Korean Skewered Beef

Five ingredients, one hour of marinating, and you’ve got Korean beef skewers that taste like they came from a proper Korean BBQ joint.

Thinly sliced sirloin steak gets dipped in a marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil, crushed garlic, and minced scallions. Then each strip gets rolled in crushed toasted sesame seeds before going back into the marinade for an hour. The sesame coating does two things: it adds nutty crunch after cooking, and it acts as a barrier that keeps the marinade from over-penetrating and making the meat mushy.

Weave the strips onto bamboo skewers and broil quickly, or fry them fast in a hot pan with a little oil. Either way, the key word is quickly. Thin beef strips overcook in seconds, and you want them juicy and slightly charred, not dry and tough.

Kitchen Tips

• Slice the steak as thin as possible. Partially freezing it for 20 minutes makes thin slicing much easier.
• Toast the sesame seeds before crushing. Raw sesame seeds taste bland and dusty. Toasted ones are nutty and aromatic.
• Soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes before threading to prevent them from burning under the broiler.

Variations

• Add a tablespoon of brown sugar and a splash of rice wine to the marinade for a sweeter, more traditional bulgogi flavor.
• Use flank steak or ribeye for different textures and fat content.
• Serve over steamed rice with kimchi for a full Korean meal.