Korean Beef Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps

These Korean beef bulgogi lettuce wraps are salty & sweet with Korean BBQ bulgogi, crunchy water chestnuts & chewy brown rice, all topped with spicy gochujang sauce! And for more Korean inspired dishes, try my gochujang pasta, spicy bulgogi chicken, 3 ingredient green kimchi, and spicy Korean chicken tacos.

My Grandma brought incredible stories and delicious recipes from her childhood in North Korea and her young adulthood in South Korea. She makes sure these traditions and wisdom are passed down so we don't forget where our ancestors come from.

Her most beloved recipe is her beef bulgogi, which is thinly sliced beef marinated in a sweet and salty sauce and grilled. You can eat bulgogi with rice, in noodles like japchae, or in these bulgogi lettuce wraps!

Inspiration of this Recipe from My Grandma

My Grandma moved to America from South Korea after she fell in love with my Grandpa. How romantic! When they met, my Grandpa was in the army and stationed in South Korea. One of my Grandma's family members worked with the U.S. army and was invited to a dance/dinner party, and he brought the whole family along. That party was where my grandparents first laid eyes on each other. *swoon*

My Grandpa pursued this Korean beauty and she eventually agreed to go on a date with him. Over the course of several months, they explored the city, went to the movies and when out dancing together. Eventually, my Grandpa popped the question! Long story short, nearly sixty years later they are still married. And they're two of my favorite people in the world.

Ingredients for My Grandma's Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps

• Beef bulgogi - the best cuts of beef for bulgogi are ribeye, short ribs, sirloin, or tenderloin. My Grandma usually makes it with skirt steak, since it cooks so quickly in a pan.
• Brown rice - you can substitute white rice; I like the sweet, nutty flavor that brown rice adds to these lettuce wraps
• Water chestnuts - adds a fresh crunchy texture in each bite
• Lettuce - Butter lettuce works great since it's in the shape of little cups, but any type of large, whole lettuce leaves will work great
• Gochujang- this Korean sauce is spicy and mildly sweet, which goes perfectly with the rest of the ingredients; you can substitute your favorite hot sauce

How My Grandma Makes Bulgogi

My Grandma doesn't really measure ingredients. When I ask her how much sauce to marinate the beef in, she says, "Oh, you know, just enough so it tastes good, but not too much of course." Riiiiight.

My Grandma's bulgogi has evolved over the years to adjust to the ingredients and time available to her now.

For this bulgogi that we made together, she bought two pounds of thinly-sliced sirloin. We stood cooking it together for an hour over her Foreman grill, because we were making enough to feed our family of eight at dinner that night.

For the meat, buy the most thinly sliced cut of beef you can find - the closer to paper-thin, the better.

And for the sauce, my Grandma mixes together two types of store bought Korean bulgogi sauce. One is sweeter and one is saltier to get the perfect blend of flavors.

How to Make Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps

1. Make the bulgogi: Grill or pan fry the marinated bulgogi.
   
2. Make the rice: Cook the rice on the stove or in a rice cooker.
   
3. Prep the water chestnuts and lettuce: Drain and dice the water chestnuts and put them in a small bowl. Separate the lettuce leaves, rinse them, then pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel.
   
4. Assemble the lettuce wraps: To assemble, take one piece of lettuce in your hand. Add a generous spoon of brown rice, a sprinkle of water chestnuts and a generous portion of your bulgogi. Add a bit of gochujang or your favorite spicy sauce.

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