This streamlined recipe for Instant Pot Korean Beef / Instant Pot Bulgogi makes for a quick weeknight dinner that tastes great in bibimbap – on a bed of rice, accompanied by sauteed vegetables, pickled carrots, Kimchi, and a fried egg on top.





Korean food has become very popular in recent years. One of the more common Korean recipes is Korean Beef Bulgogi (pronounced ‘bool-go-ghee’), which is Korean BBQ: thinly-sliced marinated beef that’s grilled or sauteed and served with a wide variety of sides including Kimchi (pickled vegetables), sauteed vegetables and eggs. Korean food has become very popular in recent years. One of the more common Korean recipes is Korean Beef Bulgogi (pronounced ‘bool-go-ghee’), which is Korean BBQ: thinly-sliced marinated beef that’s grilled or sauteed and served with a wide variety of sides including Kimchi (pickled vegetables), sauteed vegetables and eggs.

Another popular Korean recipe is Bibimbap (pronounced ‘bee-bim-bahp’) which is translated as ‘mixed rice’, where you layer rice on the bottom of a bowl and arrange various ingredients on top (as pictured above). You then mix everything together before eating (hence the name!)

This Instant Pot Korean Beef recipe is a streamlined and quick way to make Korean beef bulgogi that you can use as part of a Bibimbap rice bowl. I hope it’s the first of many Instant Pot Korean recipes that I will share.

In the regular Korean beef bulgogi recipe, the marinade contains minced garlic and grated Asian pear, and the meat is barbecued, or sauteed on a hot griddle. In adapting the recipe for pressure cooking, I’ve taken a page from my Indian cooking experience and blended the ingredients to create a smooth sauce to marinate and pressure cook the meat in.

Gochujang is an ingredient that you may not be familiar with. It’s a sweet and spicy Korean fermented red chili paste that’s really tasty. These days it’s available at most regular grocery stores, but you should easily find it at an Asian grocery store or on Amazon.

Bibimbap is usually served with Gochujang as a condiment, but since you’ll have plenty of flavorful sauce from the beef (that already has Gochujang), you may not need to add more Gochujang.

* If you’re unfamiliar with Kimchi (Korean fermented vegetables) Maangchi tells you all about it. I just purchase Kimchi at the Asian grocery store, I don’t make it 🙂

Tips Tougher cuts of meats work best in the Instant Pot (stew meat, rump roast, shoulder, chuck). To save time, I like to use pre-cut stew meat and further cut each piece into 2 or 3 thin slices. One trick I use is to stick the meat in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes and that makes it easier to cut the meat thinly. Bulgogi marinade is traditionally made with Asian pears. If you can find them in your grocery store in season, feel free to use them instead of the apples. I find that the Fuji apples are a fine substitute and readily available. Mirin is another ingredient that you may not have on hand. It’s a Japanese rice wine that adds a sweet and tangy flavor. Many grocery stores sell ‘Aji Mirin’ which is close to Mirin, but if you can’t find Mirin, you can substitute a sweet marsala wine or dry sherry. After cooking is complete, you’ll be left with a fair amount of sauce/liquid. The quickest way to thicken the sauce is with corn starch mixed with water, added directly to the beef and sauce, and that’s the method I’ve detailed in this recipe. However, if you wanted a drier beef with sauce to serve on the side, you can use this alternate method: Transfer the cooked beef bulgogi from the inner pot to a large frying pan with a slotted spoon.

Saute the beef over medium heat, adding 2 tablespoons of the sauce until evaporated.

Keep adding more sauce, two tablespoons at a time, and continue sauteing the beef until lightly caramelized. You’ll add up to 8 tablespoons total.

Thicken the remaining sauce with cornstarch mixed with water and heat through. You can do this on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot on ‘Saute’ mode.

Serve the sauce on the side. To assemble the Bibimbap, layer Instant Pot Jasmine Rice in a single-serving bowl, and top with Instant Pot Korean Beef and your choice of: Vegetables sauteed with a dash of soy sauce and garlic (e.g. baby bok choy, broccoli, spinach)

Kimchi *

Pickled thinly-sliced daikon and carrots or pickled cucumbers

Sunny-side-up fried egg or soft boiled egg

Sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds for sprinkling on top

Reserved sauce for drizzling over the top No added liquid is necessary for the beef marinade because the marinade releases enough liquid to bring the Instant Pot to pressure. If you have the time to marinate the beef overnight, you’ll have excellent flavor. Note: to make this recipe gluten-free, please use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and choose a gluten-free gochujang paste.

[Read: Easy Chinese-Style Instant Pot Fried Rice made with Jasmine rice]

If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make Instant Pot Korean Beef.

GO DIRECTLY TO RECIPE

Instant Pot Korean Beef Ingredients

Missing from photo: vegetable oil and cornstarch, and coconut aminos to substitute for the soy sauce, to make this dish gluten-free

Instant Pot Korean Beef Step-by-Step Instructions

In a mini blender or food processor, combine ginger, garlic, apple, Gochujang, brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and Mirin into a very smooth sauce.

Marinate the beef in the sauce.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to (preferably) overnight.

Instant Pot Duo: Select the ‘Saute’ function.

Select the ‘Saute’ function. Instant Pot Ultra: Select the ‘Saute’ function and press ‘Start’.

Pour vegetable oil in the heated pot.

Add onions and saute till golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add marinated beef to Instant Pot inner pot.

Stir to combine.

Instant Pot DUO Pressure Cook:

Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position

Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘10’ (10 minutes).

Instant Pot ULTRA Pressure Cook:

Close the lid.

Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust time to 10 minutes (00:10).

Press ‘Start’.

Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.

Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.

The display will count down from 10 to 0; it will then switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up.

Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR). The float valve will be in the down position. This may take 10 to 20 minutes.

Press Cancel and Open the Instant Pot.

Stir Instant Pot Korean Beef.

To thicken, stir in a mixture of corn starch and water, and heat through on ‘Saute’ mode until thickened.

While the beef is cooking, saute some baby bok choy or your choice of vegetables in a frying pan with a dash of soy sauce and garlic.

To serve the bibimbap: Place Instant Pot Jasmine Rice in a single-serve bowl. Arrange sauteed vegetables, and your choice of sides including bean sprouts, Korean seaweed, Kimchi, pickled daikon and carrots or pickled cucumbers and sunny-side-up or soft-boiled egg.

Sprinkle green onions and toasted sesame seeds over the top.

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