Bulgogi
불고기
Thin beef in a soy-pear-sesame marinade, cooked hot until the edges caramelise.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 불고기.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 hr
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Bulgogi is weeknight barbecue that does not need a table grill. The meat is sliced thin, soaked in soy, garlic, sesame and grated pear or apple, then seared fast so the sugar browns. Serve with rice and lettuce. If you stew it into grey soup, you have missed the point. Part-freeze the beef so you can slice it thin enough to cook in a minute. Grated pear or apple in the marinade is enzyme and sweetness, not decoration — bottled 'bulgogi sauce' is often just sugar. Sear in a wide pan without stacking or the meat will grey. Done is browned edges and a little syrupy fond, still tender; rib-eye or sirloin both work; stew cuts will not in this timing.
Ingredients
- Beef, thin slices, ribeye or sirloin500 g
- Soy sauce59 ml
- Sugar15 ml
- Honey (optional)15 ml
- Toasted sesame oil15 ml
- Garlic, minced4 clove
- Apple or Korean pear, grated pear or apple½
- Onion, thin sliced, plus 2 tbsp grated into marinade½
- Black pepper2½ ml
- Korean rice wine (optional)15 ml
- Sesame seed4.9 ml
- Rice, uncooked, to serve300 g
- Lettuce (optional)8 leaf
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Whisk soy, sugar, honey, sesame oil, garlic, grated fruit, grated onion, pepper and rice wine. Toss with beef. Marinate 30 minutes (or up to overnight).
30 minStep 2
Heat a wide pan until very hot. Cook the beef and sliced onion in batches so it sears, 2–3 minutes per batch. The marinade should glaze, not boil the meat.
8 minStep 3
Finish with spring onion and sesame seeds. Serve with rice and lettuce wraps if you have them.
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Korean pear → Ripe apple or a splash of kiwi (short marinade only)
Kiwi tenderises fast — 20 minutes, not overnight.
Beef → King oyster mushrooms
A fair vegetarian grill if you keep the marinade.
Tips
- Partly frozen beef slices thinner.
- If the pan looks steamed, you overcrowded it. Wait.
History & culture
The name means fire meat. At home it is often a pan dish; in restaurants it may be a dome of onions over a grill. Both are bulgogi. This is the pan version you can cook on a Tuesday. It is the meat kids ask for and the potluck tray at church halls. Gwangyang and other southern charcoal styles run less sweet than the Seoul slice most diaspora shops copied. Lettuce wraps are ordinary at the table, not a diet rewrite. Restaurant onion-dome grills and home frying pans are both called bulgogi without anyone being confused.
Soy-marinated grilled beef has older names and court cousins. The sweet-thin Seoul-style slice is the one that travelled. We are not reconstructing a 17th-century royal kitchen. Grilled beef in soy has older court cousins under other names. The thin, sweet Seoul-style slice that travelled is twentieth-century butchery and restaurant practice. We are not reconstructing neobiani for a palace table. Cheap sweet versions in overseas shops are a later export layer on top of that modern cut.
Regional variation — Ribeye or sirloin, sliced across the grain. A little grated onion in the marinade is as useful as pear.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Bulgogi take?
1 hr all in — 20 min prep, 10 min cook, 30 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 3 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Soy, Sesame, Wheat. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Frying pan.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list salt as its own ingredient. Saltiness comes from Soy sauce — 4 tbsp. Taste at the end rather than adding a number we did not write.
How much soy sauce?
4 tbsp of Soy sauce.
How much sugar?
1 tbsp of Sugar.
How much honey?
1 tbsp (optional) of Honey.
How much toasted sesame oil?
1 tbsp of Toasted sesame oil.
What can I use instead?
Korean pear → Ripe apple or a splash of kiwi (short marinade only). Kiwi tenderises fast — 20 minutes, not overnight. Beef → King oyster mushrooms. A fair vegetarian grill if you keep the marinade.
Any tips from this recipe?
Partly frozen beef slices thinner. If the pan looks steamed, you overcrowded it. Wait.
Can I prepare this ahead?
Whisk soy, sugar, honey, sesame oil, garlic, grated fruit, grated onion, pepper and rice wine. Toss with beef. Marinate 30 minutes (or up to overnight).
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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