Bulgogi

Bulgogi

Thankfully I am adopted and have escaped my culture’s cuisine, because I am not a very big fan of Korean food. Bulgogi is the exception to this rule. It is absolutely delicious, and unlike a lot of Korean dishes, not spicy, steamed, or fermented. The dish gets better the longer it marinates, and tastes best when given a full day to sit.

Bulgogi

Total time: 1 day || Active time: 20-25 minutes || serves 4

·      1 ½-2 lb lean, top round steak (London broil)

·      medium, hard pear, peeled

·      4-5 garlic cloves, peeled left whole

·      2-3 inch cube fresh ginger, peeled and chopped in large chunks

·      ½ cup soy sauce

·      4-5 scallions, trimmed

·      3 carrots, sliced very thin, about 1/8”

·      8-9 medium mushrooms, such as cremini, sliced into thin strips

·      1 medium onion, sliced into thin strips

·      2 Tbsp sesame oil

·      2 ½ Tbsp sugar

·      white or brown rice, for serving

The day before:

Make the marinade. Peel the pear and then cut down each side leaving just the core. Cut each side into 3 pieces. In a blender, add the soy sauce, sesame oil, pear, garlic, and ginger. Pulse until the sauce thickens.

Use a plastic cutting board for this and you will only have to dirty one! Peel and thinly cut the carrots into coins. *Disclaimer: I did not cut the carrots correct in the picture. Further investigation from my mom who makes this dish way more than me lead to me cutting up each carrot way thinner.* Wipe the mushrooms off with a damp cloth and then remove the stem and cut into 5-6 slices. Peel and slice the onion vertically in order to get thin strips. Trim the ends of the scallions, and cut into 2/3” strips.

Wipe off your cutting board and lay the meat out. Trim off any excess fat on the sides. Then, with a sharp knife, thinly slice the beef. Meat cuts best when being cut in two directions, so as you press down, move the knife back. The steak should yield you about 20 or so pieces. From there, you can leave the steak (as I did) or if you want, you can then cut each piece into two smaller pieces, depending on how you like to eat it.

Using a gallon size Ziploc bag, take the steak and the vegetables and put them in the bag. Carefully pour the marinade in the bag.  Add sugar, and gently work into the marinade. It may look like there is not enough marinade, there is! This is why it’s crucial to marinade it overnight; the longer it marinades the better it tastes. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, but a day is prime.

The next day:

Take the marinade out of the fridge; set aside. (the marinade will get darker, and will make more sauce..the benefits of marinating longer!)

In a cast iron skillet, or large non-stick skillet (a wok works best, but I don’t cook enough stir fry to have a wok) heat over medium high heat until pan is screaming hot. (I used a cast iron skillet and it took about 10 minutes to achieve this state) Working in batches, cook the meat and vegetables until the meat is just cooked and the vegetables are just tender. (this is why slicing very thin is necessary!) Put the cooked bulgogi in a large serving dish and cover tightly with foil, adding each time until all the bulgogi is cooked. There should be leftover marinade in the bag at the end of this. Pour it in the skillet and let is boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over the meat and vegetables and serve with rice.

Who knew Korean cooking was so easy?