This juicy, tender, and flavorful beef bulgogi is perfect for a weeknight dinner or meal prep. A simple homemade marinade gives this beef a more authentic flavor, and a quick sear in a skillet ensures it doesn’t dry out!
This is one of my Asian-Style recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
If you’re looking for a dinner idea that’s bold, flavorful, quick, and easy, then you’re in luck!
This beef bulgogi is great for a family dinner, quick lunch, or meal prep.
The marinade can be done up to 48 hours ahead of time, which makes it great to partially make ahead!
Other than a food processor or blender, there are no fancy tools or equipment required. No need for a wok (unless you have one and would like to use it), just a big skillet.
So let’s find out how to make it!
Why you’ll love this recipe!
- Bold flavor – the bold flavors in the marinade make this beef bulgogi ultra-flavorful.
- Quick meal – other than the marinade time, this recipe comes together quickly and easily.
What do I need to make this recipe?
- Beef – this is easiest when you buy shaved steak, but you can slice your own if you’d like.
- Onion – a sweet onion works best in this recipe.
- Pear – an Asian pear is the best option, but a barlett or bosc pear are great alternatives.
- Sesame oil – sesame oil is a classic oil used in Asian-style recipes. The toasted variety has the best flavor.
- Gochujang – this is a fermented Korean chili paste and is generally available at larger grocery stores or online. This website has a list of alternatives if you can’t find it.
- Soy sauce – I prefer to use reduced sodium soy sauce, so the dish doesn’t get too salty.
- Dark soy sauce – this version of soy sauce is fermented longer, is somewhat thicker, and is used for giving dishes a rich dark color and flavor.
- Brown sugar – I use light brown sugar, since that’s what I keep on hand, but dark brown sugar works too.
- Ginger – fresh ginger is preferred, but you can also use a ginger paste (Gourmet Garden is the brand I like most), and use an equal amount.
- Garlic – just as with the ginger, fresh garlic is preferred, but garlic paste can be used. I would use about 2 tsp.
How to make weeknight beef bulgogi:
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Make marinade. This should be done in a food processor or blender, to ensure it gets nice and smooth.
- Marinate. Sliced onions and beef should be marinated for at least 4 hours.
- Rest. I like to let the marinated beef sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes, just so it’s not such a shock to cook them in a super hot skillet.
- Cook beef. This doesn’t take very long, but will likely need to be done in batches.
- Garnish and serve. Garnishes are always optional, but they add such a nice finishing touch.
Helpful Tip!
I usually just pick up a package of shaved steak from the meat department at my local grocery store. However, if your store doesn’t have that, or you’d rather slice it yourself, I would pick up a skirt steak or flank steak. Make sure you cut the beef across the grain, and at a 45 degree angle (so it will be the most tender). There’s a photo tutorial in the post for this Mongolian Beef.
Variations of this recipe
- Beef – the easiest option for making beef bulgogi is to use a package of shaved steak from the grocery store. This meat is super thin and all the work is done for you! But if you’d rather slice it yourself, pick up a 2 lb. skirt steak or flank steak and thinly slice it. You’ll want to cut across the grain and at a 45 degree angle to make the steak ultra tender.
- Soy sauce – I know the recipe calling for dark soy sauce may be throwing you off, but it really does add a depth of flavor (gives it a take-out style taste), as well as a great dark brown color. If you don’t have any, you can just use an equal amount of additional regular soy sauce.
- Sugar – in place of the light brown sugar, you can use dark brown sugar or honey.
FAQ’s
No, I don’t make any claims of true authenticity for this recipe. This is simply my take on the popular recipe, using ingredients that are readily available here in the Midwest. I find it tastes pretty similar, but I’m not qualified to develop traditional and authentic Korean recipes.
Making beef bulgogi ahead of time
I find this dish tastes best when made fresh, however due to the marinade portion of the recipe, it’s a semi-make ahead recipe already.
The beef needs to marinate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Storage
Leftover beef should be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within 3-4 days.
More Asian-Style Recipes:
My Favorite Food Processor!
You can use any food processor or blender that you’d like, but I really love this little workhorse. It’s not huge, so it takes up way less room in your kitchen, yet works incredibly well!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 medium pear peeled and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce optional but recommended
- 3 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp gochujang
- 4 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 lbs. shaved or ultra thinly sliced steak
- 1 large sweet onion peeled and sliced
Cooking
- 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
Garnishing and serving
- sliced green onions
- white or jasmine rice
- sesame seeds
Instructions
Marinate
- To a food processor or blender, add 1 medium pear, 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce, 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce, 3 Tbsp packed light brown sugar, 2 Tbsp gochujang, 4 cloves garlic, 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger, and 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil. Process or blend until fully mixed and smooth.
- Add 2 lbs. shaved or ultra thinly sliced steak and 1 large sweet onion to a mixing bowl. Pour in marinade, turning to coat all the beef and onion in it.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Cook the beef
- Heat a large and preferably deep skillet over MED HIGH heat. Once hot, add 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil and 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil. Then add the marinated beef and onions (you will likely need to do this in batches).
- Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until you have a golden brown sear on both sides.
Serve
- Serve beef garnished with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. I like to serve it alongside some white or jasmine rice.
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Chef Tips
- I’ve estimated this recipe serves 8, but feel free to divide it into as many servings as you’d like.
- Recipe prep and cook times do not include marinating time, as that will vary from person to person.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Anna says
Actually, I see it’s in the marinade list, but it isn’t written in the instructions, so I accidentally skipped it. Here’s hoping adding a little at the end doesn’t ruin the dish 😅
The Chunky Chef says
Oh man, thanks for the heads up! I’ve edited the recipe to include that ingredient, so it should be more clear going forward. It should be just fine added towards the end 🙂
Lisa says
What kind of steak should I use?
The Chunky Chef says
As mentioned in the post above the recipe card, I tend to pick up a package of shaved steak from my grocery store, but if you’d rather slice your own, I recommend a skirt or flank steak.
Anna says
At what point do you add the gochujang?