Beef Bulgogi is a world-famous Korean favorite that features thinly sliced beef marinated in a sweet and savory sauce, then grilled to perfection. While its origins may be rooted in royalty, it’s surprisingly easy to make at home!
Bulgogi, meaning “fire meat” in Korean, is a culinary legend with a history stretching back 2,000 years. This dish, once enjoyed by Korean royalty, is now a beloved favorite worldwide. Now, instead of spending hundreds of dollars at restaurants, you can easily recreate this tender, sweet, and savory Korean BBQ at home for under $20 and in just 15 minutes!
While pre-made bulgogi sauces are readily available, creating your own from scratch is very simple and adds a special touch to the dish. Using common pantry ingredients, I’ll show you how to prepare and present restaurant-quality beef bulgogi. Let’s go!
What Cut of Beef?
The best cut of beef for bulgogi is thinly sliced ribeye. Two key things are important in this cut:
- Marbling. The balance of meat and fat means they are more tender and juicy when cooked.
- Thinly sliced. It allows the marinade to fully penetrate, ensuring maximum flavor and also promotes quick cooking. The result is a melt-in-your-mouth texture!
I usually get thinly sliced meat from Hmart, but alternatively, you can easily ask your local butcher to thinly slice ribeye for you with their machine or you can also do it at home by partially freezing the beef so it’s easier to slice. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter how good the marinade is, if the beef is too thick, the flavors won’t come through.
Homemade Bulgogi Sauce Recipe
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You can make a basic bulgogi marinade with just soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and garlic. However, the following ingredients I’ll share will transform your beef into a high-quality and authentic Korean restaurant dish.
- Soy Sauce. This is the savory base of the sauce. With the variety of soy sauces available, get the light or regular soy sauce, I recommend Sempio or Kikkoman.
- Sugar. The sweet component that will balance the savor of the soy sauce.
- Sesame Oil. For a nutty and earthy finish, and always a great complement to soy-based sauce.
- Garlic and Onion. The aromatics that will cut through the strong flavors of the sauce.
- Korean Pear. I highly recommend using Korean Pear because it has natural sweet and floral notes that will make the marinade even fresher, but you can also use Asian pears or regular pears in place of it. This also functions as a tenderizer for the beef.
- Water. To help blend the aromatics and pear.
- Sake, Mirin, or Soju. This will help reduce any strong odors from the meat as well as function as a tenderizer.
- Oyster Sauce, MSG, or Dashida. You only need a small amount just to elevate the umami flavor in the marinade.
- Black Pepper. The contrasting spice and aroma through all the strong flavors of the seasonings.
Combine the soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil, then mix thoroughly until the sugar is dissolved. Blend together garlic, onion, and pear with water, then add to the soy sauce mixture. Finish the marinade with sake, oyster sauce, and black pepper, then mix thoroughly. When you taste this, it won’t really taste like “bulgogi”, but once it combines with the meat, it’s fire!
Marinate the beef for 24 hours for best results. If pressed for time, 30 minutes to an hour will do. Bulgogi is also great for meal prep—you can make a big batch of marinated beef, portion it, and store it in the freezer, so you can have bulgogi anytime!
How to Cook Bulgogi?
There are two ways to cook bulgogi:
- Grilling. In Korean BBQ, charcoal grilling bulgogi allows the marinade to drip onto the coals, producing a fragrant and flavorful smoke that adds layers of flavors to the beef.
- Pan Frying. Pan frying, on the other hand, allows the marinade to reduce and the fat to render, then it creates a wonderful sauce that I like to put on rice. This is my favorite method!
In both methods, you simply need to place the beef on medium heat so that it slowly cooks. Once it is 70-80% done, add the scallions and onion. This will further enhance the flavor of the dish. The thinness of beef prevents it from overcooking, nevertheless, do not let it dry out too much.
As needed, cut the beef into more bite-size pieces. When 95% done, serve on a hot plate and garnish with sesame seeds to get that sizzling vibe.
How to Eat Bulgogi?
The best way to serve beef bulgogi is with some freshly cooked rice where you drizzle all that sauce. On the side, the best soup to complement it is Soybean Paste Soup. You can have kimchi and other banchans, but mainly I recommend you serve this with lettuce, sliced garlic, and jalapeños. And for the sauce, ssamjang! With these, you can make a ssam or bulgogi lettuce wraps.
Ssam is lettuce-wrapped layers of rice, kimchi, pepper, ssamjang, and of course bulgogi. Kinda like a Korean burrito, and you eat it all in one bite! This is the authentic Korean meal experience!
For leftovers, you can use the remaining beef as a topping to Japchae and Bibimbap, or you can make it a filling for Kimbap or Bulgogi Grilled Cheese!
Other classic Korean recipes you may like:
- Yangnyeom Korean Fried Chicken
- Spicy Garlic Fried Chicken
- Spicy Stir Fried Pork
- Korean Dumplings
- LA Galbi
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Korean BBQ Beef Bulgogi
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 300 grams Thinly Sliced Rib Eye
- 1-2 stalks Scallions Sliced 2-3 inches long
- 50 grams Onion Sliced
- 1 tsp Vegetable or Canola Oil For sauteing
- 1/2 tsp Sesame Seeds For garnish
Bulgogi Marinade
- 6 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1/2 tbsp Garlic
- 40 grams Onion
- 70 grams Korean Pear
- 1/3 cup Water
- 3 tbsp Sake
- 1/2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- Black Pepper To taste
Instructions
Bulgogi Marinade
- Combine soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil, and mix well until the sugar has dissolved.
- Blend together garlic, onion, pear, and water, then add into the soy sauce mixture.
- Add sake, oyster sauce, and black pepper to the bulgogi marinade, then mix thoroughly.
- Marinate the meat in the bulgogi sauce for 30 mins minimum up to 24 hours.
How to Cook Bulgogi
- Slice onion and scallions into strips.
- In medium to low heat and splash of oil, place the marinated beef into the pan and slowly cook it.
- When the meat is 70-80% done, add the onion and scallions.
- As needed, cut the beef into bitesize pieces.
- Finish with sesame seeds, serve on a hot plate, and enjoy!
I really enjoy your videos and I decided to make this Korean BBQ recipe today for the first time. It was absolutely phenomenal. I added green pepper to the sauté and enjoyed over rice. Thank you so much for sharing your gifts with the world. 🙂
My pleasure Jay! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!!!
What do you recommend for scaling up for larger groups? I bought the 5# sliced bulgogi pack from H-Mart and am looking to cook the whole thing up for a group of people.
Simply multiply the sauce depending on the weight of the beef. You can also add more vegetables like onion, scallions, carrots, and enoki mushrooms so more people can eat!