This mouthwatering Korean BBQ Beef Bulgogi features thin slices of tender beef and shiitake mushrooms marinated in an irresistible blend of soy, garlic, ginger, pear juice and sesame oil for a quick and easy mid-week dinner.
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Hey guys, annyeonghaseyo! Today we’re sharing a quick and easy Korean recipe that claimed our stomachs and our hearts while wandering through Seoul, South Korea.
Bulgogi is one of the most popular Korean dishes out there, apart from ever-popular kimchi of course.
I mean, what’s not to love?
- There’s those tender, paper-thin strips of beef marinated in a simple-yet-powerful blend of soy sauce
, ginger
, garlic
, sesame oil
and Korean pear
juice (which acts a surprising natural sweetener AND tenderiser). So clever!
- There’s the sliced shiitake mushrooms
that soak up all that incredible flavour too, bringing an extra bite of juicy chewiness.
- The name ‘Bulgogi’ literally means ‘fire meat’ in Korean… so cool! The dish is often cooked over an open charcoal flame adding a whole extra depth of flavour, but can just as easily be cooked on a normal stove – always a win.
- With Korean BBQ Beef Bulgogi you’re pretty much guaranteed to end up in delicious foodie heaven. (We even saw Bulgogi-flavoured hamburgers from McDonalds in South Korea – note to self, must experiment!)
So now you know you’re literally minutes away from Korea’s favourite BBQ Beef dish. What exactly do you need for your very own batch of Bulgogi deliciousness?
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The key to awesome Korean Beef Bulgogi is starting with thin slices of marbled beef sirloin, tenderloin or skirt steak.
What's better than soft and tender beef marinated in soy, garlic, onion & sesame oil? Nothing! - Korean Beef #BulgogiClick To Tweet
If you’re lucky you might find pre-sliced beef at your local butcher or Asian grocery. If not, you can always ask them to slice it for you, or slice it yourself at home.
Hint hint: it’s waaay easier to thinly slice meat when it’s partially frozen. ????
If you’d prefer a vegetarian version of this dish, just omit the beef and throw in extra shiitake mushrooms, button mushrooms or any of your other favourite mushroom varieties.
So What About That Bulgogi Marinade?
This dish has all the power players of Asian cuisine – soy sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame oil, a dash of black pepper.
But there’s one more magic ingredient you might not expect – pear juice – which acts as both a natural sweetener AND tenderiser. It’s the secret ingredient to Bulgogi’s deliciously soft and melt-in-your-mouth texture.
If you can’t get your hands on Korean pear juice you can easily substitute with apple juice, pureed kiwifruit, minced onion or even a splash of coca-cola (say whaaaat?). They’ll all have this magic effect when added to a tasty marinade.
Bulgogi – Korean BBQ Beef with Shiitake Mushroom
As with anything marinated, Korean Beef Bulgogi will taste way better the longer you let all those gorgeous flavours soak in. Marinating overnight will send your tastebuds on the ultimate ride, but a quick 10 minutes in the fridge will still deliver the tasty goods.
Kudos to those peeps out there with a charcoal grill – your Korean Beef Bulgogi will have even more flavour when cooking over the flames. But for those without, you can just as easily cook this in your favourite frypan or wok on the stove like we did.
For the ultimate Korean experience be sure to serve with steamed rice, lettuce, Korean soybean paste, plus extra garlic and onion. Jump right in and use that lettuce as a natural wrapper for a scoop or two of Bulgogi!
If you love Korean cuisine be sure to check out our recipes for Easy Korean Kimchi and Crispy Korean Seafood Pancakes (Haemul Pajeon).
P.S. A very big thanks to the lovely ladies at F&C Korean Food & Culture Academy cooking class in Seoul for teaching us how to make their amazing Korean Bulgogi recipe! 🙂
Ingredients
- 300 g tenderloin steak thinly sliced
- 4 shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 carrots thinly sliced
- 1 leek thinly sliced
- 2 onions finely chopped
- 2 spring onions thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil for cooking
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds for garnish
For the Marinade:
- ½ cup water
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp pear juice or sub with apple juice, kiwifruit puree or minced onion
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp raw sugar
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 tsp ginger minced
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- To prepare your tasty Bulgogi marinade mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add in your thinly sliced beef, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, leek, onions and spring onions and mix well to coat evenly.
- Pop your marinated Bulgogi mix in the fridge for a minimum of 10 minutes (or even better, overnight) to allow all those saucy flavour to soak in.
- Now heat the oil in a large frypan or wok. Separate the Bulgogi into two batches and stir fry each for a few minutes until beef is cooked.
- Transfer your piping hot Bulgogi into serving bowls and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve immediately with rice and lettuce.
12 Comments
Judy Kahansky
18/08/2016 at 9:10 amMy husband loves Korean BBQ so I’m definitely going to try this recipe – a bit out of my comfort zone, but you’ve laid it all out beautifully. Thanks!
Wandercooks
22/08/2016 at 3:41 pmOh Judy you’re in for some tasty times. Would love to hear what you think after you’ve tried it! 🙂
Melanie @ Nutritious Eats
18/08/2016 at 4:17 amYum! Pinning this as my kids love bulgogi and I didn’t have recipe! Thank you!
Wandercooks
22/08/2016 at 3:40 pmBrilliant, should be a good one for them to have fun cooking as well. Hope you guys enjoy!
Florentina
18/08/2016 at 3:33 amDid someone say shiitake ? My mushroom obsession with these beauties is out of control. Such amazing flavors and health benefits!
Wandercooks
22/08/2016 at 3:47 pmThey are so amazing aren’t they! 😀
Igor @ Cooking The Globe
16/08/2016 at 10:43 pmWhat an awesome dinner idea. I saw this Korean dish few times on Pinterest but still haven’t tried it. Love the marinade!
Wandercooks
22/08/2016 at 3:38 pmYou’ll love it Igor! Happy eating! 😉
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
15/08/2016 at 7:27 pmWe are so crazy about all the Asian food right now! What a fantastic dish!
Wandercooks
22/08/2016 at 3:33 pmTotally! And what’s not to love? Intense flavour, fresh ingredients, intriguing textures – who says food can’t be your favourite pastime?? 😉
Andrew Prior
03/08/2016 at 5:02 pmI think I’m going to have to try this as it looks and sounds so delicious #allkindsofyum
Wandercooks
03/08/2016 at 5:06 pmThanks Andrew, hope you enjoy. Cheers for stopping by! 🙂