Ingredients
1 1/4 lb. rib eye or sirloin steak
1 large yellow onion, 1/2 finely chopped, 1/2 thinly sliced
1 c. finely chopped Fuji apple
1/4 c. finely chopped kiwi
8 cloves garlic
5 scallions, cut into 2" pieces, plus more thinly sliced for serving
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Toasted white sesame seeds, crushed, for serving (optional)
4 c. cooked white rice
Preparation
Step 1Freeze steak until semi-frozen, at least 2 1/2 hours or up to 5. Slice 1/8" thick against the grain and transfer to a large bowl.Step 2In a food processor, puree chopped onion, apple, kiwi, and garlic until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour over meat, then add sliced onions, scallions, brown sugar, soy sauce, mirin, oil, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.Step 3Using your hands, massage marinade into meat, about 2 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.Step 4Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 3 batches, arrange meat in a single layer without overcrowding. Cook, turning once and using tongs to move meat along sides of pan if pan becomes too dark, until meat develops a dark, caramelized crust on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Continue to cook, flipping and tossing meat so it picks up any caramelization from bottom of pan, until parts of meat look charred, about 1 minute more. Transfer to a large platter; repeat with remaining meat. If pan gets too dark, clean out pan between batches. Discard excess marinade.Step 5Top bulgogi with scallions and sesame seeds, if using, and serve with rice.
The best cut of meat to use for bulgogi is rib eye because it has a good ratio of fat to muscle. Sirloin also works well because of its tenderness. Super thin slices of meat are key for great bulgogi. Though you can buy thinly sliced meat at an Asian supermarket, you can easily slice the meat yourself. For the thinnest slices, freeze the meat for at least 2 1/2 hours. Kiwi speeds up the tenderization process, so be careful not to marinate for more than 2 1/2 hours or the structure of the meat will start to get mushy. If you want to marinate the bulgogi for longer than 2 hours, then reduce the amount of kiwi used to 1 tablespoon for up to 4 hours or use no kiwi at all to marinate up to 6 hours.
