Bulgogi

Bulgogi is a Korean beef dish that my hubby made once before and I've been craving all week. I couldn't find the recipe he used so I went to allrecipes.com and put bulgogi/Korean beef in the search box. It brought up several recipes, so I pretty much took what I wanted from each. Again, measurements are approximate as I was really just tossing in some of this and some of that.

beef flank steak (Some recipes called for another type of steak. I like flank, so this is what I'm using.)
1/2 cup soy sauce (I use reduced sodium and can never taste the difference)
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp sriracha hot chili sauce
almost a whole bulb of minced garlic. (I do love me some garlic!)
1 bunch of scallions, chopped, just the green parts
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
A few of the recipes called for rice wine, which I do not have, but since I'm drinking mimosas as I prep the food, I figure a little champagne might work instead. I know that it's totally different, but I improvised.
All of the recipes I found also called for sesame seeds, but my hubby can't have seeds, so I'll just sprinkle them on mine after it's cooked.

Mix everything except the beef together in a small bowl. Thinly slice the beef, against the grain, into strips. Put the beef in a shallow container or a large ziplock plastic bag. Pour the marinade over the beef. I let this marinate for about 3 hours, but you could really let it go overnight, or as little as one hour.

 This smelled so yummy even though it was raw!

When I was ready to cook, I fired up the grill and when I had the temp holding steady at 350, I put the beef in a grill basket/skillet and let it cook for about 4 minutes, then I turned it and let it cook for another 4 minutes. Cook it to your desired level of doneness. (Is that a word? You know what I mean, right?)

When the beef was ready, I served it with fried dumplings that I bought in the frozen food section at H-Mart and sticky white rice. I had also read that bulgogi was sometimes served with lettuce leaves to wrap the meat and rice in, so I had green leaf lettuce to go with it. I made a sauce from soy sauce, honey, minced garlic, scallions, sesame seed oil, crushed red pepper flakes and a tiny bit of sriracha.

I let it all simmer for a while and whisked it frequently.

When we were all seated at the table, I asked Dad if it was anything like the bulgogi he remembered from Korea. Without hesitation, he said "No, but it's tasty!". I guess we'll have to go to a Korean restaurant some time soon so I can get a feel for what it's really supposed to taste/look like, but in the meantime, this was really tasty!

If anyone out there has a recipe for something a bit more authentic, I'd love to try it! Please send me a link!

Happy eating!