Korean Beef Bulgogi & Quick Kimchi
I was first introduced to Korean food just a few years ago, and I fell in love instantly. Korean dishes tend to be the perfect mix of sweet and spicy, with a touch of pungent from pickled and fermented embellishments.
One of my favorite Korean dishes is Beef Bulgogi. I love it served in Bibimbap, especially Dolsot-Bibimbap, which is a rice dish served in a hot stone bowl. This allows the rice to get nice and brown and crispy on the bottom. The rice is then topped with thinly sliced marinated beef, fresh veggies and pickled kimchi. It is perfectly topped off with an over-easy egg.
I wanted to try making something similar at home but there are a couple of things that make it tricky. The first trick to good beef bulgogi is very thinly sliced, good quality meat. Most often this is ribeye but sometimes sirloin is also used. I am still working on my knife skills, so I got around this problem by using meat precut for just this kind of dish.
H Mart is an Asian grocery store I have shared about before. You can find that blog post here. They have beef cut just right. It is a little more expensive than buying steak and cutting it yourself, but it is beautiful meat and saves you that step.
The other tricky part of the Dolsot-Bibimbap is the magic of the stone bowls. You can purchase those at H Mart as well, or here on Amazon. I would love these, but I have literally no room left in my kitchen storage, so I employed a different method. I cooked the rice fully first, then pulled out my trusty cast iron pan to crisp it up a bit. I simply flattened the rice into the pan and cooked it low and slow to get the bottom nice and crispy. It worked very well, even though it’s not nearly as fun as those little individual stone bowls.
To make the beef bulgogi, you make a marinade with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, green onions and the all-important Gochujang chili paste. This fermented chili paste is distinctly Korean and can come in varying heat levels. If you do not have an Asian market like H Mart close to you, you can find Gochujang on Amazon. It has a million applications and grows on you quickly.
While the meat is marinating for at least 2 1/2 hours, you can use your time to prep the fresh crunchy veggies to place in each bowl, and if desired, you can whip up your own Quick Kimchi.
Kimchi is a mixture of fermented vegetables, mainly cabbage, and then mixed with a chili sauce made with fish sauce (sometimes shrimp), rice vinegar, garlic and more Gochujang. Traditionally, it is fermented for at least 2 weeks. They even sell special refrigerators just for fermenting Kimchi.
But this is a quick, immediate version which obviously has a lighter taste, but still adds a little tang to your bulgogi or anything else you would like to eat with it.
I used Napa cabbage and Savoy cabbage for a mix of color, carrots and red radishes. You can customize it to your preferences. After slicing the cabbage, you sweat it with sea salt for about an hour. Then you mix in the chili sauce and have an easy kimchi. You can eat it immediately or store in a glass jar on the counter overnight. It will last up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
The marinated meat cooks very quickly because it is so thin. I cooked mine up in my cast iron grill pan. Drizzle some oil in your pan and place a few pieces of meat at a time in the pan. Once the meat is just browned on each side, remove it to a plate covered with foil to keep warm while you finish the rest of the meat.
When the meat is all cooked, scoop some rice into individual bowls, add meat, carrots and cucumbers and a hot, over-easy egg. Top with the Quick Kimchi and you have a pretty good knock-off of a Dolsot-Bibimbap.
We all enjoyed our Bulgogi bowls and had a little beef left over that was completely devoured the next day. Now that I know how easy it is, I will work on perfecting my meat-cutting skills so we can make it more often.
AuthorMelissa JoyDifficultyIntermediateCombine all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil.
Slice the beef into thin strips.
Gently stir the beef strips into the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2 1/2 hours.
While the beef is marinating, cook the rice and set aside. Prepare the carrots and cucumbers and place them in the fridge.
When the beef is done marinating, remove from the fridge and heat up the remaining 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil in a frying pan or cast iron skillet. Cook the beef just long enough for it to brown on each side. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan. As the meat is cooked, transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Lightly coat the bottom of a cast iron skillet with oil and press the rice evenly around the bottom of the pan. Heat on low to medium heat until the rice is nice and crispy on the bottom.
Once the beef is cooked and the rice is crispy, fry each egg until over easy.
Layer each bowl with crispy rice, beef bulgogi, fresh veggies, fried egg and kimchi. Enjoy immediately.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil.
Slice the beef into thin strips.
Gently stir the beef strips into the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2 1/2 hours.
While the beef is marinating, cook the rice and set aside. Prepare the carrots and cucumbers and place them in the fridge.
When the beef is done marinating, remove from the fridge and heat up the remaining 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil in a frying pan or cast iron skillet. Cook the beef just long enough for it to brown on each side. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan. As the meat is cooked, transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Lightly coat the bottom of a cast iron skillet with oil and press the rice evenly around the bottom of the pan. Heat on low to medium heat until the rice is nice and crispy on the bottom.
Once the beef is cooked and the rice is crispy, fry each egg until over easy.
Layer each bowl with crispy rice, beef bulgogi, fresh veggies, fried egg and kimchi. Enjoy immediately.
Adapted from www.justataste.com
AuthorMelissa JoyDifficultyBeginnerThinly slice one Chinese cabbage. For a variety of color, use half a head of Napa Cabbage and half of a Savoy cabbage.
Place the cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Toss to distribute the salt and set aside for 1 hour.
In the meantime, mix the chili paste, rice vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, ginger and garlic in a bowl.
After the cabbage and salt have rested for 1 hour, rinse the salt out of the cabbage with cold water and strain well. Place the cabbage back into the bowl.
Grate the radishes and carrots and add to the bowl.
Slice the green onions and add to the bowl as well.
Add the sauce mix and stir throughout the vegetables.
Enjoy immediately or store in glass jars on the counter overnight to ferment a bit. The kimchi will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Ingredients
Directions
Thinly slice one Chinese cabbage. For a variety of color, use half a head of Napa Cabbage and half of a Savoy cabbage.
Place the cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Toss to distribute the salt and set aside for 1 hour.
In the meantime, mix the chili paste, rice vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, ginger and garlic in a bowl.
After the cabbage and salt have rested for 1 hour, rinse the salt out of the cabbage with cold water and strain well. Place the cabbage back into the bowl.
Grate the radishes and carrots and add to the bowl.
Slice the green onions and add to the bowl as well.
Add the sauce mix and stir throughout the vegetables.
Enjoy immediately or store in glass jars on the counter overnight to ferment a bit. The kimchi will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Adapted from www.bbcgoodfood.com
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