How to Make Bulgogi

The classic non-spicy Korean dish

Bulgogi is thinly sliced beef marinated in a soy-based sauce and then grilled or stir-fried. Its sweet and salty soy flavor makes it popular with people who avoid spice and with children, and it is a good dish to serve guests trying Korean food for the first time. Styles vary by region and household, from the Seoul style simmered in a shallow broth to versions grilled without liquid, but the soy marinade is the common base. Once you learn the ratio, it carries over directly to pork or mushrooms.

Ingredients (example for two)

These are typical ranges. Sweetness varies a lot between households, so you can start with less sugar and adjust while cooking. If you have no pear, grate extra apple or onion instead.

• 300 g thinly sliced beef for bulgogi (shoulder, round, sirloin or similar)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 to 1.5 tbsp sugar, 3 tbsp grated pear (or grated apple or onion)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp sesame oil, a little black pepper
• Half an onion, half a green onion, some carrot or mushrooms (optional)
• 2 to 3 tbsp water (more for a saucier version)
• A little toasted sesame seeds

Method

Mixing and tasting the marinade before it goes on the meat cuts down on mistakes. Massage it gently by hand so it coats the meat evenly.

• Pat the beef with paper towels to remove some of the blood, then cut it into easy-to-eat pieces
• Mix soy sauce, sugar, grated pear, garlic, sesame oil and pepper into a marinade
• Toss the beef with the marinade, add onion and green onion, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
• Heat the pan well, spread the meat out over high heat and cook it, stirring as you go
• When the meat is fully cooked, turn off the heat and sprinkle with sesame seeds

When it turns tough or watery

The most common reason for tough bulgogi is overcooking. Thin meat cooks fast, so turn off the heat as soon as it changes color and is cooked through. Put too much meat in the pan at once and the temperature drops, the meat releases liquid, and it ends up boiled rather than seared. Even for two servings, cooking in two or three batches tastes much better. On the other hand, mushy or dry meat may mean a very lean cut, or a long soak in a marinade with a strong tenderizer like pear juice or pineapple that broke down the texture.

Marinating time and making ahead

Thinly sliced meat picks up plenty of flavor in just 30 minutes. A few hours makes it more tender, but leaving it overnight or longer in a fruit-heavy marinade can make the surface mushy. To make ahead, divide the marinated meat into single-meal portions, flatten the bags and freeze them. Thaw slowly in the fridge and avoid refreezing thawed meat. Never use the raw-meat marinade as a sauce as is; always cook it together with the meat.

Variations

The same marinade makes several dishes. Thinly sliced pork shoulder or neck gives soy-marinated pork bulgogi; pork must be cooked all the way through. Adding about 1 tbsp of gochujang makes a sweet and spicy version. Leftover bulgogi works over rice as a rice bowl, wrapped in lettuce, or as a filling for gimbap. Add soaked glass noodles and a generous amount of broth for something like a bulgogi hot pot. Made with a mix of mushrooms instead of meat, it becomes a vegetarian bulgogi; mushrooms release a lot of water, so stir-fry them briefly over high heat.

Cooking it in Japan or abroad

In Japan, thinly sliced beef offcuts or thin shabu-shabu slices work well for bulgogi. Japanese soy sauce is close enough to Korean regular soy sauce to use as is, and when pears are expensive, grated apple or onion does the job. Adding a little mirin and reducing the sugar also works naturally. In English-speaking countries, buy pre-sliced bulgogi meat at an Asian grocery, or partially freeze a piece of beef until firm and slice it thinly with a knife.

Food safety and allergies

Wash hands, cutting boards and knives that touched raw meat before using them for cooked food or raw vegetables. Use separate tongs or chopsticks so you do not pick up cooked meat with ones coated in raw marinade. Soy sauce contains soy and wheat, and sesame oil and seeds contain sesame, so check for allergies. If wheat is a concern, look for a wheat-free soy sauce. Do not leave cooked bulgogi at room temperature for long; refrigerate it once it cools.