Description of Bulgogy

Description of Bulgogy

Bulgogi (/bʊlˈɡoʊɡiː/ buul-GOH-ghee; from Korean bul-gogi [pul.ɡo.ɡi]), literally "fire meat" is a gui (Korean-style grilled or roasted dish) made of thin, marinated slices of beef or pork, grilled on a barbecue or on a stove-top griddle. It is also often stir-fried in a pan in home cooking. Sirloin, rib eye or briskets are frequently used cuts of beef for the dish. It is a beloved dish in both South and North Korea, having originated in the North. Bulgogi is ubiquitous in South Korea, from fancy restaurants to pan-ready kits at local supermarkets.

Etymology:

Bulgogi came from the Korean word bul-gogi (불고기), consisting of bul ("fire") and gogi ("meat"). The compound word derived from Pyongan dialect, as the dish itself was a delicacy of Pyongan region (currently in North Korea). After the liberation of Korean Peninsula from the Japanese forced occupation in 1945, the dish was made popular in Seoul and other parts of South Korea, by the refugees from Pyongan. It was then listed in a 1947 dictionary, the Dictionary of the Korean Language, as the meat grilled directly over the charcoal fire.

In the Standard Korean Language Dictionary published by the National Institute of Korean Language, the word is listed as meat such as beef that is thinly sliced, marinated, and grilled over the fire. The word is also included in English-language dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Oxford Dictionary of English. Merriam-Webster dated the word's appearance in the American English lexicon at 1961.