Bulgogi (불고기) is a Korean dish made with beef or pork, where the meat is first marinated then barbecued over a fire — the Korean literally translates to “fire meat”. In Korean home-cooking, and many Korean restaurants here in the United States however, the meat is typically stir-fried in a wok. The cooking process is quite involved: from thinly slicing the meat, to marinating it in various sauces and spices, to making sure the thinly sliced beef doesn’t burn in the pan. With midterms right around the corner, ain’t nobody got time for that! So, to hep you get more Korean home-cooked goodness into your life, here’s our cheat version of bulgogi which takes 5 minutes from start to finish.
The key to making this recipe a cheat version is to use ground beef instead of slicing a fillet. I used PRE Brands‘ 1/3 pound 85% lean burger patties: the minced meat cooks in minutes and the 85% lean gives the perfect amount of fat, resulting in melt-in-your-mouth softness in every bite.
Cheat version of Bulgogi
Ingredients
Instructions
Empty the beef patty from its packaging into a non-stick pan on high heat, lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Separate the mince with a spatula and stir.
Add all the measured seasonings. Cook for 3-5 minutes depending on the stove and thickness of the pan until golden-brown. Add garlic salt to adjust the taste if desired. Serve with rice or in lettuce cups.
Optional: add a fried egg and some kimchi to take this dish to the next level.
The ground beef makes this dish super fast to cook. The PRE Brand patty was also just the perfect portion for one person – so you can literally dump it straight out into the pan from its wrapping without even dirtying your hands. Our cooking time from start to finish? Just five minutes!
#SpoonTip: cook rice in a big batch, divide into single serve portions, and freeze them in ziplock bags so you can microwave a portion every time you cook this dish!