I have tried a number of recipes for beef pul-kogi (or bul-gogi), and this is by far the best. I think it is the closest to a restaurant version that I have found.
Korean Pul-kogi
1 1/2 lbs very thinly sliced beef.
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 - 1 1/2 Tbs sesame seeds
2 Tbs sesame oil
2 Tbs mirin
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 Tbs green onion (cut 1" long)
1/4 cup long cut (about 1/4" wide) yellow or white onion.
1/4 cup carrots (julienned) (optional but recommended)
mix all the seasonings, vegetables, and beef together. Let marinate at least 15 minutes. Stir fry over high heat until pieces of meat are cooked through. Serve with white rice, leaf lettuce, ssam jang and of course kimchi. Take a portion of rice, a piece or two of meat, a dab of ssam jang; wrap it in leaf lettuce and pop it in your mouth. Mok ja!
Tips:
I use rump roast a lot because it is usually pretty lean, and you can find it on sale for under $2 a lb quite often. Have the butcher slice it cross grain if you can.
I recommend a medium Korean soy sauce which can be purchased at an oriental store. However you can use Kikkoman if you have to. I don't recommend Aloha soy sauce, it doesn't taste good in this recipe.
You can crush and toast the sesame seeds in a pan if you want to (it is recommended), but I usually don't because I am lazy.
Don't use the kind of sesame oil that is golden yellow and not fragrant! It is not the kind of sesame oil for oriental cooking.
Koreans recommend short marinating periods (like 15 to 30 minutes) because they say it makes the meat tougher, I recommend long periods (at least 2 hours and overnight is even better) because I don't think it makes that much of a difference in texture but it does improve the flavor.
I have also had red and green bell pepper and enoki mushrooms in this dish and they are both excellent.
For an even more authentic flavor, squeeze the juice of a ripe asian pear into the marinade.
Short grain rice goes best with pul-kogi, cal-rose botan rice is pretty good, but korean ch'on ssal is the best. It is the sticky kind.
Koreans also sometimes add other things to their lettuce bundles, but this is a good starter.
