mary eats

I finally made bulgogi, and honestly, I don’t know what took so darn long.

Bulgogi isn’t a complicated dish, in fact quite the opposite. A marinade is made; meat is sliced, then soaked, and then cooked.

Dating back to the 13th century, bulgogi does have a long history in Korean cuisine, and having been passed down from mother to daughter over the centuries, there appear to be as many recipes for the sweet soy marinade as there are Korean surnames.

This time I used the requisite soy, ginger, but replaced sugar with apple juice (I couldn’t find pear), though I’ve seen it done with kiwis. I used top serloin, something my husband soundlessy though effectively protested with rib poking when the whole foods butcher weighed out a pound at 15.99. We’ve decided to stop shopping at Whole Foods.

The whole thing was surpisingly simple. I used my mother in laws meat slicer to get the meat relatively thin (the guy at whole foods claimed not to have a slicer, but offered to slice it with a knife, so so so clueless)

I marinated the meat, giving up on microplaning the inch nub of ginger, instead throwing the whole fibrous lump into the pot.

Needing carbs and wanting to soak up the juices I added some ddok to the dish then served it all on a med of micro-greens with a dollop of ssamjang and a shaving of garlic. None of which was needed. I would happily eaten the meat off the plate with my hands.

Here’s my recipe
2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp Honey
2Tbsp Apple Juice
1 T minced green onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp Sesame Seed oil
1/4 tsp black pepper

1 pound beef serloin, thinly sliced

1/2 cupsliced ddok, soaked in water for 15 minutes

Garnish
A handful of washed micro greens
1 Tbsp ssamjang per person
1 clove garlic per person, thinly sliced

1. Combine all the bulgogi marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

2. Slice the meat (or add already sliced mea) to the marinade and stir to coat the meat. Let stand for 30 minutes.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat and marinade and cook. Drain the sliced ddok and add to the meat mixture. Cook until ddok is tender and meat has reached desired state of doneness.

On each plate lay down a handful of washed microgreens. Place a healthy dollop of ssamjang on each plate accompanied by sliced garlic. Top off greens with a serving of bulgogi.

I am also shopping around for a takbagi bulgogi (is that right) recipe.

So I’m curious, with all the variations, how do you cook bulgogi? What do you put in your marinade? How do you plate it, and have you ever considered enveloping it in puff pastry?

I know it is a bit off point, but having wrapped up my first quarter of school I can’t help but begin planning my Chef of the Day; a final of sorts for culinary graduates where we plan and execute a 5 course meal. I’m thinking of North Asian ingredients with Western European Techniques. For a main course I’m considering a Korean take on beef Wellington. And ideas?