Beef Bulgogi · Paik Jong-won

Cut the beef into bite-size pieces, drop it into a deep bowl and pull the slices apart with your fingers so no sheets are stuck together.

Add ONLY the brown sugar, the syrup and the minced garlic to the beef. Mix by hand until every piece is coated, then leave it to sit 10–20 minutes.

💡 This waiting step is his whole point, and he explains why: sugar molecules are bigger than the other seasonings, so if the soy sauce goes in at the same time it gets there first and the sweetness never penetrates. Sugar alone, then wait.

While it rests, pull the stems off the shiitake and slice the caps thinly, about 0.3 cm.

Slice the green onion and the red chili on the diagonal, about 0.5 cm thick.

Trim the onion and julienne it about 0.5 cm thick.

Now add the soy sauce to the rested beef and fold it through gently, keeping the slices intact rather than shredding them.

💡 Gently. Thin bulgogi beef tears easily, and torn shreds cook into dry threads instead of tender folds.

Add the onion, green onion, red chili and shiitake and mix them in.

Sprinkle the black pepper and sesame oil over the vegetables and mix once more.

💡 Sesame oil last. Add it early and it coats the meat in a film that seals the soy and sugar out.

Set a pan over high heat and let it get properly hot before anything touches it — flick in a drop of water and it should skitter and vanish.

💡 A properly preheated pan is the difference between bulgogi that sears and bulgogi that boils in its own marinade.

Add the bulgogi and stir-fry, using tongs or chopsticks to keep teasing the meat apart as it cooks so it does not weld into a mass.

Cook 6–8 minutes over high heat, until no pink remains, the onion has gone soft and glassy and the marinade has reduced to a glossy sauce clinging to the meat. Stir in the MSG here if you are using it.

Plate the bulgogi, scatter with toasted sesame seeds and serve with rice — or with lettuce leaves to wrap.