HDHH Made Korean (Bulgogi) Beef

So a lot of things have been changing in my life – and one of them is Pat moving.  Pat’s apartment in Chicago is RIGHT ABOVE one of THEEEEE BEST Korean BBQ Joints everrrr: Del Seoul.

Now while I am still planning trips up to its Lincoln Park location when needed.  I decided to try to learn how to make a variation of it myself.  And I was pleasantly surprised.

Korean foods were not something I was all that familiar with about 5 years ago, however the longer I have lived in Chicago and especially with frequenting Del Seoul I have learned to really appreciate the flavors – especially in dishes like the Bulgogi which can be used in tacos, with noodles, or with Bibimbap (pib-im-bap), I also have learned to really enjoy Kimchi – WHICH – is super good for you, especially your gut – as it is a fermented food and promotes a boatload of good bacteria in your gut.

At my local Mariano’s they sell Kimchi – so I picked some up along with 3/4 lb of NY Strip and some rice noodles – but I’ll get to that.

I did A LOT of googling, and pinning, and just general researching and then considering the flavors of the beef I love much at Del Seoul – and this is what I came up with, and I am so VERY PLEASED with how it turned out!

Ingredients:

> 3/4 lb NY strip – cut into small pieces (I did cubes), fat trimmed

> Ginger to taste – ground/or minced

> Garlic powder to taste

>Sriracha (to taste)

>1/4 cup brown sugar

> ~2 oz Liquid Aminos

> Sesame seeds (your preference on amount)

> ~1 Tbsp sesame oil

> Pinch of sea salt

> I also made rice noodles and some frozen veggies (stir fry mix), and I added some of the kimchi to the frozen veggie mix.

But let’s be real – the main goal was to cook the beef correctly and making a damn good sauce.

I started with putting sesame seeds in a pan to lightly toast them, after a few minutes on low heat – and once they started to change color – I added about 1 tbsp of sesame oil – maybe about 1 1/2 tbsp.  I let the sesame seeds and oil sit together for a minute – meanwhile I trimmed the fat off of my NY Strip – well most of the fat.

I cut it in really small cubes, then I took  all of my other ingredients (sugar, spices, liquid aminos etc) and then I added my sesame seeds sesame oil mixture – all on top of my beef to create a marinade-sauce.

I let the beef marinate for about 2 hours or so, I took it out, and just tossed it all into a hot skillet, once I put the beef in I turned the heat down to medium-high.  I did toss in like two pinches of corn starch to take my liquid from a marinade and make it into a thick, yummy sauce.

At this point I threw some rice noodles into a pot of boiling water.  Once my beef was cooked to my liking I took it out of the skillet, and added the kimchi, and the frozen veggie blend – so it was able to cook in a bit of the left over sauce from the beef.  This amount was perfect for me for one dinner- and as you can see – two other small meals.

I can’t tell you how happy I am with the way this turned out.  It was perfectly sweet and spicy – I just can’t say enough good things about this recipe!!!

As if the taste wasn’t amazing enough- it was really easy to make – and not very time consuming at all.