Korean-style grilled beef BBQ

This recipe for grilled beef (soegogi-gui: 쇠고기구이) is Korean barbecue at its most essential! You probably experienced this kind of meal if you’ve ever been to a Korean barbecue restaurant. There is a blazing tabletop butane burner, sizzling beef (or pork) on a grill pan, a few side dishes, a little booze, and soup (or stew) and rice to finish!

Today I’m showing you how to prepare a Korean BBQ table and grill beef and how to enjoy it.  I’ve been eating this way with my family at home for a long time. I usually prepare these 5 things for BBQ night: of course meat but also green onion salad (pajeori), a bowl of sliced garlic and green chili pepper, ssamjang, and sesame oil dipping sauce. I also add other side dishes on the table (like kimchi), and we eat ssam-style, wrapping the meat in lettuce leaves with the pajeori, garlic, sliced green chili pepper, and ssamjang.

The meat is precut into small pieces so they cook quickly and can be easily wrapped in lettuce. Ssamjang can be made a little in advance but the pajeori and sesame oil dipping sauce have to be made right before you eat. You can also serve with cucumber and carrot sticks for dipping in the ssamjang.

Korean barbecue is traditionally cooked and eaten at the table, but if you don’t have the setup like I have in the video, you can cook the meat in the kitchen and then bring it to the table. I can guarantee that whether made on the stove or at the table, Korean BBQ at home is better and cheaper than at any restaurant. The best part of Korean barbecue is sitting around the table cooking, talking, drinking, and telling stories!

I prepared spicy stuffed cucumber kimchi (top right) and potato side dish (bottom right) in the video. 

Ingredients

Makes 2 servings.

For the beef & marinade:

• 1 pound rib eye steak (or tenderloin, sirloin, skirt steak), cut into bite sized chunks (about ½ x 1 inch pieces)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

For ssamjang:

• ¼ cup doenjang
• 1 tablespoon gochujang
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons sugar (or Swerve sweetener)
• 1 tablespoon toasted toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

For the sesame oil dipping sauce:

• 2 tablespoons toasted toasted sesame oil
• kosher salt
• ground black pepper

For the green onion salad (pajeori):

• 7 to 8 green onions, cut into 3 inch long crosswise and shred thinly lengthwise, soaked into cold water
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar (or Swerve sweetener)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar

On the side, for the Ssam wraps:

• Green lettuce, washed and drained
• 5 to 6 large peeled garlic cloves, cut into 1 or 2 times lengthwise
• 2 green chili peppers, cut into ½ inch long

Directions

Marinate beef:

1. Place the beef in a medium-sized bowl. Add salt, ground black pepper, and sesame oil. Mix well and gently by hand.
2. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make Ssamjang:

1. Place all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix them well with a spoon until the sugar is well dissolved.
2. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the green onion salad (pajeori):

1. Drain the soaking green onion through a strainer set in your sink.
2. Rinse the green onion under running water, turning it over by hand for 10 seconds.
3. Drain well and transfer to a bowl.
4. Add the hot pepper flakes, soy sauce, sugar (or Swerve), vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Mix all together with a spoon.
5. Serve right away.

Prepare the garlic and peppers

1. Put the sliced garlic and green chili pepper in a small and shallow bowl.
2. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the sesame oil dipping sauce

1. Place 1 tablespoon sesame oil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of ground black pepper in a small bowl.
2. Make another dipping sauce like this for the other person eating with you. Serve right away.

Set the table

1. If you’re cooking at the table, put your gas burner and grill pan (or grill plate) in the middle. Put the marinated beef, lettuce, ssamjang, green chili pepper and garlic on the table, too.
2. Divide the green onion salad between 2 small plates, and place one plate at each place setting.
3. Place 1 bowl of sesame oil dipping sauce at each place setting.
4. If serving rice and side dishes, arrange them in bowls on the table.

Cook and eat

1. If you’re cooking at the table, turn on the gas burner and heat up the grill pan. If you’re cooking on the stove heat up a grill pan or a skillet over medium-high heat.
2. When the pan is hot, add the beef and cook for about 1 minute until the bottom is lightly browned. Using tongs, turn the meat over and cook another minute or more depending on your taste.
3. If you want your garlic cooked, you can add it to the grill pan and cook until lightly browned. Transfer the cooked beef and garlic to a plate and serve. If grilling at the table, you can also take the meat off the grill with your chopsticks when you see a piece that is done to your liking.
4. Put a lettuce leaf in your hand. With chopsticks in your other hand dip a piece of beef into the sesame oil dipping sauce, then place it on the lettuce. Add some green onion salad, raw (or cooked) garlic, sliced green chili pepper, and ssamjang. Fold the lettuce leaf over to wrap it all up. The wrap should be small enough to eat in one bite, just pop it in your mouth.
5. Eat the rest of the meat this way, with the rice and side dishes.

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