Bulgogi Sauce (불고기 양념) – Korean Marinade with Pear

Bulgogi sauce is the marinade in which, in Korea, you soak thinly sliced beef before frying. It is made of soy sauce, sugar, garlic, toasted sesame oil and grated Asian pear. The pear sweetens the sauce and contains an enzyme that loosens the meat fibers. You also grate in a little onion and fresh ginger.

By Laura Chen· November 4, 2026

15 Mintotal

4servings

175kcal

KoreanCuisine ›

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You need no stove, just a grater and a bowl. The amount in this recipe, about 300 ml, covers 600 g of meat. Besides beef top round, you can marinate pork shoulder, chicken thighs, tofu or king oyster mushrooms in it. Vegetables and tofu need 30 minutes, beef at least 60 minutes. Overnight in the fridge the marinade soaks in deeper and the meat browns more in the pan, because the sugar caramelizes.

The finished pan dish with onions and scallions is in Bulgogi. For Galbi you put beef short ribs in an almost identical marinade. With gochujang and chili flakes you get the spicy pork version Dwaeji Bulgogi.

Image: AI-generated.

Bulgogi Sauce (불고기 양념) – Korean Marinade with Pear

Name: Bulgogi Sauce (불고기 양념) – Korean Marinade with Pear
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 100 ml soy sauce; 150 g Asian pear (nashi), peeled; 50 g onion; 5 garlic cloves; 10 g fresh ginger; 3 tbsp brown sugar; 1 tbsp honey; 2 tbsp rice wine (mirim) or mirin; 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil; 1 tbsp sesame seeds; 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 2 scallions, in thin rings

Laura Chen

Servings

Prep time

10 minutes

Cook time

5 minutes

Calories

175

Cuisine

Korean

Ingredients

For the sauce:

100 ml soy sauce
150 g Asian pear (nashi), peeled
50 g onion
5 garlic cloves
10 g fresh ginger
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp rice wine (mirim) or mirin
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, in thin rings

Instructions

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat for 3 minutes, until fragrant and light brown. Crush half of them in a mortar.
Remove the core of the pear and grate it on the fine side of the grater into a bowl. Grate in the onion, garlic and ginger.
Stir the soy sauce, sugar, honey and rice wine in a second bowl until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the grated mixture, sesame oil, sesame seeds, pepper and scallions and stir everything through.
Taste the sauce. For more sweetness add 1 tsp honey, for more salt 1 tbsp soy sauce.
Mix the sauce with 600 g thinly sliced meat and let it marinate covered in the fridge for at least 60 minutes.
Pour leftover sauce into a clean screw-top jar. In the fridge it keeps 5 days.

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Bulgogi Sauce (불고기 양념) – Korean Marinade with Pear

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