Bulgogi

Hi everybody!
I’m eventually posting a video for bulgogi today. I posted a simple bulgogi recipe a few years ago but it was without a video. Bulgogi is a Korean BBQ dish loved by Koreans and non-Koreans too. The savory beef combined with the sweet, gingery marinade is always a big hit. The word bul means fire in Korean, and goki means meat. So this is “fire meat!”

Delicious bulgogi depends on three things: a good cut of beef, a delicious marinade, and the method you use to cook it. So I am very pleased to release the best bulgogi recipe that I’ve ever made: it has all 3 of these elements.

First, a good cut of beef always makes for delicious bulgogi. I mentioned using steak in the video: sirloin, tenderloin, or skirt steak. But you still can make good bulgogi without these choice cuts. Whatever you use, it’s very important to choose tender, marbled beef: leaner cuts like brisket or flak steak will turn out too tough. Cut the beef thinly against the grain to make it easier to chew, and marinate overnight. The marinade will tenderize the beef and it’ll turn out delicious over a charcoal BBQ.

Secondly, the marinade: the marinade in this recipe is the best that I’ve yet developed. But as I’m constantly experimenting with marinades, I may still develop a better one! I’ll let you know if I do. Feel free to modify the ratios here to your taste, or develop your own marinade. If you do, let me know how it turns out. Also, if you can’t find a Korean pear, use ripe bosc pear: 1 small bosc pear for 1 pound of beef is good. It adds some lovely sweetness to the dish and is effective in the marinade.

Thirdly, when we talk about the best cooking methods, grilling over charcoal will always be the best. This is because the marinade, juices and fats drip off the meat onto the coals, burn up there, and then come back to the beef in a wonderful smoke that covers the meat with flavor. You can’t beat charcoal for bulgogi.

I was invited to my friend’s BBQ party in the Catskills in upstate New York a while ago. About 20 people got together and everybody brought something to grill. I prepared bulgogi beef, spicy pork, and bulgogi mushrooms for vegetarians. I was very excited to shoot the video because it would be a wonderful chance for you to see how you can enjoy Korean BBQ in the best conditions.

Everybody loved my bulgogi! Surprisingly my marinated bulgogi mushrooms got a lot of compliments, too. I was so satisfied to see their happy faces when they tasted it. I can imagine all of your happy faces when you share this with your friends and family.

Also, the recipe for the spicy pork BBQ in this video will be posted soon!

Ingredients

• 1 pound of beef tenderloin, cut into thin slices ½ inch x 2 inches and ⅛ inch thick

Marinade (for 1 pound of beef):

• ½ cup of crushed Korean pear (aka “Asian pear”)
• ¼ cup onion purée
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 chopped green onion
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 2 tbs brown sugar (or 1 tbs of brown sugar and 1½ tbs rice syrup)
• a pinch of ground black pepper
• 1 tbs toasted toasted sesame oil
• several thin slices of carrot

Directions

Marinate the beef

1. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the sliced beef and mix well.

Vegetarian option:

Use the same marinade above and replace beef with mushrooms. You’ll need 10-12 large dried shiitake mushrooms. Add a few white mushrooms if you like them.

1. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water for several hours until they’re soft.
2. Squeeze out any excess water and slice each mushroom thinly.
3. Slice some white mushrooms, carrot, and onion.
4. Mix all of it together in the marinade.

Grill and serve

1. You can grill, pan-fry, or BBQ right after marinating, but it’s best to keep it in the fridge and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight for a tougher cut of beef.
2. Grill over medium-high heat. Best is over an open flame on a grill or cast iron grill pan or skillet, but stir-frying will also work, if that’s all you have.
3. Serve with Korean side dishes (banchan) like kimchi as well as lettuce, ssamjang, and garlic cloves to make lettuce wraps, like I do in the video. Just put some meat on a lettuce leaf with some ssamjang and a clove of garlic, wrap it up and eat it in one bite! Everyone makes their own wrap, one by one, until they are finished.