Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef)

So... thanks to the cheesesteak sandwich and the lasagna, I've got quite a bit of beef in the freezer. I have to say, I don't usually eat that much beef. As I keep saying over and over, I'm a chicken girl. Plus, beef is *horribly* expensive here. Almost 3 times the cost of chicken! Craziness.

But anyway, since I already have it, I should do something with it, right? My favourite recipe with beef would have to be beef with broccoli (so good!) but I thought I might as well try out a new recipe. Yes, that's right, beef-lovers. Another beef recipe for you to try and enjoy. Here we go!
What you need:
Beef, cut into paper-thin slices
- from what I could tell, the beef they usually use in this dish is in fairly large slices, but being a poor student, I don't have much choice, really. I just took the cheapest cut of beef I could find and sliced that up. It's much easier when the meat is frozen and you have a sharp knife, which was what I managed to do for the cheesesteak sandwich. Due to a lack of time, I didn't manage to freeze the beef completely - after letting it thaw in the fridge during the day. Should not have done that, sigh. But anyway, I still managed to get fairly thin slices, so good enough. =)

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
Chilli powder and crushed chilli flakes, to taste
Pinch of salt and a bit more of ground black pepper. I also put in a touch of ginger powder.
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 small shallots, sliced

What you do:

1. Mix all of the ingredients except for the beef and shallot together, make sure that the sugar has dissolved.
2. Add in the beef and the shallots and allow to marinate in the fridge for an hour. (or much much less, if you don't have the time or patience, like I did)
3. To panfry, heat up a lightly oiled frying pan. Place the beef in a single layer and fry until cooked. It can be nice if you overdo the frying just a touch, so you get the sugar slightly caramelised and the beef a bit crisp. Enjoy with a bowl of white rice. 

Wow, only 3 steps. Easy, right? The hardest part for me would have been slicing the beef up, but it would have been much much easier if it had been frozen. Ah well, never mind. It still turned out great! =D The marinade was a bit too sweet for me, but I think that's just for me. Other people, definitely my brothers, would like it, I think.

I think I should have drained the marinade before frying though, since the beef kind of simmered in the sauce instead of frying. But everything was good once the sauce was evaporated and turned sticky and clung to the beef, lending it a sweet slightly smoky flavour (thanks to me being overzealous on the caramelising bit, haha). I wouldn't say that this was anything special, but perhaps I am not doing it right? Not sure, never been to a Korean restaurant before. I might try to look out for this dish on the menu of Kimchi or the other Korean restaurant when I'm back in Brunei. Never really dared to try out those places, since I am really unsure on what to order but at least now there's an aim, right? =D

Quote of the day: I am a great eater of beef, and I believe that does harm to my wit.