A juicy dish of grilled, marinated beef, bulgogi, like kimchi is one of the most recognised Korean dishes worldwide. The meat is usually enjoyed wrapped in lettuce with ssamjang (a thick, red spicy paste) and some other banchan. Ribeye is used because of its tenderness and fat content, but that is a pricey cut. It works very well for making cheaper cuts like shin or chuck a delicious meal.

Thinly slice the beef against the grain into rashers. It helps to get very thin slices if the meat is cold and the knife very sharp.

Place all the marinade ingredients in a blender and process into a fine sauce. Add the beef to the marinade and keep in the fridge at least 30 minutes. If your cut of beef is tough, you can marinate it overnight. The pear is important, it contains an enzyme called calpain which is a meat tenderiser. If you can find Korean pears in a local grocery store, used one of those. There is a greater concentration of calpain in these very sweet Asian pears.

Cook the beef in a very hot pan or on a grill, and transfer to a platter to serve with whole crisp lettuce leaves. You should present the bulgogi and leaves with at least five banchan and some ssamjang paste so guests can make up their own delicious beef parcels.