Sourcing and Slicing Meat

• Choose a tender cut of beef for the bulgogi, such as sirloin or rib-eye. For firm meat that is easy to slice, wrap the beef in plastic wrap and chill it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Cut the beef into very thin slices, about 1/16-inch thick. As a convenient alternative, pre-sliced bulgogi meat is available in most Korean markets. In other stores, ask the butcher to slice the beef for you.

Making the Marinade

• For a typical bulgogi marinade, mix together 3 parts soy sauce, 2 parts minced garlic, 1 part sugar, 1 part sesame oil and 1 part sweet rice wine, such as mirin or sake. Some cooks blend the marinade with onion, fresh ginger and grated Asian pear. Season the mixture with black pepper, and then stir in the sliced beef. Marinate the meat for 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to several hours in the refrigerator.

Cooking the Meat

• Classic Korean bulgogi is barbecued over coals, but standard American grills have grates that are too wide for the small slices of bulgogi. To prevent the bulgogi from falling through the cracks, use a grilling basket or a small, hibachi-style grill. You can also cook the bulgogi on the stovetop, in a grill pan or a heavy skillet. Whether you use a grill or the stove, cook the bulgogi over high heat for about 5 minutes.

Serving and Eating Bulgogi

• Garnish the cooked bulgogi with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion. To eat bulgogi, wrap a few slices of the meat in a lettuce leaf with kimchi or a spicy Asian chili sauce, such as gochujang. Like other Korean barbecue dishes, bulgogi is traditionally served with steamed rice and a variety of small vegetable side dishes called banchan. Some diners like to wrap a bit of the steamed rice in lettuce with the bulgogi.