Saturday, December 27, 2014

Korean Bulgogi

Korean Bulgogi
(buhl-go-gee')

4-5 lbs. beef or pork, very thinly sliced

If you don't have a source for buying the standard cuts of thinly-sliced meat, then it's quite possible to do your own.  That's what I did.  First, though, you'll want to freeze it, then thaw for an hour or two before slicing.  When it's frozen, it's much easier to slice it super thin.   This is painstaking, wrist-breaking, shoulder-building work, but is necessary for getting this dish right!


Place in food processor and blend:
1 med-lg onion
4 bunches green onion
5 cloves garlic
2-3 T. fresh ginger
1 lg apple, peeled and seeded

Pour into extra large pot or mixing bowl.  Add the following ingredients and mix well:
3/4-1 c. Coke
1 c. soy sauce
1 c. sugar
1-2 t. black pepper
2 T. sesame seeds
(2) 8 oz. bottles ground fresh chili paste (found this in the ethnic food aisle at my regular grocery store - to the left of the soy sauce in the picture above)

Taste the marinade before adding the meat.  Make any adjustments desired (more heat? more sweet? salt?).  Then add meat and mix in well, making sure each slice is well-submerged and coated with the marinade. 


Cover tightly and refrigerate for 2-48 hours.  The longer the better in my opinion. 

When finished marinating, heat sesame oil in skillet on high.  Fry each piece until browned (1-2 minutes each side, depending on how thinly you sliced your meat!).  

ENJOY!

ADDENDUM:  I made extra "sauce" using the same ingredients as the marinade, which added some extra heat and was good ladled over rice.  However, I wasn't very precise and didn't measure, but it went kind of like this:  8 oz. Coke, 1/2-3/4 c. soy, 2 (8oz) bottles fresh ground chili paste, 1 c. sugar, 2 T. sesame seeds.  


NOTE: Here is a link to a recipe that might be slightly more authentic, but I couldn't find gochugaru locally and had to choose an appropriate substitute.  This one looks amazing too and uses pork.  It seems that most any cut of beef or pork will do if it can be sliced thinly enough.  Some marbling is recommended.

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