Beef Bulgogi

Bulgogi, pronounced bool-goh-gee, is a popular Korean barbecue dish that translates to “fire meat.” It’s made of thinly sliced marinated meat, typically beef, that’s grilled on a barbecue or stovetop griddle. Despite its name, bulgogi is not really spicy — “fire” refers to the hot cooking surface. In many Korean restaurants, tables are outfitted with grills in the center so customers can cook the bulgogi meat themselves and eat it straight from the grill. Bulgogi is typically served with steamed rice, lettuce wraps, chili sauce, and other traditional Korean accompaniments.

Making bulgogi at home is surprisingly easy. In this version I marinate well-marbled ribeye in a mixture of soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, shallot, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Because the meat is thinly sliced, it only needs one hour to marinate (although it’s fine to leave it overnight, too). Instead of grilling the meat, which can be tricky unless you have a flat-top grill, I cook it in a cast iron or nonstick pan. Heads up: the mouthwatering smell of bulgogi sizzling on the stove will have your family circling the kitchen like hungry wolves. Conveniently, it cooks in under 10 minutes, so no one will have to wait too long!

• 1¾-2 pounds ribeye steaks
• Heaping ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1½ tablespoons vegetable oil, plus 2 teaspoons more for cooking
• 1½ teaspoons Asian sesame oil
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 small shallot, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh ginger, from a 1-inch knob
• Heaping ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 scallions, dark green parts only, thinly sliced, for serving
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, for serving