Beef Bulgogi

This is one of the first recipes that I ever made, aside from fajitas.  It is from the Great Food Fast (from Martha Stewart's team of kitchen minions) cookbook, which was what Alex bought for me a little less than two years ago when I first expressed an interest in cooking.  I made a few meals out of it and most were delicious, and then I fell back into the routine of eating out at restaurants again.  Naturally there are a few flops in this book (and too many fish recipes, gag), but this is truly one of the most scrumptious recipes that I've prepared, ever. 

Alex wanted to veggie it to smithereens, and so I obliged and added some extra stuff.  In the future I'll probably be leaving out the added veggies, as I feel that the veggies included in the original recipe shouldn't have to compete with carrots and tomatoes to bring out the flavor of the marinade.  Rating 8/10 (when excluding the red ingredients- including them makes it more like 6.5/10).

Ingredients *those listed in red are not included in the original recipe, and should probably not be in this one either.

• 1 lb rib-eye steak- steak substitutions here really detract from the overall awesomeness of this meal, so if you have the money then spend it!
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp hot chile sesame oil- if you can't find this then toasted sesame oil with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes will do
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 6 garlic cloves- minced
• 1 tbsp peeled and finely grated ginger
• 2 red onions- cut into wedges
• 1 green bell pepper- remove seeds and ribs and slice into 1/2 inch strips
• vegetable or canola oil
• boston lettuce leaves for wraps
• carrots
• tomatoes
• bean sprouts 

Instructions

Start cooking brown rice right away according to the package.  This can take up to 45 minutes!  White rice can be cooked right away and then set aside once it has cooked, or it can be started later in the process.

Throw the meat in the freezer for 20 minutes, this will make slicing it into thin strips easier.

Cut up the green pepper and onion.
Combine the soy sauce, hot chile sesame oil, brown sugar, minced garlic, grated ginger in a bowl.
Pour half of the marinade over the vegetables, reserve the rest for marinating the meat.

Slice the beef across the grain into strips.  Marinate for 10-15 minutes with the remaining marinade.

Once the meat has been marinating for about 10 minutes, cook the vegetables in a wok with about two tsp of oil.
Once cooked, set the vegetables aside and use a paper towel to wipe out the wok








Cook the meat until it has been browned, then return the vegetables to the wok.  At this point I added the bean sprouts, carrot shreds, and tomato wedges to the pan.
Cook for a minute or two to reheat the vegetables.

Serve over rice or in a lettuce leaf.