Recipe: Bulgogi (Korean Barbecue)

8 servings

2 ½ pounds thinly sliced rib eye steak (have your butcher slice it for you or, if slicing it at home, partially freeze the meat before slicing)

¼ cup sugar

½ cup julienned white onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ bunch green onions, trimmed and cut in 3-inch pieces

½ cup oyster mushrooms, torn into strips (or use wild mushrooms, such as matsutake or chanterelles, or domestic button mushrooms)

1 ½ teaspoons toasted ground sesame seed*

1 cup water

¼ cup peeled, cored, and pureed raw Asian pear

2 ½ teaspoons Asian-style sesame oil*

1. Have all ingredients ready, then mix ingredients in a large bowl and let marinate for up to 30 minutes at room temperature before cooking.

2. Heat a tabletop grill. Pour a little water onto the hot surface, then grill the mixture in batches until the meat is browned on the edges and just done to your liking. Or grill the meat in a grill pan or on any home grill. (You may need to lightly oil the grilling surface.) Discard leftover marinade. An adaptation you might try is to fit the grill surface in advance with a large piece of foil, folding up the foil edges all around to make a "moat." Then punch holes in the center part of the foil and grill the meat on the foil. Or you can use a grill basket. The marinade contains sugar, so be sure to watch out for flare-ups or scorching.

3. Serve with plain steamed rice to soak up all the tasty juices and accompany with an assortment of purchased kim chee*, such as radish kim chee and both spicy-hot and white (mild) Napa cabbage kim chee sliced into 1-inch sections.

*Available from Korean grocers and supermarkets with well-stocked Asian food sections.

Adapted from a recipe by Heejung Kim