Bulgogi- "fire-meat"

"Bul"=fire
"gogi"=meat

This Korean beef dish takes minutes to make the marinade, and minutes to cook up. Really easy, EXTREMELY satisfying. Despite the name, it is not spicy, rather it is cooked over fire. You can serve the meat over rice, in bibimbap, wrapped in lettuce/sesame leaves with other goodies or however you like. It is a treat any way you serve it.

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:

Marinade:
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C soju, vodka, dry white wine
1/4 C sprite
3 T sugar
1/2 asian pear, peeled and chopped
1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
6 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp pepper
2 T sesame oil
1/4 C chopped green onion

Also need:
1 1/2 lb thinly sliced boneless ribeye or sirloin (or presliced bulgogi meat without marinade)
4 fresh or rehydrated shitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
1/2 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 T sesame seeds
2 T sesame oil for cooking

Directions:
1. In a long shallow dish (casserole dish), add your beef, shitakes, sliced onions and sesame seeds.
2. Combine all marinade ingredients in blender, blend until smooth. (10 seconds)
3. Pour marinade over beef and veggies and cover with plastic wrap or lid. Let sit for about 30 minutes in or out of fridge.
4. Preheat pan(I prefer cast iron)over medium high heat. Drizzle with sesame oil and cook bulgogi in batches, taking care not to over crowd the pan so you get a nice carmelized meat. Each batch takes 4-5 minutes. (You can also cook over the grill, just watch carefully as it cooks through very quickly!)

You can add additional "fire" to this dish by adding 1 T Korean chili powder or chili paste to the marinade! ;) Some like it hot!

Serve hot! Enjoy!
*Tip: If you are slicing your own beef, freeze your steak for about 30 minutes before slicing thinly with a sharp knife. (This will help keep the meat from shifting as you do so.)

Ovenless chef
Modified from a recipe in "The Food and Cooking of Korea" by Young Jin Song