Make this Easy Stovetop Bulgogi for a quick and delicious meal served with steamed rice, kimchi, and pickles. Great for busy weeknights.
Bulgogi is Korean grilled or barbecued thin slices of beef marinated with soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and sometimes pureed Asian pear. Bulgogi has a sweet and salty combination, making it very palatable for many people. At some restaurants, you have the option to grill the meat at the table which can be fun, if you have a group of people dining together.
The Marinade
It is important to marinate the beef before cooking for maximum flavor. Of course, the longer you marinate the beef, the better the flavor. It also helps to tenderize the beef. If time does not permit, marinate it for 30 minutes while you prepare other things in the kitchen. For my marinade, I used grated Asian pear, minced ginger, garlic, low sodium soy sauce, mirin (rice wine), sugar, and ground pepper.
The Beef
The best cuts of beef to use for this dish are tender top sirloin steaks. Other cuts that you can use are beef bottom round steak for stir fry or beef bottom round steak itself for a chewier texture. If you want to splurge, go for sirloin tender steak or ribeye.
I like to get thinner slices of steaks so that it is easier to slice. If you stay near a Korean market, you may be able to buy precut, very thin slices of beef for this purpose. Otherwise, you will have to slice the beef as thinly as you can with a very sharp knife. Firming up the beef in the freezer for 30 minutes helps. Always cut the beef against its grain so that it is not sinewy.
Cooking the Marinated Beef
Since we are cooking the marinated beef on the stove and not grilling it, a carbon steel or cast iron pan at medium high heat works really well. For the very thinly sliced top sirloin steak, I used my very well seasoned carbon steel skillet which is slightly lighter than a cask iron skillet. It took only about 7 minutes to cook through the beef with some charred bits.
I cooked the slightly thicker slices of beef bottom round steak for stir fry using my cast iron skillet. This took about 9 minutes to cook.
It turned out just as tasty and delicious.
Here is a comparison of what the dish looked like using the different cuts of meat. The top sirloin steak is very tender because I was able to slice it even thinner than the bottom round steak for stir fry. My sons prefer the chewier bottom round steaks. 😉
Plating This Easy Stovetop Bulgogi
After cooking, I decided to transfer the bulgogi to a hot plate since I have not used my hot plate for a long time. This, of course, is optional. 😉 Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions on the top and serve immediately.
Similar Tools Used To Make This Easy Stovetop Bulgogi
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Carbon Steel skillet – 11.8 Inch
Staub Cast Iron 11-inch Traditional Skillet
Stainless Steel Turner/Spatula, 12.5 inch
Easy Stovetop Bulgogi
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb beef top sirloin steak (450g)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small onion (peeled and thinly sliced)
- 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds (divided)
- 2 green onions (thinly slice)
Marinade
- ½ small Asian pear (peeled and cored)
- 1 inch ginger (peeled and minced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin / rice wine
- 2 tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Chill beef in freezer for 30 minutes to firm it up for easy slicing.
Marinade
- Grate Asian pear over a small bowl. Add minced ginger, garlic, low sodium soy sauce, mirin/rice wine, sugar, ground pepper, and sesame. Mix well and set aside.
- Using a very sharp knife, slice beef against its grain into very thin slices. Transfer to sliced beef to a medium bowl.
- Pour prepared marinade over sliced beef. Allow beef to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large carbon steel (or cast iron) skillet over medium high heat. Saute sliced onion for 1 minute.
- Add marinated beef and stir fry until beef is fully cooked and slightly caramelized, about 7 to 9 minutes.
- Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and with sliced green onions.
- Serve immediately with steamed rice.
Nutrition
Serving Suggestion For This Easy Stovetop Bulgogi
You can serve This Easy Stovetop Bulgogi with steamed rice, Cabbage Kimchi, White Cabbage Kimchi, and Pickled Daikon and Carrots on the side.
Another delicious way to serve this Easy Stovetop Bulgogi is to include it into a Dolsot Bibimbap (Korean hot stone mixed rice bowl). Actually, this is the reason I made this dish in the first place. 😉 This was so, so good and I will be sharing the recipe soon.
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