Bulgogi

Bulgogi is a traditional Korean Barbeque dish.  I decided this was something I had to try after hearing of it from a friend.  I wasn’t disappointed and you won’t be either.  It is typically cooked on a grill so don’t be afraid to give that a go.  I, however, decided to cook it in the wok and was overwhelmed with the copious amounts of flavor this recipe delivered.  Plus, its pretty simple and straight forward.  Rage on.

Marinade

1. 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2. 1 t Garlic Chili Sauce
3. 2 T Sesame Oil
4. 3 T Sugar
5. 2 T Rice Cooking Wine
6. 4 T Soy Sauce
7. 1 t Ground Ginger
8. 1/2 t Pepper

Ingredients

1. 1 lb. Beef, Traditionally it is done with sirloin or other prime cuts of beef.  I chose a chuck steak roast too use.  The cheaper cuts are ok, but you typically want to marinade them longer to help the meat find a more tender texture.
2. 1/4 Onion, sliced
3. 1 Cup Carrot, sliced
4. 2 Green Onions, sliced

Quick Directions

1. Freeze  beef for 20-30 mins, then slice thin.  Cut against the grain.
2. Slice 1/4 of an onion, carrots, and green onion.
3. Whisk marinade ingredients together, toss beef, carrots, onions, and green onions in marinade.  Make sure everything is well coated.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  For cheaper cuts of meat, marinade longer.  Overnight is just fine.
5. Cook in wok on high heat for 10-15  minutes or internal temp of 165.
6. Serve over rice, enjoy!

Detailed Directions

Start by finding that perfect cut of meat.  I went with a 1 lb. chuck roast because I liked the looks of the cut.  The next step is to slice the beef thin.  Placing it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes will help you get it that extra thin slice we want.  However, you should be able to find meat already cut at your local Asian food store if your afraid to cut it yourself.


You want to cut against the grain.  This is actually really important because if you don’t the meat will be chewy.  I’m not the best at figuring out which way the grain is going on a piece of meat like what I used.  So I just did my best and you shouldn’t be afraid to do the same.


Once the beef is cut, set it aside and slice the onions, carrots and green onions.  For this recipe, it isn’t really important how pretty they are sliced.  Just try to keep them all the same size.



Toss everything into the marinade and make sure its coated well.  Since I was using a cheaper cut of meat, I got in there with my hands and made sure it was all covered.  I wrapped it and marinated for an hour in the refrigerator.  I was impatient and hungry, otherwise I would have given it a few hours to allow that flavor to really find its way into the meat.

Now the fun part!  Toss it in your wok on high and let the cooking begin.  This is typically done over a grill though, so if you have a grill pan(which I did not) then use that or even better yet, cook it on the grill if you have the proper pan to use in that situation.


Keep stirring and  flipping until all of the red color is gone from the meat.  This should take about 10-15 minutes and because the meat is so thin, you will know its done once all of the color is cooked out.  If you are a worrier, get out the thermometer and look for a temp of 165.


Dish it out over a bed of rice and serve.  And don’t forget to enjoy!

Typically this is done on a grill, but you can always improvise when needed.  The marinade provides a sweet and flavorful product with just a hint of heat.  I rather enjoyed making this dish and plan to figure out a way to make it into a burger next…because everything is awesome as a burger.  Hey, remember to rage on!