. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Heat a large frying pan until very hot and oil lightly. Cook beef in two batches for 3–5 minutes until browned and just cooked.
- Let excess liquid reduce between batches rather than steaming everything together.
- Sprinkle with sesame and serve with rice.
Tips and variations
- Part-freeze beef for 30 minutes to make thin slicing easier.
- Do not marinate for many hours when using plenty of pear, because it tenderises strongly.
- For tofu bulgogi, use firm tofu and marinate for only 15 minutes.
