Bulgogi is definitely a crowd favorite when it comes to Korean dishes – it’s easy to make, it’s delicious, and it’s quick! Now here’s a marinated meat dish that doesn’t require hours and hours of marinading (and pre-planning for the time needed to marinade). I’ve marinated less than an hour and it still turns out delicious.
Because the meat is sliced so thinly, it happily and quickly soaks up the marinade, saving you time, and makes this a great week night dinner choice. If you live near an Asian grocery store, you can get the beef already pre-thin sliced (for shabu shabu), making this even more effortless. If you can only get whole steaks, go for rib-eye and freeze in the freezer for about 30 minutes until it is just beginning to be frozen (but still soft enough to slice). This will help you get those really thin, almost shaved thickness pieces that is iconic for this dish. (If you make Philly Cheese Steak, you are probably already familiar with this slicing technique).
As you fry the beef, keep watch for excess liquid accumulating in the pan. Too much accumulated liquid will keep your beef from “frying” for browning so drain out some of the liquid or soak it up with a paper towel to keep the pan nice and dry. And that’s all there is too it! Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs rib eye, thinly sliced
- 2-3 green onions, sliced (to garnish)
Marinade
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup mirin
- ⅓ cup coca cola
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- ½ large kiwi, grated
- 3-4 garlic, grated
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 medium onion, sliced
How I Make It
- You can get pre-thin-sliced beef at an Asian grocer; if you cannot find pre-sliced beef, par freezing the rib-eye steak will make it easier to slice thinly with a sharp knife.
- Combine all the marinade ingredients and toss in the thin-sliced beef. Let marinade for at least an hour. Because the beef is thin-sliced, you don't need to marinade it for that long - a couple hours is plenty.
- In a hot pan, or cast iron skillet, heat a little oil and fry the meat in batches. If you cook too much beef at once, your pan will accumulate with too much liquid which will prevent the beef from searing and browning (think boiled/steamed instead). So if you have a lot of liquid accumulating, dab it away with some paper towl or drain some of it off. Fry until all the beef is cooked.
- Serve hot with a side of rice; garnish with chopped green onion and a sprinkle of sesame. Enjoy!
