My Love/Hate Relationship with Bulgogi

One of my boyfriend’s favorite meals that I make is bulgogi. I have a love hate relationship with bulgogi. It is like the irritating friend that you never remember is irritating until you are hanging out with them and they are braying like a donkey. I think of bulgogi fondly until I am standing there chopping carrots into matchsticks and going “why am I doing this???”

The carrots have gotten me so worked up before that I have seriously considered getting a julienne slicer just for this dish. I have spent at least an hour online reading julienne slicer reviews, looking for the perfect one, and when it came down to buying one felt it was a waste of money. Oh how I rued that decision last night when I was once again faced with those carrots that beg to be sliced into perfect matchsticks. So I whipped out my favorite kitchen tool and slowly sliced away… The only thing that keeps me from hating the carrots is the awesome monkey peeler I use!

The carrots are the supremely irritating part, but you also have to freeze the meat before you cut it and then marinate it for 1-4 hours. Now for some people that is not a big deal, and it usually isn’t for me either, but sometimes I forget about the freezing and the marinating and then at 7 pm am pissed off when I realize that to make the dinner it would not be ready until 10pm. Those are the nights I scrounge through the cupboards looking for a lost box of Mac and Cheese, and curse myself for being forgetful.

So last night I started my bulgogi at 6 pm, so I could get things done and not be totally rushing when Matty got home. I like to freeze my meat while I get the rub and the marinade for the meat ready. However, despite starting when I thought was perfectly early for dinner between everything dinner wasn’t served until 8:30ish. Oh well, it is all for the deliciousness that is bulgogi. I make ½ times the recipe below so that it feeds two people for 3 nights. The meat is always good the second night because the juices sink in even more, just make sure not to microwave it to death like I do sometimes….

PS. Sorry some of the pictures are stinky; by the time it was all done it was dark outside and hard to get a non-blurry and non-scary picture.

Recipe: Bulgogi- Adapted from the Boston Globe and Hak Joon Kim
Serves 6

Bulgogi begins with sirloin steak (or if you're me, any thin steak), which you freeze for half an hour, so you can slice the meat very thinly. After it's marinated, it cooks in a few minutes.

2 1/1 pounds sirloin steak
8-10 scallions
3 carrots, cut into matchsticks
5 cloves garlic, chopped
3 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon mirin (i sub this for rice wine (sake))
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 teaspoons sugar
3teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1. Wrap the steak in plastic wrap and freeze for 35 minutes.
2. Trim scallions, removing stem and 1/4 of the green top. slice into rounds

3. Place the steak on a board and with a long flat-bladed knife held at a slight angle, slice the steak into thin strips. In a bowl combine the strips with the scallions, carrots, garlic, sugar, and rice wine. Toss well with clean hands, massaging the seasonings into the meat.
4. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. Pour the mixture over the steak and mix well. Cover the steak with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before cooking.
5. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat for 1 minute. Add the steak and stir-fry for 4 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. Transfer to a platter.
6. In a small skillet, toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan for 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl. Add salt and sesame oil and mix well. Pour the sesame seed mixture over the cooked beef. Toss well to coat it, and serve with white rice and steamed broccoli.