Korean cuisine integrates many different ingredients, ranging
from spicy chili paste to rice to pickled radish. One of Korea's most
notable foods is called Bulgogi. Bulgogi is a korean dish where either
thin slices of meat or other prime cuts of beef is seasoned and
marinated with a mix of soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and vegetables.
There are many different varieties to making it, but in this guide i
will use the methods that my mother has used for years.
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| image: blissfulbblog.com |
The first
thing to do is buy the ingredients. You can use a good ribeye for the
beef but other meats are also acceptable. You will also need soy sauce,
sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and a little bit of pepper. If you
don't have time to look around for all these ingredients, you can also
buy a package that has all the ingredients pre-mixed at many Korean
markets. You will also need onions, green onions, and carrots.
First
you will have to marinate the beef. For a single serving of bulgogi,
you will need a tablespoon of sugar, 3 tablesppons of soy sauce, and a
bit of sesame oil and pepper as well as a clove of garlic and a bit of
minced ginger. Mix these all together to get ready to marinate the beef.
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| image: savorysweetlife.com |
Next, get the ribeye and pour the previously made mixture over it.
Add in chopped onions, green onions, and carrots so that the vegetables
can soak in a bit of the juices. Most people will let the marinated beef
sit for about 4 hours, but for optimum taste, in this recipe we will
let it sit for a day.
After the ribeye has marinated for a day,
heat up a medium-sized pan at medium-high for a minute or two. Now it's
time to start cooking. Lay the ribeye evenly around the pan so that each
piece of meat gets evenly cooked. Continue cooking until the meat turns
a darkish brown and lower the heat to about medium. We do this so that
the leftover juices in the pan are soaked up by the meat and vegetables.
Make sure NOT to throw away the juices as this is where most of the
flavor lies. Keep cooking until all the juice has been soaked up, and
turn off the heat and let the meat sit for a minute or two.
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| image: saveur.com |
Now
it's time to dig in. Simply serve up the bulgogi with the traditional
Korean Rice and Kimchi. There are also many other traditional side
dishes like pickled radish and gim (seaweed) but rice and kimchi is fine
too.
If you want to have a chance to show off, you can teach your friends how to make this wonderful dish as well!
