Beef Bulgogi & Rice

📝 Ingredients

• 600 g beef rump steak
• 1 very ripe pear (about 180 g)
• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 4 garlic cloves + 10 g fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp sesame oil + 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 6 spring onions
• 280 g jasmine rice
• 1 cucumber (about 300 g)
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar + 1 tsp caster sugar (for the cucumber)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Chopping board and large, very sharp knife
• Fine grater
• Mixing bowl
• Colander
• Saucepan with lid
• Wok or large frying pan

📖 Steps

1. Put the rump steak in the freezer for 20 min: slightly firmed up, it is much easier to slice. Meanwhile, peel and finely grate the pear, crush the garlic and grate the ginger over a mixing bowl so you don't lose any juice.
2. Add the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, half the sesame seeds and some pepper to the bowl, then mix well. Slice the beef against the grain into very thin slices, 2 to 3 mm thick.
3. Add the beef to the marinade, massage it with your fingertips to coat it well, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 min. The pear tenderises the meat: don't go beyond a few hours, or the texture turns mushy.
4. While the beef marinates, rinse the jasmine rice in a sieve until the water runs clear. Put it in the saucepan with 450 ml water and a pinch of salt, bring to the boil, cover and cook for 12 min over very low heat. Leave to rest off the heat for 10 min without lifting the lid.
5. Halve the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and cut it into thin half-moons. Mix them with the rice vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt, then set aside in the fridge, stirring from time to time.
6. Separate the white and green parts of the spring onions: cut the whites into 3 cm lengths and finely slice the greens. Lift the meat out of the marinade, letting it drain slightly, and set the marinade aside.
7. Heat the sunflower oil in the wok over high heat until it is just smoking. Sear half the beef with half the onion whites for 2 min without stirring too much so it caramelises, set aside and repeat: too much meat at once makes it boil instead of browning.
8. Return all the beef to the wok, pour in the remaining marinade and let it bubble for 1 to 2 min over high heat, stirring, until the sauce reduces, coats the meat and turns glossy. Remove from the heat straight away so the beef stays tender.
9. Divide the rice between bowls, add the beef and its sauce, then sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds and the spring onion greens. Serve with the well-drained pickled cucumber on the side for freshness and crunch.