Bulgogi Sauce Recipe: Top Meats to Pair With Bulgogi Sauce

Bulgogi sauce is the marinade for Korean bulgogi, or “fire meat.” Bulgogi is a popular dish consisting of thin slices of beef or, in some cases, pork tenderloin, marinated in a sweet, salty, spicy sauce. In Korea, many bulgogi recipes include grated Asian pear or kiwi to help tenderize the meat.

Common marinade ingredients include soy sauce, nutty sesame oil, grated ginger, minced garlic, and gochujang—a Korean fermented chili paste. Sweeteners like brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup help the edges of the meat turn crispy and caramelized when seared in a cast-iron skillet, wok, or grill pan.

If it’s your first time making beef bulgogi, you can use many different cuts of beef. Try cuts like skirt steak, flank steak, ribeye, top sirloin, or short ribs.

For easier slicing, buy a boneless cut and freeze the meat for thirty minutes beforehand.

Bulgogi sauce encapsulates the spicy-sweet dynamism of many Korean dishes, and the resulting beef is equally at home over rice as it is in tacos or wrapped in lettuce leaves. Here’s what to know about bringing together a bulgogi marinade:

1. 1. Use homemade gochujang: You can find high-quality gochujang in Asian grocery stores and Korean restaurants, but bulgogi sauce is an ideal opportunity to put a homemade batch to good use.
2. 2. Increase the heat: For spicier bulgogi, increase the amount of gochujang, or include a teaspoon of red pepper flakes or thinly sliced fresh chilies.
3. 3. Other ways to use bulgogi sauce: Use bulgogi sauce as a glaze for stir-fries, grilled mushrooms, or salmon, as a dipping sauce, or a light dressing for raw or roasted veggies.