Spicy Beef Bulgogi

For dinner tonight, I thought I'd try something a little different. With a 2 pound flank steak in hand, I set myself to the task of locating something delicious to do with it - preferably something I'd never tried before. What I found was beef bulgogi, a Korean dish that CNN Go named as #23 on their list of the world's top 50 most delicious foods.

Intrigued as I am by most things involving beef, bulgogi seemed like the right choice. I served it on a bed of sticky rice and a bit of greenery, and I'm happy to report that it is, in fact, quite delicious, so here's how I made mine.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Difficulty: Relatively Easy
Active Prep Time: About 40 minutes
Total Prep Time: About 2 hours
Special Equipment: Food Processor, Outdoor Grill

Meat Ingredients:

• 2 pound flank steak
• 10 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ cup chopped green onion
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce (crushed red pepper will also work)
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Salad Ingredients:

• 2 - 3 cups shredded lettuce
• 1 cup chopped or shredded carrot
• ½ cup chopped red onion
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mined garlic
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

Additional Ingredients

• 1 - 2 cups of white rice or buckwheat soba noodles

Instructions:
1. Place the beef in a shallow dish. Combine soy sauce, sugar, green onion, garlic, sesame seeds, sesame oil, Sriracha, and ground black pepper in a bowl.

2. Pour marinade over meat. Cover with cling wrap or tin foil and refrigerate for at least one hour.

3. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grate. (If you don't have an outdoor grill, you can pan fry the meat in a bit of olive oil instead)

4. At this point, you should begin cooking your rice or noodles (just cook according to the instructions on the package.)

5. This is also a good time to make the salad. Chop up carrots, garlic, and red onion (I used a food processor). Combine with shredded lettuce in a small bowl.

6. In a separate bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, garlic, chopped green onion (again, I used the food processor for the onion and garlic), Sriracha, sugar, and ginger. Pour into the bowl with the greens and mix well.

7. Once that is done, your grill should be plenty hot. Set the beef on the hot grill and cook for about 2 - 5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the meat.

8. Slice thinly. Top rice or noodles with salad, then strips of beef, and serve. If you have any sauce left over from when you made the salad, you can pour it on top.

Additional Notes:
If you prefer less spice, just use less Sriracha, or none at all. The recipe is perfectly delicious even without it.