bulgogi with glass noodles, seared in sweet soy
Ingredients · tap to check
- 500 g (1 lb) beef ribeye or sirloin, sliced paper-thin against the grain
- 1/2 Asian pear, peeled and grated (about 100 g)
- 1 onion, cut into thin half-moons
- 100 g (3.5 oz) dangmyeon, sweet potato glass noodles
- 3 scallions, cut into 2 cm lengths
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock or water
- for the marinade: 5 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp mirin or rice wine
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- toasted sesame seeds, to finish
- hot short-grain rice, to serve
The Way
- Cut the onion into thin half-moons in one fast rocking motion, then grate the pear on the coarse side of a box grater and let the pale juice pool underneath. Do not skip the pear - the enzymes in it are what tenderize the beef, and it is where the sweetness comes from.
- Pour the soy sauce over the sugar and grated garlic in a bowl, add the sesame oil, mirin, ginger and black pepper, then whisk it to a glossy deep mahogany. It should look like thin syrup, not like plain soy sauce.
- Fold the grated pear through the marinade, then lay the thin beef slices in and massage it through with your hands until every piece turns glossy. Rest it 20 minutes at room temperature, or up to overnight in the fridge - 20 minutes is enough for paper-thin slices.
- While the beef marinates, slide the dry glass noodles into warm water and leave them 20 minutes, until the stiff strands go limp and sink. Drain them just before they go in the pan. Do not boil them here - they finish cooking in the sauce.
- Get a heavy pan properly hot. Tip in the marinated beef and onion in one go and leave it alone for the first 30 seconds so it sears instead of steaming. You want a loud sizzle and edges that caramelize deep brown, not grey.
- Pour in the stock and the rest of the marinade left in the bowl and bring it up to a rolling glossy bubble, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Lift the drained noodles in and fold them under the sauce. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes until they turn translucent and springy and the sauce has thickened around them. They will drink most of the liquid, so add a splash more stock if it tightens too fast.
- Scatter the cut scallion over and let it wilt bright in the heat, about 30 seconds. Finish with sesame seeds off the heat.
- Scoop plump hot rice into bowls and serve the bulgogi alongside, lifting the beef with the noodles trailing under it so the sauce falls in one slow ribbon.
midnight tip. two things separate this from a grey stir-fry. first, the pear - grate it, do not chop it, so the juice gets into the marinade and the enzymes actually reach the meat. second, the sear - the pan has to be hot enough that the beef browns before its own liquid comes out, so tip it in and then leave it alone for half a minute. and soak the glass noodles instead of boiling them: they take on the sauce as they finish in the pan, which is the whole point of putting them in.
Questions
no Asian pear - what can I use instead?
a ripe bosc pear or a sweet apple works, grated the same way, though the flavor is a shade less clean. kiwi tenderizes far harder than pear, so if you use it, cut it to one teaspoon and marinate no longer than 20 minutes or the beef turns mushy. skipping the fruit entirely gives you a saltier, firmer bulgogi - still good, just not the same.
can I make it ahead?
the marinated beef keeps 2 days in the fridge and freezes well raw in its marinade, which is honestly the better way to buy time. the finished dish does not hold as nicely - the glass noodles keep drinking sauce and go soft, so cook the noodle stage right before you eat.
how thin does the beef need to be?
thin enough to see light through, about 2 to 3 mm. easiest route is asking a Korean grocery for pre-sliced bulgogi beef. at home, freeze the block 40 minutes until it is firm at the edges but not solid, then slice against the grain with your sharpest knife.
why are my noodles gluey?
usually they were boiled first and then simmered again, so they overcooked twice. soak them in warm water only until they are limp, drain, and give them 4 to 5 minutes in the sauce. and rinse nothing after - the surface starch is what makes the sauce cling.
(this one was BULGOGI) — it finds your DMs.
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