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Bulgogi (Korean Sweet Soy Beef)
Serves 2 · About 30 min (15 min of this is just letting the meat sit in the sauce)
Beef and vegetables soaked in a sweet sauce of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and garlic, then stir-fried. It's not spicy, so you can eat it even if you don't like spicy food.
① Cut the ingredients→② Soak in sauce→③ Stir-fry→④ Finish with garlic chives and sesame
What to buy
Meat
Vegetables
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How to make it
1
Cut the ingredients
- If there are large pieces of beef, cut them to about 5 cm
- Cut the onion in half lengthwise, then into 5 mm wide thin slices
- Peel the carrot and cut into thin strips 4 cm long and 3 mm wide
- Cut the green pepper in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and stem, and cut lengthwise into 5 mm wide strips. Cut the garlic chives into 4 cm lengths
How to tell it's doneEverything is cut, and the beef and the vegetables are set apart.
Be carefulWhen using a knife, curl the fingertips of the hand holding the food inward (cat's paw).
Be carefulWash your hands, knife and cutting board with dish soap after touching raw meat, before cutting vegetables.
2
Soak in sauce
- Put 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tsp garlic and a pinch of pepper in a bowl and mix until the sugar dissolves
- Add the beef, onion and carrot and rub in by hand (don't add the green pepper and garlic chives yet)
- Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for 15 minutes
How to tell it's doneThe sauce has soaked into the beef, and everything looks brownish.
Be carefulAfter rubbing raw meat with your hands, wash them with dish soap before touching anything else.
3
Stir-fry
- Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat
- Add step 2 with all the sauce, spread it out and cook without touching for 1 minute
- Stir-fry for 3 minutes while breaking up the meat with a spatula
- Add the green pepper and stir-fry 2 minutes more
How to tell it's doneNo red parts of the beef anywhere, and it's brown all over. Cut the biggest piece: it's brown all the way through. The liquid in the pan has gone down and it looks shiny.
Be carefulSauce with sugar burns easily. If the pan smokes or things start turning black, turn the heat down.
4
Finish with garlic chives and sesame
- Add the garlic chives, mix for just 30 seconds, and turn off the heat
- Taste it. If the flavor is weak, add soy sauce 1/2 tsp at a time
- Put on plates and sprinkle with toasted white sesame seeds. Eat with rice
ReadyThe garlic chives are a little soft and bright green. Put on plates.
📚 Learn more about this dish
🥬 Ingredient guide
🔪 Cutting & cooking tips
If it didn't work out
The meat is toughCooked too long. The beef is thin, so once there are no red parts, it's ready to eat. Next time, keep to the times in step 3, and move on 2 minutes after adding the green pepper.
Watery and soggyYou added it before the pan was hot, or put a lid on. Next time, heat the oil well before adding, and don't use a lid. For what you have now, cook over medium-high heat for 1–2 minutes to cook off the liquid.
Burnt and bitterSauce with sugar burns quickly over high heat. Next time, keep it at medium heat and stir from the bottom now and then.
Too saltyThe sauce cooked down too much. When serving, don't add too much of the liquid, and next time use 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce.
The meat stays in clumps and won't come apartThe meat was still stacked when you soaked it. Next time, in step 2, peel the slices apart one by one as you rub in the sauce.
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