Korean Beef Bulgogi Salad with Green Apple, Pickled Onion and Pomegranate Seeds

Kimchi, bibimbap and bulgogi, the holy trinity of nearly any Korean restaurant menu here in the United States and beyond. And for good reason. They’re delicious! We partake in Bulgogi making with blissful frequency in our home kitchen. Using it as a key ingredient in our Korean BBQ, or tossing it over some steamed rice is pretty normal. But it often finds its way into many a lettuce wrap and even on top of salads.

On a salad is just a great way to enjoy bulgogi. It’s everything all at once: salty, umami, sweet, crunchy, cold, warm, tangy etc… It’s like all the flavors and textures combined in one mouth pleasing dish.

The two things you may find challenging when making your at-home bulgogi:

Slicing the meat paper thin

Finding Asian pear for the marinade

CHALLENGE #1: Rib eye is the preferred cut of beef for bulgogi, on account of its high fat content and natural tendency toward tenderness. Other cuts of beef like sirloin or brisket are also used. But how do you slice it so thin?

HANDY WITH A KNIFE? If you’re good with a knife, you can take a stab at slicing it thin (and even) yourself. Especially if you have a sharp slicing knife or chefs knife, by all means, feel free to slice the rib eye by hand. In order to make it easier to slice, you can either partially defrost an already frozen rib eye or if you’re starting with a thawed rib eye, toss it in the freezer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until frozen half-way through. Then, protecting those finger tips, go to town slicing.

NOT HANDY WITH A KNIFE? If you’re not as handy with the knife, ask your butcher or meat counter assistant to slice it for you – most Western grocery stores should be able to make this happen. There is no shame in asking for help because time is one of our most valuable resources – it’s ok to make things a little more simple. If you’re lucky enough to live by an H Mart or Korean Mart, you should have no problem getting the meat packaged pre-sliced and sometimes you can find it even sliced AND marinated.

CHALLENGE #2: The second challenge when making your bulgogi perfection, is finding Asian pear which is an arguably important ingredient for the marinade. I have made it both with the Asian Pear and without, and truth be told, I couldn’t really tell much of a difference. The idea behind adding it to the marinade, is that that Asian pear contains an enzyme called calpain that helps break down and tenderize the meat. This same miracle marination enzyme is also found in kiwi and pineapple, both of which are considered acceptable substitutes. In my bulgogi marinating experience, using a tender cut of meat and slicing it thin, proves that you are already making choices that should lead to a tender final bulgogi dish, rendering extra enzymes unnecessary. Perhaps when using alternative, tougher, cuts of meat or lesser quality meat, you may consider adding pear to the recipe. Heck, if you can find one toss it in, but don’t NOT make this marinade because you can’t find it.

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