Love making your own Asian sauces? Try my eel sauce, katsu sauce, and tempura sauce next. Coming from a half-Asian background with Korean roots, it’s no surprise that one of my favorite dishes ever is my beef bulgogi. Today, though, we’re going to focus on what makes this dish so delicious, and it’s the incredible bulgogi sauce, aka the marinade the slices of meat are soaking it. I’ve tweaked my family’s bulgogi sauce recipe ever so slightly to accommodate easy-to-find ingredients, but don’t fret. I promise you it will taste just as authentic and flavorful. Sure, you could buy the pre-bottled kind, but where is the fun in that? Making your own is so easy.
Why I love this recipe
Ready in seconds. No boiling, steaming, or caramelizing is required- everything is whisked together in one bowl. Authentic flavor. This sauce is sweet, tangy, and has some spice. Honestly, you’d think this was from a Korean restaurant. Versatile. While this sauce is famous for beef bulgogi, it can also be used as a marinade or sauce.
Ingredients needed
Brown sugar. Adds sweetness and balances out the salty and umami ingredients. Either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar works. Sesame oil. A must for Asian marinade or sauces. A little goes a very long way, so try not to go overboard with it. Adds richness with a punch of flavor. Remember, though, a little goes a VERY long way, so don’t be heavy-handed (I learned the hard way). Soy sauce. Any kind is fine. Red pepper flakes. For spice! I tend to be conservative with this, but you can be more heavy handed if you like. Pear. The secret ingredient! When I shared this recipe with friends before sharing it with you all, everyone was shocked that there was a grated pear in it. Asian pear is best, but bosc pears or generic pears are fine too. Garlic and fresh ginger. Two must-have aromatics that also must be freshly minced. Please do not use the dried kind. Gochujang. AKA Korean chili pepper sauce. Thanks to the rise of social media and more and more Korean restaurants around the world, you’ll find jars of Gochujang at any mainstream grocery store or online (I even found it in Paris in a tiny grocery store when I was traveling).
How to make bulgogi sauce
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Bulgogi sauce is often considered to be the BBQ sauce of Asian and Korean cuisine. It’s sweet, smoky, and slightly tangy and has a subtle spice hit thanks to the chili sauce. Many Korean restaurants and households actually serve this as a dipping sauce!
Arman’s recipe tips
Make the sauce fresh. I tested making a bigger batch of this sauce in advance and found there was too much separation and that the flavor wasn’t as pronounced. This sauce literally takes seconds to make, so always make it fresh. If you can’t find gochujang, use chili garlic sauce or sriracha. Although I really do encourage you to see if you can get it, it’s great in everyday dishes, too (like scrambled eggs!). Grate the pear instead of slicing it. You want the texture to be more mushy than smooth, and grating it releases more juices that way. If you can’t find pears, you can use a super-sweet apple or two tablespoons of honey instead. Add other aromatics like onion, green onions, black pepper, and sesame seeds.
Storage instructions
To store: If you haven’t used the sauce to marinate beef or chicken (or any other protein), you can store leftovers in the refrigerator, covered, for up to one week. Sometimes, the sauce will thicken, and if that happens, let it bring it to room temperature before using it.
Frequently asked questions
More popular condiments
Spicy mayo Potsticker sauce Hot honey sauce Or any of my sauce and condiment recipes
Originally published September 2022, updated and republished October 2024 If you’ve been to any Korean restaurant before, you’ll know that you can get all kinds of bulgogi-based dishes, including chicken, seafood, and tofu.
As a marinade for simple protein like chicken breast, pork chips, or steak. Toss it through grains or noodles for a fun sauce, like in my spicy Korean noodles or chicken chow mein. Use it as a dipping sauce for zucchini fries or air fryer French fries. As a burger sauce! I especially like it in my spicy chicken sandwich or hot honey chicken sandwich.
