319 – Korean Bulgogi – Marinated Beef / البولجوجي الكوري

Ingredients :

• 0.7 pound (300 grams) beef meat thinly sliced (tenderloin or any soft meat cut)
• A little bit of vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup of onion puree (1 small onion very thinly grated or processed)
• 1/2 medium sized onion thinly sliced
• 1/2 a kiwi (pureed)
• 4 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• Pinch of salt + pinch of ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil (or Argan oil or olive oil)
• 1 green onion (thinly sliced lengthwise)
• 1 carrot (grated)
• 1 bunch of shiitake mushrooms (or any mushrooms of your choice)
• 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Directions :

Step 1: Preparing the Ingredients
1- The meat has to be very thinly sliced – you can ask your butcher to cut it for you. Otherwise, you can just freeze deboned meat cut (sirloin or tenderloin), then cut it with a sharp knife. It is much easier to slice when it is frozen.
2- Peel the carrot and grate it using the large holes of the grater.
3- To make onion puree, take a small onion a grate it with the smallest holes in the grator or puree it in a food processor.
4- Cut the kiwi in half and remove the skin. Place half a kiwi in a sieve and push it through with a spoon to get a smooth kiwi puree. Discard the kiwi skin and seeds left in the sieve.

Step 2: Making the Marinade
1- In a large bowl, mix the kiwi pulpe, brown sugar, soy sauce, minced garlic, and sesame oil.
2- Add the onion puree, the ground ginger, salt, and pepper.
3- Whisk all the ingredients together.

Step 3: Marinating the Meat and Vegetables
1- Add the vegetables to the large bowl containing the marinade. We have the sliced onions, the grated carrot, the sliced green onion, and shitaake mushrooms. Mix well together.
2- Add the meat as well. Mix all the ingredients using your hands to make sure that they are well coated.
3- Cover the bowl with foil or plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Let the meat marinate between 30 minutes to a full night, depending on when you would like to cook it.
Note: you can also freeze the meat and use it later on.

Step 4: Cooking the Meat and Vegetables
1- Heat up your skillet on high heat.
2- Add vegetable oil and place the meat in the skillet. The skillet has to be hot, so you will hear the meat sizzling. The meat cooks very fast (around 3 minutes), so keep stirring until done.
Note: make sure you do NOT overcook the meat – you have to have some juices left with the meat, so it is not dry.
3- Serve immediately with rice and / or lettuce leaf. Put some of the meat in lettuce, add hot sauce, and wrap. YUM!

Bon appetit!