Gwangyang-sik Bulgogi (Copper-Gridiron Bulgogi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Copper gridiron or fine grill grate
• •Oak charcoal grill, tabletop grill, or wide cast-iron skillet
• •Long metal chopsticks or tongs
• •Sharp slicing knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Slice the beef

   If slicing at home, freeze the beef for 30 to 40 minutes until firm at the edges, then cut across the grain into sheets about 2 mm thick. Thin matters here because Gwangyang bulgogi is cooked quickly over fierce heat; thick slices toughen before the surface catches.

2. 2

   Make the seasoning

   Stir together the soy sauce, soup soy sauce, maesil-cheong or pear juice, rice wine, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, scallion, sesame seeds, and pepper. Taste it. It should be salty, lightly sweet, and nutty, not syrupy. The sugar is measured at 2 teaspoons because this style should not eat like candy.

   Soup soy sauce brings depth and salt without making the seasoning too dark. If you only have regular soy sauce, use it, but do not add more sugar to cover the difference.
3. 3

   Prepare the table

   Set out the rice, ssam leaves, ssamjang, sliced garlic, green chili, and banchan before you season the beef. This is not ceremony. It keeps the meat from sitting in soy while everyone looks for chopsticks.

4. 4

   Lightly season

   Toss the beef with the seasoning by hand for 1 minute, lifting and separating the slices so every piece is thinly coated. Grill it within 10 minutes. Longer marinating is the wrong corner to cut here, because salt begins drawing moisture from the meat and the clean beef flavor dulls.

5. 5

   Heat the grill

   For the proper version, burn oak charcoal until it is glowing and covered with pale ash, then set a copper gridiron over it and heat it well. No copper gridiron? Use a hot grill basket or a wide cast-iron skillet. 시대가 바뀌면 음식도 바뀌어야 해요. When times change, food must change too, but the heat still has to be strong.

6. 6

   Grill in small batches

   Lay the beef on the hot gridiron in loose single layers, only as much as the table can eat at once. Cook 30 to 60 seconds per side, turning when the edges brown and the surface looks glossy. If juices pool, the grill is crowded or not hot enough. Move slower with your hands, not with the fire.

7. 7

   Serve at once

   Move each batch straight to a warm plate, or let diners take it from the grill as it finishes. Eat wrapped in lettuce or perilla with rice, ssamjang, garlic, and chili. The best piece is the one eaten before it has time to wait.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for bulgogi-cut beef sliced across the grain, not hot pot slices shaved so thin they tear. Gwangyang needs thin sheets with enough body to brown.
• •Oak charcoal is traditional because it gives steady heat and clean smoke. If you use gas or cast iron, you lose some smoke, but you can still keep the important part: fast heat and no long marinade.
• •Maesil-cheong belongs naturally here because Gwangyang is also known for green plums. Use it lightly. One tablespoon brightens the seasoning; more turns the beef sticky.
• •Do not pile raw onion into the meat. Onion belongs in many bulgogi versions, but here it releases water and pushes the dish toward pan bulgogi.

Advance Preparation

• •Slice the beef up to 1 day ahead, cover tightly, and refrigerate. Keep the slices flat so they separate easily when seasoning.
• •Mix the seasoning up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate it. Bring it back to room temperature and stir well before using, because sesame oil separates.
• •Do not combine beef and seasoning until just before cooking. Ten minutes is enough; more time makes this dish less like Gwangyang.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 180g)