Bulgogi
Bulgogi is a traditional Korean preparation for thinly sliced marinated beef. While it can be made with pork or chicken, bulgogi is usually made with beef. Extremely popular at Western Korean BBQ joints, bulgogi is deeply delicious thanks to its signature marinade, which both tenderizes the meat and infuses each bite with complex flavor.
Ingredients :
- 1 1/4 lb. rib eye or sirloin steak
- 1 large yellow onion, 1/2 finely chopped, 1/2 thinly sliced
- 1 cup finely chopped Fuji apple
- 1/4 cup finely chopped kiwi
- 8 cloves garlic
- 5 scallions, cut into 2" pieces, plus more thinly sliced for serving
- 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. mirin
- 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Toasted white sesame seeds, crushed, for serving
- 4 cups cooked white rice
Directions :
- Freeze steak until semi-frozen, at least 2 1/2 hours or up to 5. Slice 1/8" thick against the grain and transfer to a large bowl.
- In a food processor, puree chopped onion, apple, kiwi, and garlic until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour over meat, then add sliced onions, scallions, brown sugar, soy sauce, mirin, oil, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
- Using your hands, massage marinade into meat, about 2 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 3 batches, arrange meat in a single layer without overcrowding. Cook, turning once and using tongs to move meat along sides of pan if pan becomes too dark, until meat develops a dark, caramelized crust on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Continue to cook, flipping and tossing meat so it picks up any caramelization from bottom of pan, until parts of meat look charred, about 1 minute more. Transfer to a large platter; repeat with remaining meat. If pan gets too dark, clean out pan between batches. Discard excess marinade.
- Top bulgogi with scallions and sesame seeds, if using, and serve with rice.
