Bulgogi (Korean BBQ)

One of my favorite parts about fall is apple and pear picking, which is something I had never experienced before I came to Maine. 

Pears are a delicious fruit of the cold seasons, but they are often outshined by apples in savory dishes. This week I am sharing with you my Bulgogi (Korean barbecue) recipe, which uses pears as its key ingredient. This recipe is adapted from my Korean mother’s recipe that I grew up with. It’s very simple but very delicious. So let’s get started!

You will need:

Serves 2 to 3 people
Ingredients:

1 lb. thin steak

1 Bosc pear

1 large onion

1 carrot 

3 cloves garlic

2 scallions (plus more for garnish) 

1/2 cup beer

2 T soy sauce

1 T ginger

1 T brown sugar

1 T granulated sugar 

1 T sesame oil

1 t sesame seeds (plus more for garnish) 

1/8 t black pepper 

pinch salt

directions:

Start by slicing the steak into very thin, bite-size pieces. Try to get the ones that have a little marbling with some nice fat on them. The bulgogi will be juicier that way.

Peel and core the pear and roughly chop it up along with half of the onion into chunks. Use a food processor or a blender to puree the chopped-up pear, onion, ginger and garlic. Julienne (cut into strips) the scallion, carrot and the remaining half of the onion.The pear will not only naturally sweeten the meat, but it also tenderizes the meat as it marinates. Toss the steak, onion, pear puree and the julienned vegetables and mix in the rest of the listed ingredients.

Beer is not a traditional ingredient that you will find in bulgogis. this is a trick I learned from my mom. It the out come of the bulgogi will be even more juicy and tender plus it give the meat a nice aroma after it's marinated. Try to use a light beer, any cheap est beer you can find would work great in here. Now cover it up and keep in the refrigerator for at least for to six hours but preferably
overnight.

Use a large non-stick skillet on high heat. Spread the marinated meat evenly along with any excess liquid in the skillet. Let it cook for 8 to 10 minutes. You don’t want to stir it or the juice will evaporate as it cooks. Just let it go and keep an eye on it. When most of the liquid has been cooked and the meat looks golden brown, your bulgogi is ready.

One of the traditional ways to eat bulgogi is to wrap it up in perilla leaf leaves or lettuce along with chili paste, rice and kimchi. Perilla grows really well here in our front yard, but the frost unfortunately wiped it all out last weekend! You can also use iceberg lettuce if you don’t have any perilla.

Serve it over a hot bowl of rice along with some kimchi and other pan chan (side dishes) and enjoy!

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