The year was 2000, and I was a student at Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN. To make ends meet, I had lots of interesting jobs including being an usher on campus, working at the YMCA, babysitting at missionary events, and making phone calls for the fundraising office. One day while entering my apartment complex, I saw an add on the bulletin board asking for an English tutor. “I could do that!” I thought. So I called the number, and had a very difficult-to-understand conversation with a lovely Korean woman. She told me that her family had recently moved to America, and she wanted her family to learn English more quickly. We made some arrangements for me to start going to her apartment a few times a week, and so begin my adventure as an English tutor.
I quickly fell in love with the hospitable Korean culture. The Park family was very quiet, gentle, and extremely generous. Every time I went to their house, they offered me food. I learned that there was no saying, “no thank, I’m not hungry.” Mrs. Park wouldn’t hear of it and placed a plate of something in front of me no matter what! I was introduced to kimchi, a spicy pickled cabbage. I love anything pickled and I love spice, so this was delightful! And I especially came to love the recipe that I’m sharing with you today, bulgogi. Bulgogi is thin beef slices marinated and grilled on a barbecue. The sauce is absolutely wonderful!
The Park’s were very well connected in the Korean community of St. Paul, and they recommended me to their friends. Within that year, I gained more families, and ended up tutoring thirty students. God meets our needs in such unexpected, fun ways, doesn’t he?! My roommates answered lots phone calls that were nearly impossible to decipher, and immediately came to know that it was another call for tutoring. We had a lot of laughs about trying to understand those phone calls. (These were the days before cell-phones!) What a fun adventure of making new friends and discovering a new, lovely culture. My Korean families invited me to holidays in their home, and some even came to our wedding. And I also treasure that I got to eat such DELICIOUS food! I now make this for my family, and they, too, have come to love this Korean dish. I serve it in a huge bowl on top of steamed rice, and I tell stories about my lovely Korean friends while we eat.
Give bulgogi a try; you’ll love this tender, delectable dish!
*** Update: since being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I know longer use brown sugar in this dish. I substitute Liquid Splenda. You can’t tell the difference! I also skip the rice. 🙂 ***
Bulgogi
Ingredients
- 3 C packed light brown sugar or use 3-5 big squirts of Liquid Splenda
- 1½ C soy sauce
- 4 T cooking wine or sparkling grape juice
- 3 T sesame oil
- 2 green onions light and dark green parts, chopped, plus ¼ C sliced for serving
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 T freshly ground black pepper
- 4-5 lbs beef tenderloin rib-eye, top sirloin, or sirloin steak, thinly sliced
- toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Marinate the bulgogi: In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, green onions, garlic, and pepper until well combined. Add the beef and coat it completely in marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours.
- Prepare a hot grill. If the pieces of beef are so small that they may fall through the grates, use a grilling skillet or place a sheet of foil on the grill.
- Grill the beef on both sides until medium-well, 3 to 5 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking. Don’t crowd the skillet or foil, so do this in batches if necessary. As you finish each batch, transfer it to a serving platter and continue with the remaining beef.
- Alternatively, I cook this in batches in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Serve the bulgogi on top of steamed rice. Garnish with green onion and toasted sesame seeds.
Notes
