Recently, “bowl” recipes have become a rather Big Deal. It’s hard to turn somewhere without seeing healthy salad bowls, rice bowls, quinoa bowls—heck any sprinkling of ingredients will do, as long as they are in a BOWL.
Well, I decided to throw together these delicious beef bulgogi bowls, which are topped with juicy, tasty pieces of bulgogi—i.e., STEAK—and plenty of delicious Korean add-ins. What you end up with is something less fussy than bibimbap and a little less traditional than bulgogi served with lettuce leaves.
For this recipe, I followed Maangchi’s recipe for the much-loved beef bulgogi, almost exactly. I made a few adjustments for quantities to make it easier to measure out, but this is a really easy recipe and probably one of her most popular ones. If you’re ever looking for great Korean recipes, Maangchi is pretty much our only and most trusted source!
When you’re digging into the fluffy white rice and flavorful slices of bulgogi, finished off with the much-needed zing of kimchi, peppers, raw garlic, and that awesome crack-like ssamjang sauce, it’ll all be gone before you can say “bulgogi.”
And a PSA, in case it wasn’t already obvious: this isn’t really a romantic dinner for two what with the kimchi and garlic breath and the steak bits in your teeth! Whether or not it will inspire love where before there was none is another story, however!
Beef Bulgogi Bowls: Recipe Instructions
Slice the beef and transfer to a mixing bowl or deep plate.
Next, prepare the marinade by adding the pear, onion, 4 cloves garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, black pepper, and sesame oil to a food processor or blender.
Blend until you have a smooth purée. Pour the marinade over the beef, topping the whole mixture with half of your chopped scallions and all of the sliced carrot. Stir thoroughly and let marinade for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
When the beef is done marinating, heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. The beef will cook in about 3 batches; Use 2 tablespoons of oil per batch.
When the cast iron skillet is searing hot, lay pieces of beef in one layer to cover the pan. Let fry until crisped and caramelized, then flip and let fry again. The whole process takes 1-2 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
You’ll probably have to scrape the pan in between batches, as the marinade crusts up the pan. Be sure to reheat the pan between batches!
When all the beef bulgogi is cooked, assemble the bowls. Add a generous heap of steamed rice to each bowl (this recipe serves 4-6 people).
Top with the beef bulgogi, kimchi, garlic, Shishito peppers, and your reserved chopped scallions. Serve with additional kimchi on the side and ssamjang paste to taste (just shmear a little of this on the beef as you eat it). You can also sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, if using.
Enjoy this beef bulgogi bowl guys!
Beef Bulgogi Bowls, A Korean Favorite
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds beef (any tender cut like tenderloin or top sirloin. We used a sirloin cut labeled "beef for bulgogi" from a Korean grocery store.)
- 1/2 large Korean pear (can sub 1 small Chinese pear or 1 small regular pear)
- 1/2 of a small onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 inch piece ginger
- 2½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 scallions (chopped, divided)
- 1/2 of a carrot (sliced thinly)
- 6 tablespoons oil (any preferred oil with a high smoke point)
- 5 cups steamed medium grain rice (to serve)
- 1/2 cup Kimchi (to serve)
- 3 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
- 3 Shishito peppers (thinly sliced)
- 2 tablespoons Ssamjang paste (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Slice the beef and transfer to a mixing bowl or deep plate. Next, prepare the marinade by adding the pear, onion, 4 cloves garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, black pepper, and sesame oil to a food processor or blender. Blend until you have a smooth purée. Pour the marinade over the beef, topping the whole mixture with half of your chopped scallions and all of the sliced carrot. Stir thoroughly and let marinade for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
- When the beef is done marinating, heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. The beef will cook in about 3 batches; Use 2 tablespoons of oil per batch.
- When the cast iron skillet is searing hot, lay pieces of beef in one layer to cover the pan. Let fry until crisped and caramelized, then flip and let fry again. The whole process takes 1-2 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate. You'll probably have to scrape the pan in between batches, as the marinade crusts up the pan. Be sure to reheat the pan between batches!
- When all the bulgogi is cooked, assemble the bowls. Add a generous heap of rice to each bowl (this recipe serves 4-6 people). Top with the bulgogi, kimchi, garlic, Shishito peppers, and your reserved chopped scallions. Serve with additional kimchi on the side and ssamjang paste to taste (just shmear a little of this on the beef as you eat it). You can also sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over the top, if using. Enjoy this one guys!
Thank you for another great recipe! I used flank steak and finished with scallions, a runny egg and homemade chili oil. This marinade makes the beef so flavorful!
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LOVE Bulgogi, LOVE all things Korean, LOVE this recipe.
I can’t wait to give it a go. Thanks for an awesome recipe and fantastic pics!!
I love what you guys do, yol are true inspiration!!
Thanks Ronnie!
Thank you so much, Ronnie!
WOW. You guys did it again. You should’ve seen our faces looking at your posts with delicious recipes, one after the other:)
This is perfect for a night with East Asian food (we have to arrange one, now that we mentioned it!), a hearty and filling meal that everyone will enjoy!
Thank you much!
Sending you lots of sunshine from Athens!
xoxoxo
We need some sunshine here…we are in the land of snow. Again, thank you so much for your lovely comment!
‘East’ Asian? Isn’t everything Asian from the beautiful East?
East Indian I can understand, but not East Asian ?!
Hey Shuastar, i think some people distinguish between East Asia and Southeast Asia. But ultimately, labels shouldn’t matter too much! :)
Yum, these bowls look scrumptious!
Thanks, Sabrina!
We had this tonight and it was great and juicy. The meat was very tender – excellent. However, why is there no salt in this recipe? I tried the marinade and then added a teaspoon of salt, and we later thought it could have been even more.
Keep it up – I love all the receipes on your page I have cooked so far.
Katinka
Hi Katinka, so glad you enjoyed it! The soy sauce stands in for salt; also, bulgogi is traditionally eaten with kimchi and ssamjang paste which are both rather salty.
Sounds delish! I’m wondering what can be substituted for the pear as I am not a fan at all of them. Or, would the recipe not be the same without the pear? Thank you. Jann
Hi Jann, the pear flavor is really subtle; I’m not sure how well an alternative would work out–maybe apple if you did want to substitute. If you use Asian pear, it’s an even subtler flavor compared to a regular bosc pear.
I’ve never met a Maangchi recipe that I didn’t like! My husband has perfected bibimbap bowls, so I feel that it’s only fair I take it upon myself to master this bulgolgi bowl! I’ll definitely be making this one soon! Thanks, guys!
Sounds like a plan, Nicki!
i love bulgogi! (which can be proven by the fact that my table had 3 orders of it tonight when we got all you can eat kbbq). and i’m still fascinated by the use of asian pear in the marinade- so unique compared to most other marinades!
Yummmm all you can eat KBBQ is living the dream–Picnic Garden?