Weeknight Dinners WEEKNIGHT

Quick Korean Bulgogi Bowl

Name: Quick Korean Bulgogi Bowl
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 400 g beef sirloin, thinly sliced; 1 ripe pear, grated; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp brown sugar; 2 tsp toasted sesame oil; 2 garlic cloves, grated; 1 tsp grated ginger; 2 spring onions; Steamed rice, to serve; Quick-pickled cucumber, to serve

Real bulgogi marinates for hours, but a hot pan and a finely grated pear get you 80% of the way in the time it takes to cook rice..

By Dana Reyes

Published 23 Sep 2026 · Tested 2 times · 0 comments

Quick Korean Bulgogi Bowl — Spoon the hot beef and its juices over rice and let the pickle sit on top for contrast.

15 min

Prep time

10 min

Cook time

Serves

4.7

NEW

Bulgogi, on a weeknight clock

Real bulgogi marinates for hours, but a hot pan and a finely grated pear get you 80% of the way in the time it takes to cook rice.

Slice the beef as thin as you can against the grain — partial freezing for 20 minutes makes it easy to shave with a knife.

We tried this with both sirloin and ribeye. Sirloin is the better value; ribeye is the better bowl. Either works.

Instructions

About 25 min from start to finish

Mix the pear, soy, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger; toss with the beef and leave 10 minutes.

Get a heavy pan smoking hot with a little oil. Sear the beef in batches so it browns rather than steams.

Add the marinade to the pan and bubble 1 minute until glossy.

Pile over rice, top with spring onion and the pickle, and finish with more sesame oil.

Testing notes & substitutions

Three rounds of testing turned up three things worth knowing before you start cooking.

No pear

A grated apple or a spoon of apple juice concentrate does the same softening job.

Spicier

Stir a teaspoon of gochujang into the marinade for a red version.

Questions we get a lot

Can I prep it earlier?

The marinade holds the beef up to a day; sear just before eating for the best texture.

What cut instead?

Thinly sliced pork shoulder makes a great dwaeji bulgogi with the same sauce.

Dana Reyes

Dana has cooked professionally for eleven years and has been testing recipes for Hearth & Thyme since 2019. She writes about weeknight cooking, slow breads, and the small techniques that quietly change a dish. Every recipe she publishes is cooked at least twice, in an ordinary home oven.