Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Bulgogi
Thin beef marinated in soy, pear, sesame, and garlic, seared fast and sweet-savory, Korea’s beloved "fire meat."
Korean · easy · serves 4
prep 30 min · cook 10 min
~542 cal · 48g protein · 23g carbs · 28g fat · 3g fiber · 10g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Bulgogi, 'fire meat', is Korea's beloved marinated grilled beef, thin slices steeped in a sweet-savory blend of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and grated pear, then seared over flame or griddle. Tender, caramelized, and deeply flavored, it is one of the most iconic dishes of Korean cuisine.
The grated pear is a signature touch, tenderizing the meat and lending natural sweetness, while sesame and garlic give it depth. The dish descends from 'maekjeok,' skewered grilled meat of the Goguryeo era, making it one of Korea's oldest recorded foods.
Often cooked at the table on a dome grill and eaten wrapped in lettuce with rice, ssamjang, and banchan, bulgogi is festive, communal food.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1.5 lbs ribeye or sirloin, sliced paper-thin
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 Asian pear (or red apple), grated
1 onion, half blended into the marinade and half sliced
2 tbsp mirin or rice wine
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
5 cloves garlic, grated
1 tbsp ginger, grated
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, to finish
4 , to serve
for 4 rice, to serve
a head lettuce leaves, to serve
Instructions
1
Blend the pear with half the onion, the garlic, and the ginger, then whisk that into the soy, sugar, mirin, sesame oil, and black pepper.
✎ Chef’s note
The pear is not just for sweetness. It carries an enzyme that tenderises the beef, which is why Korean cooks reach for it rather than sugar alone. Apple, kiwi or pineapple do the same job.
2
Toss the thin beef (or mushrooms) and the sliced onion through it and marinate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
3
Sear in a screaming-hot pan or grill in small batches so it caramelizes instead of steaming, 2-3 minutes.
4
Scatter with scallions and sesame.
5
Serve with rice and lettuce leaves for wrapping, with kimchi and ssamjang on the side.
Seoul tabletop-grill tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Seoul (Gyeonggi). The red tteokbokki everyone means is recent. It was made by Ma Bok-rim in Sindang-dong in 1953, and the district only took off in the late 1970s; the Joseon court version it descends from, gungjung tteokbokki, was soy-sauce-based and mild, with no chilli paste in it at all.
🗺️
South Korea. The jang, the fermented soybean sauces at the base of nearly every pot, got their own UNESCO inscription in 2024, with families keeping soy sauce aged for decades so a household's cooking tastes the same across generations. Chilli, and so gochujang, only reached Korea in the late sixteenth or seventeenth century, which makes the red half of that pantry the newer half.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from South Korea
BibimbapA bowl of rice crowned with seasoned vegetables, beef, and a fried egg, all mixed with gochujang at the table.
Sundubu-jjigae (Soft Tofu Stew)Bubbling-hot soft tofu stew, brick-red with gochugaru, finished with an egg cracked in at the table.
Hobak-jukA silky, naturally sweet Korean pumpkin porridge thickened with glutinous rice.
Browse all South Korea recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Grill or barbecue, Blender, Whisk.
Storing it: Best straight off the heat. Leftovers keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated and reheat well in a hot oven rather than the microwave.
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SikhyeDrink
HotteokDessert
KimbapLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Bulgogi?
Thin beef marinated in soy, pear, sesame, and garlic, seared fast and sweet-savory, Korea’s beloved "fire meat."
Where does Bulgogi come from?
Bulgogi is a Korean dish from Seoul (Gyeonggi), South Korea.
Can Bulgogi be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bulgogi recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Bulgogi safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Bulgogi take to make?
About 40 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 10 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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