Korean Beef Bulgogi that’s incredibly easy to make right in the comfort of your home. Made with a flavorful marinade, this flank steak is quickly cooked to perfection resulting in the most tender beef, making for a super easy take-out style dish, right at home!
Korean beef bulgogi is such a popular Korean dish but the great thing about it is that it’s super easy to make. With just a handful of tasty ingredients and quick prep time, it’s a sure way to ease your weekly cooking plans with this incredibly tender beef bulgogi. Truly a dish your whole family will enjoy.
Korean Beef Bulgogi
- Super Quick Prep Time
- 20 Minute Cooking Time
- Just 3 Easy Steps
- Delicious Flavors And Incredibly Tender Beef
There’s nothing more satisfying than a perfectly marinated piece of cooked beef that just melts in your mouth and incites your taste buds. That’s exactly the experience you get from this recipe. Having just a few easy steps to prep and cook makes it even more tempting, since it takes away the worry around how much time or difficulty the recipe could bring.
Ingredient Notes
- Steak – Thinly sliced flank steak. You can use rib eye, sirloin or even tenderloin.
- Soy Sauce – I like to use low-sodium to be able to control the sodium level of a dish.
- Sugar and Honey – Brown sugar and a bit of honey for a little bit of added sweetness.
- Mirin – If you don’t have mirin or can’t find it, rice vinegar or a dry white wine will work as well.
- Garlic – 6 cloves of minced garlic to boost the flavor of the marinade. You can also add some minced ginger as well.
- Green Onion – Cut on the diagonal, this is used in both the marinade and as garnish.
- Kiwi – Or Asian Pear to help tenderize the meat.
- Sesame Oil and Sesame Seeds – To add a bit of nutty flavor and to fry our beef in.
How To Make Korean Beef Bulgogi
- Make the marinade:Â Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
- Marinate the beef:Â Add the sliced beef to the marinade and using your clean hands, massage the beef with the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Cook the beef:Â In a non-stick skillet add the sesame oil over high heat. Cook the meat in batches until slightly brown on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Repeat with remaining meat.
- Serve:Â Serve hot over rice.
FAQ’s and Expert Tips
FAQ’s
Bulgogi means “fire meat” and it’s basically marinated thin slices of beef or pork and then grilled on a barbecue or stove-top griddle.
Usually bulgogi is made with rib eye steak thinly cut, but other cuts that can be used are flank steak, skirt steak, brisket, or sirloin.
While this dish isn’t really a saucy kind of beef, the beef is marinated in a blend of soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, sesame oil, among a couple other ingredients, giving our beef a salty, sweet and nutty savory flavor.
The kiwi has a very important role. It is one of the best meat tenderizers, so this is why we end up with a super tender beef. Another option would be to use an Asian pear.
Korean Beef Bulgogi is usually served with steamed rice and kimchi and garnished with green onions.
Some Tips
- To easily slice the beef thinly, freeze it for about 15 – 20 minutes first, then carefully slice it against the grain.
- Keep in mind to not overcrowd the beef while cooking, so take your time and cook it in 2 – 3 batches until you get through all the meat.
- If you don’t have mirin or can’t find it, rice vinegar or a dry white wine will work as well.
Leftovers
Leftover beef bulgogi, can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.You can also freeze in single portions in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to 3 months. Just reheat in the microwave or oven straight from the freezer.
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Korean Beef Bulgogi
Ingredients
Marinade
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 green onion cut on the diagonal
- ½ kiwi pureed with a fork, or Asian pear
- ½ teaspoon pepper freshly ground
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds toasted
Beef Bulgogi
- 1½ pounds flank steak thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Make the marinade:Â Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
- Marinate the beef:Â Add the sliced beef to the marinade and using your clean hands, massage the beef with the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Cook the beef:Â In a non-stick skillet add the sesame oil over high heat. Cook the meat in batches until slightly brown on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Repeat with remaining meat.
- Serve:Â Serve hot over rice.
Recipe Notes
- Nutritional information does not include rice.
- To easily slice the beef thinly, freeze it for about 15 – 20 minutes first, then carefully slice it against the grain.
- Keep in mind to not overcrowd the beef while cooking, so take your time and cook it in 2 – 3 batches until you get through all the meat.
- If you don’t have mirin or can’t find it, rice vinegar or a dry white wine will work as well.
- Leftover beef bulgogi, can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.You can also freeze in single portions in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to 3 months. Just reheat in the microwave or oven straight from the freezer.
Hi Jo…I am trying the bulgogi tonight….and I have just finished putting it in the fridge to marinate.. I have a quick question…..do I just dispose of the rest of the marinade after cooking the beef?
Thanks!
There shouldn’t be a lot of marinade left over, the beef probably will absorb most of it. However if you have any left just throw it down, I usually just throw it down the garburator.
I just made Korean Beef Bulgogi and wow, wow,wow! This recipe is fabulous – easy to prepare and super delicious! I used flank steak and marinated the meat overnight.
I would try this if I could afford some beef.
Hi Mike,
You can always substitute it with some pork like I did here:
https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/bulgogi-pork/
Let us know how it turns out!