Foodie Goodie | Bulgogi.

Just four more days 'til Christmas and here I am trying to figure out what to cook for our traditional Christmas Eve Feast aka Noche Buena. My London-based cousins are coming home for the holidays (this will be their first Christmas in the Phi since they left for London ten years ago), and they're all asking for lechon. So yeah, roasted suckling pig will definitely be on the menu as requested. We usually have two or three meat dishes on our Noche Buena table so I'm thinking of bulgogi as the other meat entree for the night.

Bulgogi is a dish of thinly sliced beef that is pre-marinated with various seasonings and grilled on a hot barbecue pan. Bulgogi has been popular since the 1950s when the beef was served in thin slices to make it more tender and reduce the cooking time. Below is the recipe, which I learned from KTO (Korea Tourism Organization), in case you'd like to try making this at home. :)

Bulgogi

Ingredients:

300 grams beef (sirloin)

1 onion, sliced

100 grams lettuce

Marinade:

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp garlic, crushed

1/2 tbsp sesame seed, crushed

1/4 tsp black pepper

50 grams pear juice

Procedure:

1. Rinse beef thoroughly under running water. Dry excess water then remove excess fat and cut into thin slices.

2. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the the marinade.

3. Add the beef and onions to the marinade. Mix well, and marinate it for 30 minutes.

4. Heat the griddle or pan and grill/fry the beef on high heat. 

4. Serve with lettuce.