Korean BBQ Beef Skewers
Sweet and savory bulgogi-marinated beef on skewers, perfect for grilling poolside
- 1.5 lbbeef sirloin or ribeye(sliced thin)
- 0.25 cupsoy sauce(or tamari for GF)
- 2 tbspsesame oil
- 2 tbspbrown sugar
- 1 tbsprice vinegar
- 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
- 1 tbspfresh ginger(grated)
- 1 tbspgochujang(optional for heat)
- 2green onions(sliced)
- 1 tbspsesame seeds(for garnish)
Marinate beef up to 24 hours ahead. Thread onto skewers up to 4 hours before grilling.
- 1Slice beef into thin strips against the grain
- 2Whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and gochujang
- 3Marinate beef for at least 2 hours or overnight
- 4Thread beef onto soaked wooden skewers in accordion folds
- 5Grill over high heat 2-3 minutes per side until caramelized
- 6Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds
- 7Serve immediately
Freeze beef for 20 minutes before slicing for easier thin cuts. Use flat metal skewers for easier flipping.
Bulgogi — meaning "fire meat" in Korean — is one of Korea's most celebrated dishes, with documented roots in the Goguryeo Kingdom (37 BCE – 668 CE). The Samguk Sagi, a 12th-century Korean chronicle, and other historical records reference a preparation called maekjeok, grilled meat on skewers over open flames, which food historians consider a direct ancestor of bulgogi. During the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897), the preparation evolved and was recorded in royal court cuisine documents as neobiani (thinly sliced grilled beef), with the name bulgogi becoming standard in the modern era. The defining element of Korean barbecue's flavor profile — the marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil, Asian pear or kiwi, garlic, and ginger — reflects the Korean culinary tradition of balancing the five fundamental flavors (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, spicy) in a single dish. The natural enzymes in Asian pear act as a meat tenderizer, a technique with no direct equivalent in European barbecue traditions. Korean immigration to the United States — which accelerated dramatically after the Immigration Act of 1965 removed national-origin quotas — brought Korean BBQ to American cities including Los Angeles, where the Koreatown neighborhood became the center of a food culture that introduced bulgogi to American diners, initially within the community and increasingly to the wider public from the 1980s onward.