Korean beef marinade (bulgogi)
10 min · 2 g protein · 80 cals / serving
The sweet, garlicky soy marinade behind bulgogi: grated pear and onion tenderise the beef and give it its gentle sweetness, with ginger, toasted sesame oil and black pepper underneath. Use it on thinly sliced sirloin or ribeye for bulgogi bowls and lettuce wraps, on pork shoulder strips, or on chicken thighs for the grill.
Ingredients
- 1/2 large asian pear, peeled and finely grated (or a ripe Bosc pear)
- 1/2 medium onion, finely grated
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 6 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 2 tsp ginger, finely grated
- 2 tsp brown sugar, beet or organic cane sugar if you need it vegan
- 2 tsp sesame oil, toasted
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
Steps
- Grate the pear and onion on the fine side of a box grater straight into a bowl, juices and all (or blitz them in a mini chopper).
- Stir in the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, sesame oil, pepper, green onion and sesame seeds until the sugar dissolves. This makes enough for about 1 1/2 lb of meat.
- Toss with very thinly sliced beef and marinate in the fridge 1–4 hours (pear tenderises fast, so not more than 8). Chicken thighs and pork take 4–12 hours.
- Cook the beef in a very hot pan or on a grill in small batches so it sears rather than steams, 2–3 minutes, until browned at the edges. Cook marinated chicken to 165°F and pork to 145°F. Throw away the marinade left in the bowl.
Good to know
How do I slice the beef thin enough?
Freeze the steak for 30–40 minutes until firm but not solid, then slice across the grain as thin as you can. Many Asian grocers sell it pre-sliced for bulgogi.
Can I make it spicy?
Stir in 1–2 tablespoons of gochujang and you have a spicy pork (jeyuk) style marinade. It is excellent with pork shoulder.
Does the score mean I eat all of this?
No. It is scored as the marinade itself, and most of it stays in the bowl. A big bowl of rice, lettuce leaves and quick-pickled cucumber make the plate.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 88
- Protein
- (12%)
- 3 g
- Fat
- (37%)
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- (51%)
- 12 g
- of which sugar
- 7 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 906 mg
More sauces & dressings
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 320 kcal goes into the pot and 365 g of ingredients comes out as about 365 g of food: 88 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.