RCP: Korean Bul-Kogi (Korean Barbecued Beef)

Korean Bul-Kogi
(New York Times International Cookbook)

About 4 servings

2 pounds beef sirloin rib or flank steak
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
3 green onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely minced
¼ plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sherry or beef stock
¼ teaspoon MSG
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Slice the steak into thin strips diagonally, across the grain. Score each piece lightly with an X.

Place the sesame seeds in a pan and brown slowly over medium heat, then grind in a mortar.

Combine the ground sesame seeds and remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the meat to the marinade and stir until well coated. Let stand 20 minutes or more. Grill over charcoal (or electric grill or broil in an oven). Do not overcook – 30 to 60 seconds per side is good for me.

PS- I don't score the beef and I don't use MSG.

[Jenise]

Jon, thanks. What's the X for--does it keep the meat from shrinking?

Jenise, I have no idea what the X is for. It's just busy work as far as I'm concerned. If you cut 2 pounds of steak in strips you have a lot of strips - cut an X on each one? Forgedaboutit - talk about tedoius!
I know what you mean about keeping the meat from shrinking but these are strips. I don't know what Craig Claiborne was thinking.
I also though maybe they help with the flavor penetrating the meat - but again, these are strips with a lot of surface area. Who knows?

Jon, thanks. What's the X for--does it keep the meat from shrinking?

The Bulgogi that I've seen (made by Koreans) is sliced so thin that there isn't enough thickness to score each piece with an X.

-Paul W.

Just ate at Cho Sun Ok on Lincoln in North Center neighborhood of Chicago last night for the first time. Great local place, we were the only non-Koreans there. And Paul's comment was appropriate. Don't get the X but I'm going to try to make this sometime. What a great, inexpensive meal that was. There must have been 10 different little side dishes. And the seafood scallion pancakes are amazing too.

[Jenise]

Just ate at Cho Sun Ok on Lincoln in North Center neighborhood of Chicago last night for the first time. Great local place, we were the only non-Koreans there. And Paul's comment was appropriate. Don't get the X but I'm going to try to make this sometime. What a great, inexpensive meal that was. There must have been 10 different little side dishes. And the seafood scallion pancakes are amazing too.

Isn't Korean food great? Jon's recipe (this one) is terrific. I went through a Korean BBQ phase about four months ago and had a memory lapse at the time about Jon's recipe being here on line. So I tried a number of different recipes I found on the 'net, most of which used too much soy sauce and weren't as sweet or complex as the ones I'd had at my first Korean restaurant experience, and therefore to my tastes all wrong. Jon's recipe hits the nail on the head.