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Korean Marinated Beef (Bulgogi)

4.3

(39)

Strips of beef with garlic and kimchi over rice on a lettuce leaf set inside a red bowl on a red surface.
Photo by Romulo Yanes

This popular dish can be found on the menu at virtually every Korean restaurant in Manhattan. The beef is topped with various accompaniments such as a few raw garlic slices, kimchi (assorted spicy pickles), and steamed white rice, then wrapped in lettuce and eaten with your hands.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    40 minutes

  • Yield

    4 main-course servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
1 bunch scallions (white and pale green parts separated from greens), minced (1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 lb flank steak, cut across the grain into very thin slices (no more than 1/8 inch thick)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Accompaniments: butter lettuce or other soft-leaf lettuce; thinly sliced garlic; packaged kimchi*; steamed white rice

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Stir together soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, white and pale green scallions, garlic, ginger, and 2 tablespoons sesame seeds in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add steak and toss to coat, then marinate 15 minutes.

    Step 2

    Heat vegetable oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until just smoking, then add steak in 1 layer and sauté, turning over occasionally, until browned and just cooked through, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with scallion greens and remaining 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, then serve with accompaniments.

  2. Step 3

    *Available at Asian markets and many supermarkets.

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