Kitchen Meets Culinary Clutz

My husband first tasted Bulgogi when he traveled to South Korea. He said it was the best food he'd ever tasted.  There is this cute little restaurant in our town called the Korea House. It's located about a 1/4 of a mile west of Sooner Rd on SE 29th Street. My husband describes the restaurant as being "a tiny hole in the wall", because it's tucked back inside a track of rundown businesses, but they serve the best Bulgogi in the OKC Metro!

For the past two years I have been experimenting with making a Bulgogi recipe that resembles the dish served at the Korea House. Below is my recipe. Please note that I have not quite perfected it yet, but it comes pretty close to the Korea House's recipe.

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  2 lbs  Ribeye, tenderized and thinly sliced (the higher the Grade, the better!)
  
  
  
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  5 Tbsp granulated sugar
  
  
  
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  1/4 cup brown sugar
  
  
  
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  1/2 cup soy sauce
  
  
  
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  2 buds finely chopped garlic (or 1 tsp crushed garlic from jar)
  
  
  
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  1/4 tsp salt
  
  
  
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  5 Tbsp Mirim* (or sweet sake)
  
  
  
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  2 Tbsp sesame oil
  
  
  
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  2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds**
  
  
  
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  1 cup split green onions
  
  
  
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  Sambal Oelek (Ground Fresh Chili Paste), optional
  
  
  
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  2 cups steamed rice
  
  
  

1. 
   
   Prep rice: 2 cups rice to 4 cups water. Set to boil. When boiling, turn heat down to low setting, stir once, cover and steam for 18 minutes.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Preheat skillet to Med-High / High heat.
   
   
   
3. 
   
   With exception of the beef, Sambal Oelek (and rice), mix all the ingredients until sugars are dissolved.
   
   
   
4. 
   
   Pour over sliced beef, and toss to coat.
   
   
   
5. 
   
   Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours if prepping ahead of time, otherwise marinate for 15 minutes.
   
   
   
6. 
   
   Pour meat mixture into hot skillet, turning meat frequently to brown evenly until meat is just shy of desired completion. Cook off most of the juices.
   
   
   
7. 
   
   With a measuring spoon, remove about 4 Tbsp of juices from skillet  and place into small bowl. Add  about 2  tsp cornstarch and mix well.
   
   
   
8. 
   
   Pour the cornstarch mixture onto the Bulgogi and stir until juices form a thick syrup. Remove from heat.
   
   
   
9. 
   
   Add only enough chili paste to suit your tolerance of spice. (Because the kids cannot handle the spicy chili paste I serve them first before adding chili paste to the rest of the Bulgogi meat!)
   
   
   
10. 
    
    Serve on top of steamed rice.