Korean Beef Bulgogi
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
A super easy recipe for Korean BBQ with the most flavorful marinade! The thin, tender slices of meat cook SO quickly!
Featured Comment
It was always a treat when my mom would whip this up on those busy weeknights – marinating the beef just a few hours while I was at swim practice. And then she’d throw these onto a hot skillet, filling up the house with the best kind of beef aroma – you know, the smell at the Korean BBQ restaurants that gets you so hungry.
The meat cooked in seconds, and she’d serve these with perilla leaves, white rice, and ssamjang (best known as a Korean BBQ dipping sauce). It was just perfection. But with my mom being in Korea, she doesn’t really get a chance to make this for me anymore. So I’ve done my best to “grow up” and whip this up myself. Now to be honest, nothing beats my mom’s cooking but this is a very close second.
what is korean bulgogi
Bulgogi (불고기) is a Korean dish made of thinly-sliced meat typically marinated in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and pear. Bulgogi is most commonly made with beef, but can also be made with chicken or pork.
tips and tricks for success
- Freeze the steak for slicing. The key to bulgogi is using paper thin slices of meat. Throwing the steak in the freezer for 20-30 minutes will make it easier to slice the meat into very thin, even pieces. Pre-sliced bulgogi beef is also readily available at Korean and Japanese grocery stores.
- Pear adds maximum flavor. Adding coarsely grated pear will not only add a subtle sweetness to the marinade, but it will also help tenderize the meat. Korean pear or Bosc pear can be used.
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Use a hot cast iron grill pan. A heavy bottom pan, such as a cast iron grill pan, retains heat much better than a nonstick skillet, allowing for even cooking, a better sear and smoky, caramelized flavors.
- Cook in batches. Work in batches to properly sear the meat for maximum caramelization and smoky flavors. An overcrowded pan will unfortunately steam the beef instead.
- Freeze as needed. Marinated bulgogi is very freezer-friendly, great for meal prep and making weeknight meals even easier and quicker.
freezing and storage
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating
Let the meat sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Reheat over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until heated through.
Freeze before cooking
Transfer the marinated meat to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 2 months. To cook, thaw overnight in the fridge and cook as directed, adding a few more minutes of cook time as needed.
Freeze after cooking
Let cool completely. Transfer the meat to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until heated through.
more favorited korean recipes
Tools For This Recipe
Cast iron grill pan
Korean Beef Bulgogi: Frequently Asked Questions
We prefer ribeye and top sirloin, but flank steak or skirt steak can also be used for a more budget-friendly option.
Fuji apple is a suitable substitute for the pear.
Gochujang is a red chili paste, a pantry staple in Korean cooking. It can be found in most grocery stores in a red, rectangular tub.
If you do not have a cast iron grill pan, you can also use a large cast iron skillet.
Bulgogi is commonly served with rice and a side of kimchi, cucumbers, perilla leaves and ssamjang.
Korean Beef Bulgogi
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless rib eye steak
- ½ small pear, peeled and coarsely grated
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon gochujang, Korean red pepper paste
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Equipment
Instructions
- Wrap steak in plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Unwrap and slice across the grain into 1/4-inch thick slices.
- In a medium bowl, combine pear, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and gochujang. In a gallon size Ziploc bag, combine soy sauce mixture and steak; marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight, turning the bag occasionally.
- Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a cast iron grill pan over medium-high heat.* Working in batches, add steak to the grill pan in a single layer and cook, flipping once, until charred and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and steak.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Very delicious and thank you for sharing this recipe. I followed the marinade to the dot and the result is fantastic. I bought a special bulgogi cut beef so it’s really thin and tender. I ate it as a bbq rolled with lettuce leaf and green onion.
Delicious. I cut the steak against the grain and skipped the marinating. It was super tender and flavorful. I also added asparagus. Will definitely make again.
Delicious!!! Better than most bulgogi I get at restaurants, and quite easy to make. Used pre-cut bulgogi meat from our local H-Mart, and marinated it while I was working in quarantine.
We made this but omitted the Korean hot sauce and the pear (Because didn’t hv any) and used honey in place of the sugar (Trying to be healthy ? Lol) And saved the scallions until after we cooked the beef. I let it marinade about 1.5 hr and it was good but the flavor was even better after I cooked the uncooked marinated beef 24-48 hours later. I didn’t want to deal with my cast iron and just used a regular frying pan and fried the beef with olive oil…and it was still all amazing with just the basic ingredients listed . Thank you so much for posting this ! Sharing this recipe with all my friends!
This recipe is absolutely delicious! My boyfriend and I decided to try out some new recipes while we’re stuck inside, and I’m really glad we chose this one. The meat tastes amazing and it’s easy to make. We had to make some modifications to the marinade (took out gochujang bc I can’t handle spicy food and swapped pear for an apple bc we didn’t have a pear) and it was still delicious.
I make this with shaved beef from my grocery store. Delicious.
We are in March 2020 and confined at home in Spain. One of the dishes I prepared this week was this delicious Bulgogi. It’s easy to prepare and the result is amazing. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
KOREAN BEEF BULGOGI
NOTES:
*If you do not have a cast iron grill pan, you can also use a large cast iron skillet.
This note is unclear. Still instructs to use cast iron.
Yes, that is correct. A cast iron would still be best (and very recommended) to use here.
There is a difference between a cast iron “grill pan” and a cast iron “skillet.” The grill pan will have the grill lines on it, so you’d get the same grill marks as if you were cooking on a grill. The skillet is just a regular, flat cast iron skillet.
Really easy to make and exactly the flavor I was looking for!
I suspect the reason for the slight difference between your and your mother’s is the use of low sodium soy sauce (always a mistake). Not only does the salt help open up the meat to the marinade, soften it, and add flavor, but, unless you happed to have sodium-sensitive hypertension, completely unnecessary.
I just tried this with regular soy sauce (bc I don’t have any low sodium and find it compromises flavor) and it was delicious! wasn’t salty at all and I’m taste-sensitive to high sodium foods.
Didn’t have pear so omitted that. And used red pepper flakes as I didn’t have the gochujang sauce. Still turned out delicious!
Can you use apple instead of pear?
Yes, of course. The fruit adds pectin which helps tenderize the meat.
That was delicious! Cooked the beef in my ninja food air fryer – WOW !
Tasty Bulgogi and your recipe made it very easy to make!
Really enjoyed this. Many Korean recipes get overwhelmed by Gochujang but the balance was great. And we got to eat the other half of the pear before dinner!
Did someone did this recipe without the Korean red pepper steak ?
I want to try it but don’t have that paste that maybe give the flavor of this dish. Maybe there is another substitute ?
Heum or I am making the Asian steak rolls up lol
Thanks
I always make it without the pepper sauce and it is still delicious! I put it out as an option for a topping later if someone wants the extra heat.
I just made this again last night. Seriously, the marinade is so flipping good you can just eat it with a spoon.
Only make this if you’re looking for an excuse to eat a pound and a half of meat by yourself. It is that good.
Needing some help…Can someone please tell me what the difference is between Gochujang paste and Gochujang sauce? I only have access to the sauce today and I’d really like to make this. Can I use the sauce as a sub and how much? Thanks!
The paste is a very thick dense product. It’s usually not eaten by itself but certainly can be. The sauce is made by taking that paste and then diluting it a little, either with a little water or soy sauce or sesame oil (and other flavorings) to make it more sauce-like in texture. So it’s thinner and not quite as concentrated in flavor.
There are great and “bad” things about this recipe. The great part is that my husband, who never eats anything similar to teriyaki, thought this was fantastic! The bad is that I planned on eating this whole thing myself over the week when the husband asked if he could eat from it this week. Curse you for making something so yummy! Now I’ve got to make more.
Hands down this was fantastic and so easy to make! I couldn’t find a ribeye at a decent price (Valentine’s week), but the flank steak was a great stand in. I marinated it for 4 hours. I will be making this again and soon, like tomorrow!