Name: Seoul Bulgogi Pot
Yield: 3-4 people
Ingredients: Thinly Sliced Beef - 400 grams (use Shabu Shabu cuts); Korean Potato Starch Noodles (Dangmyeon) - a small handful (optional); Oyster mushrooms - a handful; Enoki mushrooms - 1/2 a package (or small handful); Onion - 1 whole; Water - 1/2 cup (add in when you cook the stew); Korean pear - 1 whole (should make ~1 cup of pear juice); Soy Sauce - 1/3 cup; Sugar - 1 Tablespoon; Minced garlic - 1 Tablespoon; Honey - 1 Tablespoon; Soy Sauce - 1 Tablespoon; Sesame oil - 1 Tablespoon; Spring onion - small stalk (size of your forearm); Sesame seeds - few shakes

Seoul Bulgogi Pot. This is my favorite way to eat bulgogi. That’s because you get a little bit of everything: bulgogi, mushrooms, and a tasty broth that you can spread over your rice. There are many different recipes for both bulgogi and bulgogi stew. But this is, by far, the easiest recipe! And it doesn’t compromise on flavor either. Save this as a must-try in your fall recipes list 🙂

Skip to Recipe

When it comes to bulgogi, you need a slight touch of sweetness. Not overly sweet, but something to offset the soy-sauce. In this recipe, we will use Korean pear for this base layer of sweetness. Now, I know Korean pears are not sold everywhere. So you can substitute it with regular Western pears. However, I would recommend using 3-5 Western pears to extract 1 full cup of juice. Or alternatively, you can also use store-bought pear juice*.

[*If you will use store-bought pear juice, don’t add-in the extra 1 Tablespoon of sugar listed in the recipe. Store-bought pear juice is much sweeter than naturally-squeezed pear juice.]

This stew is meant to be eaten with rice. Before you start the recipe, get a fresh pot of rice cooking in the background! This stew also tastes great the next day. If you have leftovers at night, just re-heat in the morning for breakfast.

Alrighty neighbors, I’m at Incheon airport now – waiting on my flight to Italy. But I think I have overstay’d my welcome at this very busy cafe. Time to log off. Next week, Katie and I will check in from Rome with a video (or two).

Ciao and looking forward to sharing our geek-out moments in Eataaaaly! 🕺

Seoul Bulgogi Pot

Yield 3-4 people

Bulgogi, mushrooms and broth all in one pan.

Ingredients

Thinly Sliced Beef - 400 grams (use Shabu Shabu cuts)
Korean Potato Starch Noodles (Dangmyeon) - a small handful (optional)
Oyster mushrooms - a handful
Enoki mushrooms - 1/2 a package (or small handful)
Onion - 1 whole
Water - 1/2 cup (add in when you cook the stew)

Bulgogi Marinade

Korean pear - 1 whole (should make ~1 cup of pear juice)
Soy Sauce - 1/3 cup
Sugar - 1 Tablespoon
Minced garlic - 1 Tablespoon
Honey - 1 Tablespoon

Final touches for the stew

Soy Sauce - 1 Tablespoon
Sesame oil - 1 Tablespoon
Spring onion - small stalk (size of your forearm)
Sesame seeds - few shakes

Instructions

Ingredient Prep

Fill a small bowl with cold water. Place the potato starch noodles in and let them soak for 15-20 minutes.
Cut the stems off the oyster mushroom and enoki mushroom. Use your fingers to split the oyster mushrooms apart from each other.
Cut the spring onion into thin slices.
Then cut the onion in half and then into thin slices.

Marinade Beef Slices

Peel the Korean Pear and cut into smaller pieces. Then grate each piece into a mixing bowl. Use a strainer to catch the chunks and squeeze out any remaining juice into the bowl. You will need exactly 1 cup. (If you come up short, feel free to add in a little bit of store-bought pear juice).
Next, add-in Soy Sauce (1/3 cup), Sugar (1 Tablespoon), Minced Garlic (1 Tablespoon) and Honey (1 Tablespoon).
Next, add in the sliced onions into the marinade.
Finally, add the sliced beef into the marinad. De-tangle each meat piece as you add it in. Let it soak for 30 minutes.

Cook the Stew

Place a large frying pan on a medium-high heat. (Don't add in any oil.) When its hot, use a pair of tongs to grab the soaking meat pieces and place directly into the frying pan. Add in the onion pieces as well. (Note: Do not dump-in the leftover marinade into the frying pan. There's enough marinade already soaked into the meat)
Next, the most important step: Add in water (1/2 cup) to dilute the marinade.
Once the pan starts to boil, move the meat to one side. Then grab the potato starch noodles out of the water and place into the pan. Add-in the enoki and oyster mushrooms. Then place a lid on and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
After 2 minutes, give the broth a taste. It may taste slightly bland: Add in Soy Sauce (1 Tablespoon), Sesame Oil (1 Tablespoon), and the spring onion slice.
Turn heat off. Garnish with a few shakes of sesame seeds.
Bon Appetit! Eat with a bowl of hot rice.