Korean Barbeque: Bulgogi

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It's official True-To-Your-Roots Day!

Not really. But look at me being a good little Korean girl.

Bulgogi (or pulkoki, as it sounds to NS of English) is a classic meat dish that is kind of a special occasion food. It's like steak; it's something you make once in a while if you're feeling cool or have guests over, but it's not something you eat every day. It's like the thing your mom would make when you come home from college for a weekend (except for me...i always request Sam Gyup Sal).

Bulgogi is also something most foreigners like to eat because it's really user-friendly. And it's about to get friendlier, cuz your friendly korean friend is gonna show you how it's done.

You will need:
-1-1.25 lbs of beef (sirloin is what i use)
-1 small onion, chopped
-handful of garlic cloves (i use like 5-6)
-1/4 cup pear or apple, grated
-1/ cup carrots, grated
-1 tbsp sugar
-2 tbsp sesami oil
-1/3 cup soy sauce
-black pepper

1. First you take some beef and stack it up like this.


No I'm just kidding, you don't have to stack it. Slice the beef (against the grain) into small pieces like this.



2. Then you add some chopped onion to the beef. Then press the garlic cloves into the bowl. It's fine if you don't have a grater, just chop real finely. Mmm garlic.


3. Grate time: grate a section of a pear into the mix.


4. Grate time deux: grate some carrots into the mix too.


It should look like this once you're with all the grating and pressing.


5. Then throw in the sugar. Stream in your sesame oil.


Mmm nothing smells better than sesame oil. Oh, and if you don't use sesame oil every day like my parents do, you'll want to store your oil in the fridge right next to your ketchups and salad dressings. fyi. i've had so many bottles of sesame oil go bad cuz i didn't know you had to do that. Back at home, we go thru sesame oil like water, so that was never a concern. But now you know.

6. Pour in the soy sauce.


7. Add a generous sprinkle/shake/pour of black pepper. Now! It's time to mix. If you are squeamish about touching raw meat, use a sandwich bag as a glove while you mix it around with your hands. I am not so shy. But everyone has their thing. Once you're done mixing, it should look like this:


I usually leave the stuff sitting out on the counter (if less than 30 minutes till cooking time) or in the fridge (30 min to 2 days till cooking time). After marinating, it's time to cook!

Since I cook just for myself, I divided this recipe into 5: I put 3 servings in zipper bags and put them in the freezer to eat some other day. The other 2 servings I cooked for tonight's dinner and tomorrow's dinner.

To cook:
Get a frying pan super hot with some oil on it. Dump the meat into the pan and stir around. The meat is sliced thin, so it won't take more than 5 minutes to cook.

Mmm. It is so delicious, i can't even tell you. Served over a bed of hot, jasmine rice. Look at this!


Make this for yourself (and your spouse/lover/friend/evil twin) tonight. It seriously takes no skill and no time whatsoever. Enjoy!