After being pleasantly surprised with the visit to K-Peppers (Korean fusion restaurant) in Middleton, I had to try and copy their delicious, spicy version of bulgogi (thinly sliced barbecue beef, or translated literally as “fire meat”). For those who don’t know what bulgogi is, it’s thinly sliced rib eye steak (or another prime cut of meat) that is marinated overnight with a main combination of soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, Mirin, and sesame oil. How’s the taste you ask? Basically, it’s the most tender and flavorful meat out of all the Korean BBQ varieties—next to my other favorite meat dish called kalbi—that can only be described as sweet, savory, and full of rocking flavors. The sweetness is especially appealing to foreigners, who usually end up falling in love with this dish and other Korean BBQ variations. At most restaurants, you’ll usually find this grilled right in front of you on an iron cast griddle right smack in the middle of the table for everyone to fight over. However, it’s more than acceptable to cook it on the stove top and serve individually like I did with my batch. Like most Korean BBQ dishes, it is served with a variety of lettuce (red, green, and perilla leaves are my favorite), which is then wrapped with the meat, ssamgjang (dipping sauce) and other namul banchan (vegetable side dishes). As for today’s dinner, the family loved it with Sis giving a big thumbs up and my approving in her own unique way (Korean moms are always hard to please). Unfortunately for me, nothing I cook really tastes that great (the downfalls of cooking), but I must say that it did closely mimic the spicy version at K-Peppers! 🙂









Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Marination time: minimum 8 hours to overnight
Ingredients: Serves 4 people
- 2 lbs rib eye steak
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp Mirin (cooking wine)
- 4 tbsp gochujang (red pepper paste)
- 1 tbsp gochugaru (red pepper flakes)
- 1 onion, julienned
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 3 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
- sesame seeds (garnish)
Directions:
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