The most perfect summer meal - Beef Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps!
You know those meals that are easy to prep, can be served al fresco and just require your friends or family to DIY their own plate? This is one of those! And you'll find the recipe itself to be fantastic and then it'll lead to some lounging around after dinner just enjoying your company and basically licking your plate clean.
I've been making these Beef Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps since back in the private chef days. They were always a hit with my clients as they are packed with flavor, a fun dinner item and can be made into incredible leftovers.
The meat is marinated in sesame oil and soy sauce along with pear for some sweetness and garlic, all of which leads to some truly flavorful meat. If you have made my garlic ginger steak stir fry recipe, you should be a little familiar with some of the techniques here.
A few tips and tricks before you whip this up.
- You might want to make a double batch so you can eat some leftover Beef Bulgogi over a rice bowl the following day. You can add it to my fried rice recipe and it's incredible.
- Make sure you freeze the meat for 30 minutes before slicing and marinating. This allows you to slice SUPER thin strips of beef which will cook more quickly and make for the best bulgogi.
- I use a hanger steak often when making this (it's my favorite cut of beef) but you can use Ribeye too!
- If you don’t want it too spicy, you omit the red pepper flakes - but don’t fear - the spice really enhances the dish!!
Okay - away you go!!
Beef Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
For the Beef Bulgogi
- ¼ pear grated
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated and peeled
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 pound trimmed hanger steak
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
- Kosher salt
For the Scallion Salad
- 8 scallions thinly sliced on a bias
- 1 cup cilantro leaves picked off and stems removed
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- Salt to taste
To Serve
- Bibb Lettuce
- Steamed White Rice
Instructions
- Freeze the meat for 30 minutes.
- While the meat is chilling, combine the grated pear, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, red pepper flakes and sugar in a large zip-top plastic bag.
- After 30 minutes of chilling, use a sharp knife to slice the meat into very thin strips. Add the meat to the marinade and mix everything together until evenly coated. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or chill in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.
- Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet or cast iron or wok over medium-high. Remove half of meat from marinade, letting excess drip back into bag. Season lightly with salt and cook in a single layer without moving until lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes to create a golden sear. Toss meat and continue to cook, tossing occasionally, until cooked through and crisp at edges, about 3-4 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, remaining meat, and more salt. Discard excess marinade.
- To make the scallion salad, combine the scallions, cilantro, sesame oil, rice vinegar and sesame seeds in a medium bowl. Toss to combine. Season with salt as needed.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
So good and very quick to prepare. Slightly shocked how damn good this is for minimal effort. I used flank steak and marinated for 8 hours. I added the garlic to the marinade, although it’s not listed in the ingredients to mix in.
What can you sub for pears if they aren’t in season?
This was really delicious!! Was planning on saving the leftovers for lunch the next day, but there were zero leftovers!! I’m sure it would be just as great leftover - will definitely make again!
I made the Beef Bulgogi for a special New Year's Day Dinner for 2! Amazing flavors! Me and my hubby loved it. Definitely going in my recipe collection. I added some extra chives since I was low on scallions and live butter lettuce was all I could find. Thank you for this great recipe!
I have made these twice with beef. Then, once I substituted chicken thighs. This recipe is so flavorful.
I told my husband this tastes so much better than lettuce wraps in a restaurant.
Thanks, Gaby. From Gabby.
This was a fan favorite at our home! The scallion salad was such a yummy topping. Will need to double it next time.
LPT: If you're lucky enough to live in a major city in California you can almost bet you'll be able to find a korean market where you can buy pre-marinated bulgogi meat and save an extra step 😛
Looks really good! Thanks!
these look delicious - i need to try them
That looks yummy
tweet entry - https://twitter.com/iamdadtastic/status/833601163505176576
My favorite dish to cook with soy sauce is chicken fried rice but I've been wanting to try lettuce wraps for a while now, I'll try this recipe soon
Tweet - https://twitter.com/willitara/status/833568164243968000
So simple but very tasty. I love this.
It looks great, especially the Scallion Salad...yum!