Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, minced garlic, grated ginger, black pepper, gochujang (Korean red pepper paste), sliced (or grated) Asian pear, and 1 tablespoon of chopped green onions to a mixing bowl.
Thoroughly mix the marinade ingredients and set aside until needed.*If you’d like extra bulgogi sauce to go with the finished dish, increase the marinade ingredients by 50%. Wrap the steak in plastic wrap and freeze it for 30 minutes.
Unwrap the beef and slice it across the grain into thin strips (⅛ – ¼-inch thick)
Place the thin slices of beef in the flavorful marinade and mix to coat the steak with the bulgogi marinade.
Cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours (overnight is best) to allow the steak time to marinate and absorb the flavors.*Remove the meat from the refrigerator 15-30 minutes prior to cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. Remove the meat from the refrigerator 15-30 minutes prior to cooking to allow it to come to room temperature.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a hot cast iron skillet (or large skillet) over medium-high heat.
Add the pieces of meat to the hot skillet in a single layer. If needed cook the beef in batches.
Sear the steak for 1-2 minutes on each side or until cooked to your taste preference. *If cooking in batches, tent the cooked beef with aluminum foil until all the meat has been cooked. Cook the steak on each side for 2-3 minutes until cooked. If cooking in batches tent the cooked beef with aluminum foil until all the meat has been cooked.
Serve our Beef Bulgogi with white rice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions. You can also use lettuce leaves to make bulgogi beef lettuce wraps.
For a change of pace, make Korean beef bowls. Start with a bed of white rice, and serve the bulgogi beef with a soft-boiled egg, sliced red bell peppers, cucumber slices, pickled carrots, and spicy kimchi.