Bulgogi

Korean Sizzling Beef

We've been enjoying spectacular fall weather here in Minnesota. Last month we broke a record....the warmest September weather ever. October has been great so far as well...lower 40's in the mornings and late afternoons in the lower 60's. That's great grilling weather!

I'm trying to cram as much grilling into October as I can. Later this month I'm in for revision hip surgery. The polymer cup they put in in October of 2000 has worn out. So I get a brand new cup and then spend the next 3 months on crutches and then a cane. My surgeon said the materials are have greatly improved and this is the last one I'll need. That's the only silver lining I can find in that cloud.

Well, that's not totally true. I won't be able to do stairs for awhile, so I'll be confined to the main level of the house. I got a new, deluxe sofa sleeper for my office and outfitted the room with a new 4K TV and an Xbox One. So I will have a ton of time for prime time video game season. The line up of new games coming out gives me thigh sweats: Halo 5 (Oct 27), Black Ops 3 (Nov 6), Rise of the Tomb Raider (Nov 10), Star Wars Battlefront (Nov 17) and then the greatest game of all, Rainbow Six Siege (Dec 1).

Alright enough of that. Let's get back to grilling. Bulgogi is a classic Korean dish of sliced beef. It's marinated in soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and garlic and then quickly seared over a hot grill...just 30 seconds per side. The red pepper flakes give the meat some heat, so I recommend serving this dish with sticky rice. This Marcia Kiesel recipe serves eight.

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons dry white wine

2 large garlic cloves, very finely chopped

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

One 2 1/2-pound beef flank steak, cut across the grain into twenty 1/4-inch-thick slices

16 scallions

Vegetable oil, for rubbing

Salt

Directions

1. In a large, shallow dish, combine the soy sauce with the sugar, white wine, chopped garlic, toasted sesame oil and crushed red pepper, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the sliced flank steak and coat thoroughly in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate the steak for at least 4 hours or overnight. 
2. Prepare your grill for cooking over high heat (direct method). Rub the scallions all over with vegetable oil and grill them, turning once, until the scallions are just softened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt.  
3. Working in batches, grill the steak over high heat until the slices are richly browned and medium-rare, about 30 seconds per side. Transfer the steak to a serving platter and serve with the grilled scallions and steamed rice. 

Wine pairing: A big, rich tannic Bordeaux or Cabernet Sauvignon.