About this recipe:
This pan-fried marinated beef recipe is similar to the popular Korean dish – bulgogi (grilled marinated beef) or the classic Japanese recipe – gyudon (beef bowl) but much easier to make. Marinate the beef for 30 minutes and cook with a frying pan are basically it. It’s very simple!
When I lived by myself, I use to make this dish all the time. I would serve it over rice and put a fried egg on top to make it into a meal.
I used thinly sliced beef ribeye for this recipe. Easy to find in a Japanese grocery store’s meat section. Mine was from the Sunrise Mart on stuyvesant street, near St.Marks Place in New York City. It came as pre-sliced and prepackaged, and labeled as “beef for shabu-shabu” (shabu-shabu is a type of Japanese hot pot).
While the beef has been marinated for almost 30 minutes, I started cooking the onion. To cook the onion shreds from a quarter of an onion till they are softened and lightly browned, doesn’t take that long (too me about 5 minutes).
But there is a few tips on how to sauté the onion I would like to share with you. 1) We need to make sure to heat the oil until is shimmering. 2) After adding the onions into the pan, stir first to coat them with the oil. 3) Spread the onions out evenly on the pan once coated with oil and let it cook, stir occasionally until reached the status we want.
On the beef’s side, after being marinated for 30 minutes but before cooking (I used the time while the onion is being cooked in the pan). I poured starch mixed with water and sesame oil over the beef. The starch and oil provided a light coating to the meat. It helps to lock in the moisture in the beef (who doesn’t like tender meat) and makes it easier to separate during cooking.
When I make this dish, I normally use a pair of chopsticks rather than a spatula to stir. It helps to separates the beef apart better. But remember to move and stir gently, because the beef has been cut very thin and breaks easily. (If you are using a non-stick pan, use only wood chopsticks and avoid metal chopsticks to help protect the pan).
In about 4 to 5 minutes, after the beef is no longer pink and cooked through, I sprinkled some sesame seeds and freshly chopped scallion on top and let it simmer for just another 30 seconds.
Not including the time needed for marination, the total cooking time is only 15 minutes!
I hope you enjoy making this pan-fried marinated beef. If you like this recipe, please leave a rating and share it with your friends!
- ½ pound thinly sliced beef
- ¼ onion, cut into shreds
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Marination:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin (Japanese sweet cooking rice wine)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon potato starch
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- Garnishing:
- 1 stalk scallion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds
- In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce, mirin, sugar and grated ginger, set aside.
- Put the thinly sliced beef into a medium ziploc bag and pour the sauce mixture over the beef in the bag, gently squeeze the bag to mix the sauce well with the beef.
- Seal and place the bag in the fridge, marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat oil in a pan over low heat until shimmering, add in the onion and sauté about 5 minutes or until soft and lightly browned.
- While the onion is being cooked, transfer the beef into a large mix bowl. Mix potato starch with water and pour the starch water and sesame oil over the beef, gently rub the beef to make sure it is well coated.
- Add the marinated beef into the pan on top of the sautéed onion first, then spread it out evenly over the pan with a pair of chopsticks and let cook for 4-5 minute until cooked though, stirring occasionally.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped scallion, continue cooking for 30 seconds.
- Transfer to a plate to serve with rice or vegetable.
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7 comments
You made a lovely Bulgogi. All you need is a bowl of rice to dig in.
Thank you Holly, I am glad you liked it!
Thanks for the recipe, we bought some shabu shabu meat and didn’t know what to do with it because I didn’t want to go to the trouble of purchasing a hot pot and fiddling with all of that. I found your recipe, used it and we loved it. So simple and tasty.
Hello! I’ve been looking for a way to use up my shabu shabu beef in the freezer and I’m excited to try this! Do you have any recommendations for alternatives to mirin and potato starch? Those are the only two ingredients I’m missing in my kitchen for this recipe!
This was so good! My little 4 year old is such a picky eater but he took 2 servings! It reminds me of a Japanese beef bowl or Yoshinoya!
Turned out fantastic! I was looking for an easy and quick recipe after a long day of work and found this. Thank you!
Thank Emma for this pan-fried marinated beef. It is awesome