The word bulgogi is commonly translated as Korean barbecue, though it literally
means "fire meat" as bul is "fire" or gogi is "meat". Beef is most often identified
with bulgogi, but even pork, chicken, lamb, squid and octopus, for example,
can be cooked bulgogi style as bulgogi, like barbecue, is a method of cooking.
For
the most common beef bulgogi, thin slices of meat, usually tenderloin, are marinated
in a sauce made of soy sauce, sesame oil, minced garlic, sesame seeds and other
seasonings, and then cooked over a charcoal grill, usually at the table. The
grilled beef slices can be eaten as are or wrapped in a lettuce leaf along with
slices of fresh garlic and green pepper and a dab of soybean paste, red pepper
paste, or a mixture of the two, all of which are rich in vitamins, minerals
and cancer-fighting substances.
In
some restaurants, bulgogi is cooked on a dome-shaped pan that is placed over
a charcoal brazier or a gas range. The pan has a trough around the edge to catch
the tasty juice that cooks out of the meat so that it can be eaten with one's
rice. Bulgogi can also be cooked in a regular frying pan or on an electric skillet
but most connoisseurs prefer the traditional charcoal fire.
For pork and other types of bulgogi, a little red pepper paste is usually added
to the marinade. This gives the bulgogi a spicy taste and aroma.
Recently, people have been finding that bulgogi is not only tasty and healthy
but also very versatile. It has been adapted to today's fast foods with some
fast food chains adding bulgogi burgers to their menus and a number of well-known
pizza restaurants even adopting it as one of their pizza toppings. Bulgogi is
an ideal picnic food, and, with some slight changes in the thickness and size
of the meat pieces, it can become a tasty hors d'oeuvre or buffet item.