Beef bulgogi is a delicious dish and so easy to make! You can make this in a slow cooker or on the stovetop. You can serve this dish over steamed rice or rice noodles.
Ingredients
Beef: you can use several different types of beef for this recipe. I usually go with top sirloin since that goes on sale near me routinely.
Venison: you can use venison in this recipe, it’s amazing!! I don’t mind the gamey taste of venison, but if. you are feeding picky eaters, you can soak your cut pieces of venison in buttermilk overnight to remove that gamey taste.
Pears: we are lucky enough to have Asian pears at our grocery store. If those are unavailable or super expensive in your area, just use a regular Bartlett pear.
Soy Sauce: you can use the soy sauce of your choice, dark, lite, or low sodium. You could also swap this for amino acids for more health benefits in your dish and to lower sodium.
Cooking Wine: I prefer Mirin for this, it’s a sweet cooking rice wine. You could use any rice vinegar you can get your hands on. Choose a sweet one if possible.
Options for Cooking
You have a couple options for cooking this dish. You can do the cooktop and stir fry your dish. You can also use your slow cooker if you’d like to get this dish going and not have to fret over when to start making supper. It’s very versatile.
No matter which way you end up cooking this meal, I highly recommend you marinate the meat for maximum flavor.
Homemade Beef Bulgogi (Korean BBQ)
Ingredients
Meat Marinade
- 2.5 pounds thinly-sliced beef*
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 Tablespoons rice wine or mirin
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1/2 Korean/Asian pear, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
For the Dish
- 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 1 bunch scallions, diced
- 16 ounces rice noodles
For Slurry
- 2 Tablespoons corn starch
- 1/4 cup cold water
Instructions
Marinating
- Thinly slice your meat against the grain to ensure tenderness. Place sliced meat into marinating bag or container.2.5 pounds thinly-sliced beef*
- In a small bowl whisk all the marinade ingredients. Pour this mixture over the cut meat. Make sure the marinade surrounds the sliced meat. Marinate for 4 hours up to overnight.1/2 cup soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons water, 1 Tablespoon sugar, 2 Tablespoons rice wine or mirin, 5 cloves garlic, minced, 2 Tablespoons sesame oil, 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds, 1/2 Korean/Asian pear, grated, 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cooktop Instructions
- Prep your rice noodles per package instructions. Usually you will soak the noodles in warm or hot water for up to 25 minutes.16 ounces rice noodles
- Preheat a heavy sauté pan over medium heat. Once it's hot, add the sesame oil. Allow sesame oil to heat up 1-2 minutes.2 Tablespoons sesame oil
- Toss in your sliced mushrooms and cook 5-10 minutes until browned but not caramelized. Add in the diced green onions and cook 3-5 minutes.8 ounces mushrooms, sliced, 1 bunch scallions, diced
- Toss your marinated meat into the pan and stir fry over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Once your meat is cooked the way you like it, you will add your softened and strained rice noodles over the meat mixture. Toss the noodles with the meat until they soak up the yummy juices in your pan.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- You will still want to marinate your meat 4 hours or overnight for the beset flavor infusion. You can skip this step if you must.
- Toss all of your marinated meat into the slow cooker, making sure it is evenly distributed over the bottom. Cook on low for 6 hours.
- Once your meat is cooked, you will make your slurry. Slowly add this to the meat in the slow cooker until the juice is the consistency you desire.2 Tablespoons corn starch, 1/4 cup cold water