Bulgogi Recipe: Sweet Korean BBQ Beef Made Easy

Full transcript

Annyeong! It's Yul. Today's dish is one that even people who don't like spicy food love. Bulgogi!

The name means fire meat. Bul is fire, gogi is meat. Its history goes back more than a thousand years, to a grilled meat dish from the Goguryeo kingdom called maekjeok. Over time it became the sweet, soy-marinated beef we know today.

Here's how to make it. Slice about five hundred grams of beef very thin. Ribeye or sirloin works great. Tip: freeze the beef for thirty minutes first, and slicing becomes super easy.

Now the marinade. Grate half a Korean pear or an apple. This is the secret. The fruit makes the meat soft and naturally sweet. Mix it with five spoons of soy sauce, two spoons of sugar, one spoon of sesame oil, minced garlic, black pepper, and sliced green onions.

Mix the beef with the marinade and leave it for at least thirty minutes. Overnight is even better.

Cook it in a very hot pan for just a few minutes, with sliced onions and mushrooms, until the edges caramelize. Sprinkle sesame seeds and serve.

Yul's tip! Koreans love making ssam with bulgogi. Take a lettuce leaf, add rice, a piece of bulgogi, a little ssamjang paste, and a slice of garlic. Wrap it and eat it in one bite. One bite! That's the rule. Masitge deuseyo!