The Bulgogi Taco Situation is Crazy...

0:00 Imagine you just got home and you're absolutely starving.

0:02 So, you open up the fridge and pull out three things:

0:05 bulgogi marinated beef, quick pickled vegetables, and a gochujang spicy mayo.

0:10 So, you heat up the beef in the microwave,

0:11 throw it all on some corn tortillas, and absolutely go to town.

0:15 Life is good and you are no longer starving.

0:18 Well, in this video, we are going to make that a reality.

0:20 So, let me show you how to make these starting

0:23 with the beef and I'll meet you back here for the taste test.

0:32 At its core, bulgogi beef is built around

0:34 a sweet soy-based marinade with aromatics and fruit.

0:37 So, let me show you how I made mine.

0:39 To start, I grabbed out a pear and a shallot that I grated up.

0:42 And traditionally, an Asian pear would be more common here,

0:45 which has stronger tenderizing enzymes.

0:47 But realistically, you could use any type of pear, apple,

0:50 or kiwi, which would work well to add some sweetness.

0:53 And after grating that pear up, I also grated a shallot.

0:56 And again, more commonly, you probably see grated up onion or garlic here,

1:00 but the shallot gives it a slightly more delicate aroma.

1:03 And between that pear and shallot mixture,

1:05 we're going to build that sweet-tasting aromatic base for the beef.

1:08 So, for my beef, I'm using a flat iron steak,

1:11 which is one of my favorite cuts from the grocery store.

1:13 But it does require a little bit of trimming

1:15 to remove some of the tougher pieces of silver skin.

1:18 And after chopping it into smaller, manageable pieces, I just slice it thin.

1:22 And that is the key for this dish.

1:23 You can use any cut like ribeye, sirloin, chuck roast, or even a skirt steak,

1:28 but whichever one you choose,

1:29 you want to make sure to slice it as thin as possible.

1:32 So, once all that beef is sliced up,

1:34 I added it to a mixing bowl and it is ready for the marinade.

1:37 So, for the marinade, I added 3 g of salt, 15 g of soy sauce, 5 g of sesame oil,

1:43 15 g of honey, the grated pear and grated shallot mixture,

1:46 some sliced green onions, and then a splash of water.

1:50 Then just mix that all together and you can see we've got

1:51 this nicely seasoned marinated beef that will start to tenderize as it sits.

1:56 So, cover it up, let it sit in the fridge

1:58 for about 30 to 60 minutes before cooking over high heat.

2:01 And while we wait, this is the perfect amount of time

2:04 to make the quick pickled vegetables and the gochujang sauce,

2:07 which are going to contrast beautifully since the beef

2:10 we made isn't overly spicy, salty, or acidic.

2:14 For the vegetables, I grabbed out green cabbage,

2:16 carrot, ginger, and some cilantro.

2:18 And for the cabbage,

2:18 I just slice it as thinly as possible into fine strips and set those aside.

2:23 Then for the carrot, I cut a flat side first,

2:25 then slice down across it into planks and across

2:27 against those one more into thin julienne matchsticks.

2:31 Next, I finely mince the ginger for that fresh, slightly spicy bite.

2:35 And lastly, I found some cilantro in the garden that was starting to bolt,

2:37 so why not add that as well.

2:40 So, after tossing all the vegetables into the bowl, to that I added 4 g of salt,

2:44 2 g of MSG, 10 g of sugar,

2:47 and then around 50 g of rice vinegar before mixing that all together.

2:51 And the goal here is to add some freshness,

2:53 crunch, and acidity to help contrast with the tender beef.

2:57 And additionally, since we've already got

2:58 a pretty heavy mayo-based sauce coming,

3:00 I'm not going to add any fat here to make it like a slaw,

3:04 but you definitely could if you wanted to.

3:06 So, after mixing up the vegetables,

3:07 I placed the lid on, tossed that in the fridge

3:09 where everything will get to know each other a bit more.

3:11 And lastly, let's make the sauce,

3:13 which could not be simpler, but is still really delicious.

3:17 I'm using a QP mayo here, which I definitely recommend if you have it,

3:20 and the ratio is basically one to one.

3:22 So, to a bowl, I added 60 g of the QP mayo, 60 g of the gochujang,

3:27 and lastly 15 g of the rice vinegar just for a little

3:30 bit of acidity and to help thin out the sauce.

3:32 Then just mix it together until everything is smooth.

3:36 It's rich, spicy, slightly sweet,

3:38 and quite addictive if you drizzle it over some beef,

3:41 which we are now ready to cook.

3:44 So, set a stainless steel pan over high

3:45 heat and then add in all the marinated beef.

3:48 And I do have to admit, I kind kind overcrowded the pan a bit here.

3:51 I just wanted to cook it all at once.

3:53 I would recommend doing this in slightly smaller batches because you'll

3:56 see that liquid start to release it first and start bubbling,

3:59 but we can still get some good browning as it cooks down.

4:03 And while the beef is cooking, always a quick reminder,

4:05 make sure you clean as you go.

4:07 I just washed up the marinade bowl and the cutting board,

4:09 and then back at the beef after about 5 minutes in total,

4:12 it should be nicely cooked through with some color.

4:14 And I also use my spatula to break it up a bit as it cooks,

4:17 which helps tenderize it as well.

4:20 Then transfer the beef off the heat,

4:22 and at this point all of our components are done.

4:25 So, I'm going to toss the beef

4:26 into a container and store everything in the fridge,

4:29 and then we get to assemble the tacos whenever we're ready.

4:34 So, to assemble, I just grabbed everything out of the fridge,

4:36 then added some of the bulgogi to a bowl and heated it up in the microwave,

4:40 as well as heated up some tortillas on the griddle in the back.

4:43 Then added the tortillas to the taco holder, mainly for the camera shot,

4:47 then added the beef followed by a little drizzle of the gochujang mayo,

4:50 then followed by the vegetables and another drizzle of sauce over the top.

4:54 Repeat with the other taco, and it is now time to eat.

4:59 Okay, let's get into these.

5:01 There is seriously something so great about it.

5:04 Yes, it is leftovers, but heated up feels very fresh and inviting.

5:09 Just kind of warmed up the tortillas back there on the stove really quick.

5:12 Let's get into this.

5:16 Mhm.

5:26 My gosh.

5:28 Wow.

5:29 It's really such a simple dish,

5:31 but really all these three components just play with each other so well.

5:35 Like the beef itself, if you've ever had bulgogi,

5:37 it's not like overly salty or spicy or some kind of other flavor.

5:41 It's just like comforting tender beef.

5:43 And then when you pair that with the crunchiness

5:44 and kind of the acidity of that slaw in there,

5:47 and then the spiciness and the fat we

5:49 get from that kind of mayo gochujang sauce.

5:52 Yeah, it's one of those where I think what?

5:53 The greater What's the saying?

5:55 It's like the the sum or the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

6:00 Whatever the saying happens to be,

6:01 that is this dish in a nutshell and a great one to make ahead of time.

6:04 So, if you guys want to follow this recipe exactly,

6:06 we'll have that link down below and all of the recipes and frameworks

6:09 and stuff where you can edit them are also available on the Cook Well app,

6:13 which is linked down below.

6:14 But, really really good one.

6:16 Great one to prep ahead of time or cook fresh.

6:18 Great to serve a crowd.

6:19 You could easily make tons of beef and do all that, but give this one a shot.

6:23 Let me know what you think and I will catch you in the next one.

6:26 Peace y'all.

6:28 Mhm.

6:29 Mhm.