Cooking - Bulgogi Rice Bowl

(Listen to the playlist for the full experience)

I know I'm making comfort food when the aroma that's thick in every room of the house makes me feel joyful and melancholy at the same time. My comfort food bears my life's history. And it carries a certain amount of weight. That's why it's comforting - because it knows me and is more than just a little food fling in some famous restaurant downtown.

The type of food that is generally most comforting to me is Korean. The ridiculously pungent smell of garlic, the teasing of sesame oil in my mouth, the spices that make me sneeze - they always bring me back home. But apparently it's not just because I'm Korean. A friend of a different race walked in while I was making this dish and said, "Wow. Smells like home."

Bulgogi literally means "fire meat." What a ridiculous name for such a delicious traditional dish, but I suppose cooking stuff over fire had enough significance back then. Though each region makes it all very differently, the general concept is the same: you marinate beef with veggies and cook it over fire.

This is a very simplified recipe that you can whip up in 15 minutes to comfort your soul after a long day. Be sure to enjoy the full cooking experience with the playlist.

Bulgogi Rice Bowl

Velvet Mixtape

Published 06/01/2015

Korean style marinated beef over rice

Ingredients

  • 1lb thinly sliced ribeye or similar (I recommend shabu shabu cut)
  • 2 cups of soy sauce
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1/2 cup of minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup of sesame oil
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 4 green onions, bias cut
  • 1/2 bag of enoki mushroom
  • 4 cups of rice, cooked
  • 4 eggs (optional)
  • Sesame seeds (for garnish)

Instructions

  1. Mix the soy sauce, sugar, minced garlic, and sesame oil in a bowl
  2. Put the meat in, and massage it well so the marinade gets through the meat evenly
  3. Put the vegetables in the meat marinade mix, and mix well
  4. Let it sit for as long as you can. If you're in a hurry, you can just cook it right away, but it can be marinated for anywhere between 10 min~2 days for deeper flavors
  5. Heat up a large skillet or pan, and cook the meat marinade mix. Stir occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom
  6. When the meat is thoroughly cooked, pour over a bowl of rice and top with raw egg

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 15 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 05 mins.

Total time: 20 mins.