Crazy Korean Cooking

Bulgogi, Marinated Beef Sirloin
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Spicyness: 
0
No votes yet
quick n easy
kid friendly
nut free
prep time: 
10 min
inactive time: 
240 min
cooking time: 
10 min
total time: 
260 min

Impress your friends with this simple yet amazing beef dish. You can make a giant batch and just put the whole thing in the oven when preparing for a big party. You can also marinate a large amount and freeze it in smaller portions. Just thaw and throw it on a pan. Pair it with rice and some vegetables or salad. You'll have a most satisfying meal in the snap of your fingers.

Bulgogi is a traditional Korean beef dish which is often served for special occasions and parties although it can be part of daily dining.
The name "fire meat" comes from the traditional cooking method of grilling marinated beef on fire. "Bul" means fire and "gogi" means meat. Today, most Koreans pan-fry bulgogi at home.

Buy Bulgogi ingredients online here.

Impress your friends with this simple yet amazing beef dish. You can make a giant batch and just put the whole thing in the oven when preparing for a big party. You can also marinate a large amount and freeze it in smaller portions. Just thaw and throw it on a pan. Pair it with rice and some vegetables or salad. You'll have a most satisfying meal in the snap of your fingers.

Bulgogi is a traditional Korean beef dish which is often served for special occasions and parties although it can be part of daily dining.
The name "fire meat" comes from the traditional cooking method of grilling marinated beef on fire. "Bul" means fire and "gogi" means meat. Today, most Koreans pan-fry bulgogi at home.

Buy Bulgogi ingredients online here.

INGREDIENTS

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Change serving size to: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Change to: Metric US
11 ozSliced Beef Sirloin 불고기용 등심 (can use other thinly sliced cuts)Buy
⅓ cupSoy Sauce (regular) 왜간장 Buy
⅓ cupSugar 설탕 Buy
1 cup  Water 물 Buy
½ Onion (Medium) 양파 Buy
1 Green Onion 파 Buy
1 tspGarlic (minced) 다진 마늘 Buy
1 tspSesame Oil 참기름 Buy
pinch Black Pepper 후추 Buy
1 tspSesame Seeds 깨 (optional)Buy
1 ozShiitake mushroom (dried) 표고버섯 (optional)Buy
        
tips: 

Optional Ingredients and Substitutions
Sugar: can be replaced with brown sugar, pineapple juice or honey.
Beef: you can use other cuts of beef as long as it's thinly (less than 1/16" or 2 mm) sliced. If it's thicker than that, make sure to marinate overnight. If it's thicker than ¼", you will have to decrease the amount of water so the sauce is saltier. You can also use thinly sliced chicken or pork. For chicken or pork, add ½ teaspoon of minced ginger in the marinade.
Shiitake mushroom: You can use any other types of mushrooms you like or omit it all together. You can also add other vegetables like carrots, mung bean sprouts and broccoli when you cook the beef.
Sesame seeds: can be omitted.

Take it to the next level!
You can add 1 tbs of minced Korean pear (or bosc pear) and 1 tbs cheongju (korean rice wine) or white wine in the marinade to make it taste even better.
You can add 1 tsp of minced kiwi in the marinade to tenderize the meat.
Add 1 tsp of gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes) for a spicy version. It's heavenly!

More questions? Please leave your questions below in the comment section. We will do our best to answer as soon as we can.

instructions
photos
summary
Ingredient amounts in the recipe instructions are for the default serving size.
Click to enlarge photos.
Ingredient amounts in the recipe summary are for the default serving size.

1. Cut vegetables

Peel and slice ½ onion. Wash and cut a green onion into 2 inch pieces.

 GBGGBF06.JPG
1

Slice ½ onion

Wash, cut 1 green onion

into 2”

2. Make the marinade

In a large bowl, mix ⅓ cup of soy sauce, ⅓ cup if sugar and 1 cup of cold water. Add sliced onions, cut green onions, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, a pinch of black pepper and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Add ½ teaspoon of sesame seeds (Optional). Mix thoroughly until all sugar is dissolved.

 GBGGBF07.JPG
2

Mix

  • ⅓ cup soy sauce
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • a pinch black pepper
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • ½ tsp sesame seeds (optional)
  • onions, green onions

3. Marinate meat

Add the sliced meat one by one making sure all the meat is immersed in the marinade. Cover and Keep it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

 GBGGBF08.JPG
3

Add meat one by one

Cover

Refrigerate 4 hours

image: clock.png 240 min

4. Cook

Remove the meat from the marinade (shake off the drippings) and cook in a frying pan on high heat for 5-10 min or until the meat is just cooked. OPTIONAL: Wash and slice 2-3 mushrooms of your choice. Add them when you start cooking the meat. Don’t put too many mushrooms because it will produce too much liquid.

 GBGGBF12.JPG
4

Cook meat

Add sliced mushrooms (optional)

High Heat image: highheat.png

5. Serve

Serve on a plate and sprinkle sesame seeds as a garnish (Optional). Bulgogi is usually served with cooked rice. You can also make “Ssam” (wrap in Korean red leaf lettuce) when you eat.

 GBGGBF11.JPG
5

Serve

Sprinkle

  • 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Comments

Qwenty's picture
Qwenty replied on Fri, 09/05/2014 - 15:14 Permalink
It was so delicious and easy to do, thanks a lot for this recipe :) I didnt know what side dishs to make with it so I just ate it with kimchi and 시금치 나물 ^-^
kawaii_pudding's picture
kawaii_pudding replied on Fri, 10/31/2014 - 09:40 Permalink
Hi! I just have a question. On step 4, I have to remove the beef from the marinade. After that, should I cook the beef alone? Or should I include the marinade? Because I'm seeing some sort of onions (I'm not sure). Thanks :)
Grace's picture
Grace replied on Fri, 10/31/2014 - 09:50 Permalink
HI Kawaii pudding, the meat should be cooked by itself without the marinade. Traditionally the marinade is thrown out. But, you could boil (you must boil them since it was with raw meat) and use it for sauce over rice or something else for the following meal. Happy cooking!
berryf's picture
berryf replied on Sun, 08/30/2015 - 11:36 Permalink
Cook the beef alone. You can strain out any solids that remain in the marinade and add them in with the meat.
kawaii_pudding's picture
kawaii_pudding replied on Sat, 11/08/2014 - 12:37 Permalink
Noted~ Thank you for that!! ^^
dwilburd's picture
dwilburd replied on Fri, 01/01/2016 - 23:15 Permalink
I am the Korean F86 fighter pilot. I really like your new format with the ingredients on the right and cooking instructions on the left, but also importantly, why or why not to do something. I am addicted to soju and kimchi. I need a smaller kimchi firmenter. Your smallest size would last me the rest of my life. p.s. I love the kimchi party with grandma drinking martinis. I wish you the greatest success. David
Grace's picture
Grace replied on Thu, 01/07/2016 - 18:47 Permalink
Hi David, Thank you for watching our show. We don't have any smaller fermenter as of now but we will consider it for our future imports. Happy cooking!
DivaynMendoza's picture
DivaynMendoza replied on Thu, 02/04/2016 - 06:44 Permalink
hi :) Is it Okay if I use other oil instead of sesame oil?
Grace's picture
Grace replied on Thu, 07/14/2016 - 10:53 Permalink
I wouldn't use other oil. If you don't have sesame oil, just skip it. Happy cooking!
Tommy's picture
Tommy replied on Sun, 05/21/2017 - 18:05 Permalink
I've seen people add some diet coke to their marinade to soften the meat. Is that something you would recommend?
Grace's picture
Grace replied on Fri, 05/26/2017 - 09:38 Permalink
Some people do it. But, diet coke is not so good for you. I would add a little bit of kiwi. Too much kiwi will disintegrate meat so just a little bit (like half kiwi for 10 servings). Happy cooking!
ubascuba's picture
ubascuba replied on Sun, 09/08/2019 - 20:13 Permalink
Hi, I've seen recipes that call for using an Asian pear. do you recommend this?
Grace's picture
Grace replied on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 10:11 Permalink
Hello yes, adding pear is great. A very small amount of kiwi tenderizes meat too. Happy cooking!
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