What is the best cut of beef for bulgogi?

Ribeye is the most tender; sirloin and top round are leaner and cheaper. Korean and Asian grocery stores sell beef pre-sliced for bulgogi.

Yes — on a grill pan or a fine grate over hot coals. Thicker slices hold up better on a grill.

Raw marinated bulgogi freezes well for about a month. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before cooking.

Bulgogi (Korean Marinated Beef) Recipe

Bulgogi is thinly sliced beef soaked in a marinade of soy sauce, grated pear, garlic, sugar and sesame oil, then cooked quickly over high heat until caramelized at the edges. Sweet, savory and tender, it is one of the easiest Korean dishes to love and to make at home.

📝 How to make bulgogi

If your beef is not pre-sliced, freeze it for 30–60 minutes until firm, then slice it as thinly as possible (2–3 mm) against the grain.

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl.

Add the beef and sliced onion, toss well and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.

Heat a large pan over high heat. Cook the beef in batches, spread in a thin layer, for 3–5 minutes, until browned and most of the liquid has cooked off. Do not crowd the pan.

Add the green onions (and carrot or mushrooms) for the last minute.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice, lettuce leaves for wrapping and kimchi.

💡 Tips for the best bulgogi

Grated pear sweetens the meat and helps tenderize it. Do not marinate longer than a day, or the texture turns mushy.
High heat and small batches give caramelized edges instead of stewed meat.
Spicy pork bulgogi (dwaeji bulgogi or jeyuk-bokkeum) uses a gochujang marinade instead — see the jeyuk-bokkeum guide.

What does bulgogi mean?

Bul means fire and gogi means meat. The dish is often traced back to maekjeok, skewered meat grilled over fire in ancient Korea, and was a dish of the upper classes before it became everyday food.

Ways to serve it

Eat it with rice and wrap it in lettuce with ssamjang, pile it onto rice as a rice bowl (bulgogi deopbap), roll it into kimbap, or cook it with broth and glass noodles in a shallow pot as Seoul-style bulgogi jeongol.