Sometimes the lunches are quick and dirty, like a make-your-own sandwich bar, or two armfuls of frozen pizzas thrown in the oven in pairs. Other times, they take a lot of elbow grease and some prep the night before, like this Beef Bulgogi made by Erin.
I was accidentally, but fortunately, wrangled into being sous-chef for this mouthwatering Korean spicy beef dish, which calls for pounds and pounds of thinly sliced sirloin marinated in the holy trinity of pounds and pounds of shredded onion, soy sauce and sugar (plus mirin and sesame oil). Erin is, in my and many others' opinion, the best cook at East Fork, so I was obviously honored to help.
Beef Bulgogi
[adapted from Taste]
Marinade:
- 1 large, white onion
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp. mirin
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 2 tbsp. black pepper
- 4 scallions
- sesame seeds
Beef:
- 2 lb. rib eye, sirloin, or brisket
1. Whisk together all of the marinade ingredients in one big bowl.
2. Slice beef as thin as possible. It's a lot easier to do this quickly if the beef is frozen and you've got a well-sharpened knife.
3. Place beef slices in large plastic bag, pour marinade over, zip out any air, and let refrigerate overnight.
4. Pan fry or grill the meat. We used our industrial fry top, which worked very well and made Erin look very pro.
5. Serve over warm white rice with kimchi.
*In our version we added a hard-boiled, soy sauce soaked egg and a simple cucumber salad dressed in gochujang. It hit the damn spot. 10/10 would make again.