Beef Bulgogi Recipe

Give your weeknight dinners a glow-up where the marinade does the work and you feast! This melt-in-your-mouth tender Beef Bulgogi recipe is perfect to cook once for the week, then enjoy in salads, rice bowls, or even gooey melty nachos! Because weeknight dinners should be easy, not boring.

🥘 Watch How to Make this Bulgogi Beef Recipe

🥘 Ingredients

If you’re not in the know, beef bulgogi is thinly sliced ribeye, sirloin, or flank steak marinated in a sweet-savory soy sauce-based marinade, then cooked over a piping hot flame until you’re practically drooling and fighting the urge to eat it straight from the pan/grill.

Yep, that’s when you know it’s done. Drool test.

Best Cut of Beef for Bulgogi

Typically, boneless ribeye steak with nice marbling is used for super tender bulgogi. Sirloin or flank steak also works, but since they’re leaner, they’ll be slightly less tender than ribeye since it doesn’t have as much fat to help tenderize the beef. 

To save time, you can buy pre-sliced meat at local Asian markets labeled shabu shabu, hot pot, or KBBQ meat. They’re cut super thinly so they cook quickly (aka the easiest & fastest way to then this beef bulgogi in your belly asappppp!).

If you’re not in the mood for beef, you can swap it out for Pork Bulgogi or Chicken Bulgogi! Even Kalbi has a very similar marinade!

Cut Beef the EASY Way

Alternatively, you can slice your own meat! The easiest way to thinly slice meat is to cut it while its still partially frozen. If your beef is already thawed, just pop it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Then, slice against the grain for extra tender ribbons of beef. If you cut with the grain, the fibers of beef are long and that’s what makes tough chewy pieces of beef.

Ingredients for Tenderizing Beef

Traditionally, the bulgogi marinade includes an Asian or Nashi pear that’s used to break down the proteins in the meat for melt-in-your-mouth and drool tender kinda meat. Since they’re not always available or easy to find, apple, pineapple (yep, even canned), or kiwis also work! 

My favorites are the pineapple & kiwi because of the sweet & tangy flavors they add to the bulgogi marinade! Canned pineapple is easy to alway have it in stock & freeze any leftovers. And I LOVE the sweet tangy flavors of golden kiwi in the marinade, but the green one works too! 

Just keep in mind, that pineapple and kiwi are VERY acidic, so a little goes a long way. For example, ½ kiwi is good for up to 3 pounds of meat. Also, don’t marinate them longer than overnight because so the pineapple and kiwi are SO good at their job of tenderizing, they don’t know when to stop lol. If marinated too long, they’ll continue to break down the proteins and turn your meat mushy - blehhh.

See recipe card for quantities.

🔪 Instructions

Step 1. Marinate Beef

In a blender, toss together the soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, gochujang (if using for a spicy kick), peeled garlic, kiwi, peeled onion, sesame oil, & cracked black pepper. Blend until smooth then transfer ingredients to an Ziplock bag.

I prefer using a Ziplock bag because you can create a vacuum-sealed bag where all the meat is submerged in the marinade, but you can use any airtight container or even bowl with plastic wrap pressed directly on top of the meat works too.

Add the thinly sliced beef to the bulgogi marinade, mix well, then push out as much air as possible so all the meat is fully marinaded. Give that beef spa treatment with a quick massage,  marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to overnight in the fridge - no longer.

Step 2. Cook Meat

Heat a large pan or wok on medium-high heat with a neutral high-smoke point oil (I like using grapeseed oil). Add bulgogi meat when it’s piping hot, then spread meat into a single layer cook for 3-5 minutes, or until fat rendered, excess moisture has evaporated, and sugars in the marinade caramelized the meat.

Cooking times may vary slightly depending on how thick your slices of beef are. So keep an eye on it & use your senses to tell when it’s done (and try to resist the urge to eat straight from the pan because it’s hot AF… but also won’t blame you if you try because I know it smells so good). Serve it with hot steamy rice, kimchi, and/or lettuce wraps (if you’re feeling responsible and healthy lol). Got leftovers?? Repurpose them in Bulgogi Nachos or Bulgogi Quesadillas!

💭 Recipe FAQs

🥗 What to Serve with Beef Bulgogi

Bulgogi is usually eaten with fresh hot rice and you could even do a buglgoi beef bowl. BUT, if you want to serve this Entree as part of a larger spread for Game Day or as a Party Food, you’ll be loved by all - ESPECIALLY if you do a bulgogi platter with Pork Bulgogi and Chicken Bulgogi! Serve it with:

• Kimchi Fried Rice because rice is life… and only takes 10 minutes to make!
• Kimchi Soup is like a warm hug in soup form and served in no more than 20 minutes.
• Korean Braised Potatoes are sticky-sweet, savory, and whispers “heyyy, come take a bite! You know you want to” … plus, it’s a no-peel recipe for easy cooking.
• Kimchi Pancakes are crispy on the outside, fluffy in the inside, and always has the fam saying, “ooo gimme!”
• Korean Cucumber Salad is tangy, crunchy, and makes you feel like a responsible adult because you’re eating vegetables 😉