Bulgogi (Korean BBQ)

 


Ingredients:

  • 2 lb steak (ribeye or sirloin, can substitute with pork or chicken)
  • 6 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 Asian pear (can substitute with alternate pear or apple)
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions:
  1. Grate Asian pear, mince 1 tbsp garlic and 1 tsp ginger
  2. In a bowl, combine 6 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp brown sugar, 1 grated Asian pear, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, and 1/4 tsp black pepper
  3. Cut meat into ribbons
  4. Put meat into bowl, then pour marinade over it, massaging it in until combined
  5. Add 2 tbsp sesame oil, again massaging until combined
  6. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave in fridge to marinate for 4 hours, can be left overnight
  7. Cook over grill. Most recipes I saw suggested using a cast iron

Yield: Dinner for two with leftovers

Tips:

You can substitute Asian pear with any other type of pear or an apple. I've found most grocery stores keep Asian pears though, so they're not hard to find.

I didn't see the sense in using a cast iron pan over fire, since I thought the pan would block the smoke which imparts that bbq flavour. I thought it was likely a point of authenticity to do so, since bulgogi apparently translates to "fire meat". I thought that the method of flame grilling was to maintaining the method used when it was invented, even if newer technologies had made this mostly obsolete. Cast iron is the best for heat retention and distributions over uneven temperatures like fire.

So I opted to make it over the stove and, and just like when I've tried making shish tawook and shawarma this way, I found that it smoked up the kitchen. I finally clued into the fact that cooking outside expressly avoids this outcome, so I would suggest using a bbq.

The recipe I used suggested adding the sesame oil after putting the meat in the marinade, instead of including it in the marinade to begin with. I didn't really see the sense in this, but I did it anyway because it's not hard to do.

I think my meat was too thick. I cut it thin, but I think when I've seen bulgogi before, it's almost in the form of ribbons.

Beef seems the most authentic, but you can substitute with pork and chicken. For environmental and financial reasons, I'd probably avoid beef in the future, but I wanted to try it with the more traditional protein first.

Description:

On Mom's birthday, I got her a military-grade backpack and some spices from Bulk Barn. She doesn't have regular access to one, so I got some fun seasonings that you wouldn't be able to get at a standard grocery store. These included premade spice blends for shawarma, souvlaki, Jamaican jerk, and Korean BBQ (bulgogi). I realized that I had recipes for each of them, except the bulgogi, so I decided to try it. I would say the results were successful.

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