Korean · Authentic-ish Korean
Bulgogi
287 kcal a serving, against 338 for the traditional version. That is 51 kcal off, or 15%, with 35.6g of protein. Serves 4. 30 minutes active, plus at least 2 hours marinating.
What the traditional version is
Slices of marbled beef (usually sirloin or ribeye), marinated for hours in a mix of soy sauce, sugar, grated Asian pear, garlic, sesame oil and black pepper. Fried or grilled at high heat until caramelised, then scattered with spring onion and sesame seeds. Usually served piled into lettuce wraps or over rice, with plenty of banchan at the side.
What changed, and what each change costs
Lean sirloin instead of marbled sirloin or ribeye
Most of the calories in classic bulgogi come from well-marbled beef, and all that fat makes it tender even after a fierce grill. Lean sirloin trims out loads of fat and brings up the protein, but it needs a little extra help staying tender.
What it costs you. You lose that mouth-coating richness and some of the juiciness. It cooks a bit drier if you go too long. Slicing it paper-thin and upping the pear helps, but it's not the same as butter-tender ribeye.
Sugar down from 40g to 15g, pear up from 100g to 150g
Pear was always there for sweetness and as a tenderiser. By trading sugar for more pear, you get a gentle natural sweetness and a bit of extra fibre - though, no, it won't caramelise quite as fiercely.
What it costs you. The flavour's subtler, and the char isn't as toffee-like. If you want that classic sticky edge, it's your call to sneak a touch more sugar back in now and then.
Soy sauce trimmed from 60g to 45g, garlic up from 24g to 32g
Classic bulgogi is pretty salty - the full 60g of soy is a wallop. Knocking it back means you get more balance and the garlic can actually be heard.
What it costs you. It's a shade less punchy and you might miss the depth. Serve it with a dipping bowl of soy on the side if you're not watching the salt.
Sesame oil halved, from 30g to 15g
Delicious, but pure fat - a tablespoon is all you need for aroma; the rest just pools in the pan.
What it costs you. The beef doesn't gleam in quite the same way, and that toasted sesame perfume is a little background instead of front and centre. If you live for sesame, drizzle a bit extra on just before serving.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 338 | 287 |
| Protein | 35.7g | 35.6g |
| Fat | 14g | 10.3g |
| Saturated fat | 3.2g | 2.7g |
| Carbohydrate | 16.7g | 12.3g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 10.6g | 12.4g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Korean prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, sesame, soybeans.
The method is in the book
This is bulgogi with its shirt tucked in and its shoes clean: lean, sharp, not fooling anyone into thinking it's the original festival version, but a success all the same. You do lose the slippery richness of the ribeye, but the sweet-savoury crust is still there, and you can eat twice as much without falling asleep. If you miss the old-school sugar rush and beef fat, save them for birthdays; the rest of the time, do it this way and don't look back.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Korean, along with 51 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.