Korean Beef Bulgogi (VIDEO)
This quick and easy Beef Bulgogi is a great way to make authentic Korean BBQ at home! The beef has a sweet and savory marinate that tenderizes and adds so much flavor to the beef - perfect over rice!
Servings: 6
Equipment
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 Korean pear cut into large chunks
- 1 medium onion cut into large chunks
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 lb thinly sliced steak I used ribeye; you can also ask your butcher for steak sliced 3mm or 1/8" thick
Ingredients to marinate with beef
- 1 white onion thinly sliced
- 3 green onions cut into 2" pieces
- 2 tbsp neutral oil divided
- sesame seeds optional garnish
Instructions
- To a blender or food processor, add cubed Korean pear, onion, garlic, ginger, and water. Blend until smooth.
- Use a cheese cloth to strain out the pulp and leave the juice in a large mixing bowl. To the strained liquid, add light soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, sesame oil, and black pepper. Mix until the sugar has dissolved, then add the thinly sliced beef, thinly sliced onions, and green onions. Mix and marinate for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Over high heat, add a tbsp of oil to a large pan. Cook half of the beef bulgogi in batches until the liquid has evaporated and the beef and onions are nicely caramelized, about 4-5 minutes. Remove to a plate and repeat with the rest of the oil and bulgogi.
- Serve with freshly steamed rice and garnish with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.
Video
Notes
Strain Your Marinade to Remove Pulp - This is a KEY step in making your marinade - so do not skip it! The blended marinade will have the pulp of all of your ingredients, which you do not want to use. (Otherwise, when you are cooking your Korean Beef Bulgogi, you'll also be cooking the pulp of onions, ginger, pear, etc.) Use a cheese cloth or a fine mesh strainer to strain the pulp into a large mixing bowl - you should be left with only the juices.
Marinate for at least 4-8 hours (overnight is best)!
Avoid Over-Crowding When Cooking - Make sure to cook the beef in smaller batches to maintain the heat in your pan. Because the marinade has sugar from multiple sources (Korean pear, mirin, brown sugar), you will be able to caramelize your Korean Beef Bulgogi and get delicious crispy edges. However, if you cook in too large batches, the excess water will end up steaming/boiling your meat instead.
Storage -
Marinated beef (not cooked): 4-5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator or 2-3 weeks in an airtight container or freezer safe bag in the freezer - I recommend portioning out your meat BEFORE freezing it; otherwise you will need to defrost all of it at once.
Cooked beef: 2-3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1129mg | Potassium: 120mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 61IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg
