Bulgogi

Name: Bulgogi
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 3 plates
Cuisine: korean
Ingredients: 500 g Beef, thin slices, ribeye or sirloin; 4 tbsp Soy sauce; 1 tbsp Sugar; 1 tbsp Honey; 1 tbsp Toasted sesame oil; 4 clove Garlic, minced; 0.5 piece Apple or Korean pear, grated pear or apple; 0.5 piece Onion, thin sliced, plus 2 tbsp grated into marinade; 2 piece Spring onion; 0.5 tsp Black pepper; 1 tbsp Korean rice wine; 1 tsp Sesame seeds; 300 g Rice, uncooked, to serve; 8 leaf Lettuce

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.

Start cooking

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 10 min
Total: 1 hr
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: No chilli
Cost: A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

Source photograph of Bulgogi. Not official I Want Some Food pixel artwork. — Photo: Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0. Source

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.

Ingredients

Servings

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
Spring onion2
Black pepper2½ ml
Korean rice wine (optional)15 ml
Sesame seeds4.9 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 min
Step 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 min
Step 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 24 August.

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.

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.

Regional variation — Ribeye or sirloin, sliced across the grain. A little grated onion in the marinade is as useful as pear.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation. Original editorial adaptation for I Want Some Food. Not copied from another recipe site. Official recipe photography is pending. Photograph: Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spicy%20Pork%20Bulgogi%2C%20L'Arbre%20de%20Sel%2C%20Montparnasse%2C%20Paris%20003.jpg

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. That is the time on this recipe, not a guess.

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.