Korean Steak Bulgogi with Purple Rice
Enjoy a multi-dish culinary tour of a new destination!
- Sesame
- Soy
- Wheat
- Milk
- Eggs
This Korean-style feast is full of textures, savory flavors, and bright colors, from the slightly sweet and umami glazed steak, to the purple sesame rice dotted with toasted seaweed, and the homemade crispy scallion pancake made with our foolproof batter. You'll serve it all with a spicy cucumber salad plus a soy-vinegar-sesame dipping sauce.
Ingredients
12 ounce
Sirloin Steak
10 teaspoon
Rice Wine Vinegar
1 unit
Onion
4 ounce
Bulgogi Sauce
(Contains: Sesame, Soy, Wheat)
¾ cup
Jasmine Rice
2 tablespoon
Soy Sauce
(Contains: Soy, Wheat)
1 teaspoon
Korean Chili Flakes
2 unit
Mini Cucumber
2 tablespoon
Sesame Seeds
(Contains: Sesame)
½ tablespoon
Sesame Oil
(Contains: Sesame)
82 g
Tempura Batter Mix
(Contains: Milk, Wheat, Eggs)
4 unit
Scallions
½ unit
Purple Sweet Potato
½ unit
Roasted Seaweed Sheets
Not included in your delivery
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Cooking Oil
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Sugar
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
Wash and dry produce.
Pat steak* dry with paper towels; place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. Peel and halve sweet potato lengthwise; thinly slice into half-moons.
In a small pot, combine rice, half the sweet potato, 1½ cups water, and a pinch of salt (all the sweet potato and 2¾ cups water for 4 servings). Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until tender, 25-27 minutes. Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
While rice cooks, trim and thinly slice cucumbers into rounds. Halve, peel, and dice onion into ¾-inch pieces until you have 2 TBSP (4 TBSP for 4); cut remaining onion into ¼-inch wedges. Trim and cut scallions into 2-inch batons.
In a medium bowl, combine cucumbers, one packet of vinegar, half a packet of sesame seeds, half the chili flakes, 1 tsp sugar, salt, and pepper until combined and coated (two packets of vinegar, one packet of sesame seeds, and 2 tsp sugar for 4 servings). Set aside in fridge.
In a small bowl, combine diced onion, soy sauce, half a packet of vinegar, half a packet of sesame seeds, remaining chili flakes, and ½ tsp sugar (one packet of vinegar, one packet of sesame seeds, and 1 tsp sugar for 4). Set aside in fridge. (Save remaining vinegar for another use.)
Remove steak from freezer and thinly slice against the grain.
Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onion wedges and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, 1-2 minutes.
Add steak; season with salt and pepper. Cook until cooked through, 2-3 minutes.
Add bulgogi sauce and half a packet of sesame seeds (one packet for 4 servings); cook until sauce has slightly reduced and steak is evenly coated, 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl.
Heat a ⅓-inch layer of oil in a second large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat.
In a large bowl, combine tempura batter mix, ½ cup cold water (1 cup for 4 servings), ½ tsp sugar (1 tsp for 4), and salt (we used ½ tsp; 1 tsp for 4). TIP: If needed, add more water 1 TBSP at a time until mixture reaches a pancake-batter-like consistency.
Stir scallions into bowl with batter.
Once oil is hot enough that a drop of batter sizzles when added to the pan, carefully add all the coated scallions and batter. (For 4 servings, add half the coated scallions and batter. Cook in two batches, adding more oil as needed.) Using tongs, spread scallions out in a single layer. TIP: Add batter close to the pan to avoid splatter. Adjust heat if pancake is browning too quickly. You can also make smaller pancakes if you like!
Cook until golden brown and crisp on the bottom and batter is bubbling on the top, 3-4 minutes. Flip pancake away from you using tongs and a spatula. Cook until other side is golden brown and crisp, 2-3 minutes more.
Using tongs, carefully transfer pancake to a paper-towel-lined plate. Season with a pinch of salt.
Fluff rice with a fork until sweet potato is mashed and evenly incorporated, turning the rice purple. Crumble two roasted seaweed sheets (four sheets for 4 servings) into pot. Add half the sesame oil (all for 4) and remaining sesame seeds. Stir to evenly incorporate ingredients. (Save remaining seaweed sheets for another use.)
Cut scallion pancake into quarters.
Serve bulgogi steak family style with purple rice, scallion pancake, dipping sauce, and cucumber salad on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Feb 2026- Flavor: Many loved the bulgogi sauce and beef, though some found it overpowering. The onion sauce and cucumber salad were highlights.
- Ease of prep: Several found it time-consuming with many steps. Consider prepping ingredients in advance for a smoother cooking experience.
- Suggestions: Slice the steak thinly against the grain for tenderness. Add more Korean chili flakes if you prefer it spicier 🌶️.
- Rice: Some enjoyed the purple sweet potato rice, while others found it mushy or bland. Consider reducing sweet potato for a lighter texture.
- Scallion pancake: Use less oil when frying to prevent sogginess. Some loved it, while others found it challenging to cook properly.
Reviews from our home cooks
The onion sauce really made the whole dish pop! Cooking the steak the right amount is very important, I'd save that step for last so it doesn't get overcooked. I overcooked the pancake a bit too, but that was my fault, I was keeping it warm because my friend was late. I wonder if the pancake would taste better with egg in it? I loved the complexity of this dish and would absolutely make it again. Everything was delicious!
This was exciting to make and full of interesting flavors. The rice turned out clumpy and dry- but the purple potato was fun to work with as well as the crumbled seaweed idea. We enjoyed the flavors although the meat was chewy- perhaps I did not cut it against the grain. Also the instructions on the onions were not clear diced to 3/4 inch and cut to 1/4 inch and create batons with the scallions - and use the onion wedges with meat ( there were no onion wedges in the instructions), and we ended up not using the 'small' chopped onions - Overall we thought it was fun and delicious but we needed more hand-holding
Loved the purple rice and the scallion pancake! I'm not a big fan of seaweed so I only used half of what the recipe instructed which was a great decision!
So good! The banchans so good. Needs more Korean chili flakes for me. Make sure to slice your meat real thin for the kbbq feel.
This was fantastic! I loved everything about it. I was like something ordered from a terrific Korean restaurant. No joke, this was all legit delicious.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this meal, and I confess I passed on the whole purple sweet potato and seaweed stuff. I also swapped out the steak for ground beef--and the meal turned out pretty darn good, even the scallion pancake!
The rice was challenging to cook. The scallion pancake had too much oil. Overall the flavors were amazing.
This was delicious minus the rice. The cucumber salad was delicious, but something about the rice that HelloFresh has is extremely gluey, no matter how many times the rice is washed.
What an absolutely remarkable feast! The most unique rice I have ever had in my life
Great balance and variety. Enjoy of sharable style of this meal.
