Local Korean-Hawaiian Meat Jun
미트전·(mit-jeon)
The Weeknight Plate Lunch
Meat Jun is the undisputed king of the Hawaiian-Korean plate lunch, a brilliant collision of Korean barbecue flavors and royal court frying techniques born out of diaspora survival in the 1970s. Unlike mainland Korean yukjeon, where raw beef is simply battered and fried, the Hawaiian secret is to drown thinly shaved beef in a sweet-and-savory bulgogi marinade before it ever hits the flour and egg. For the weeknight cook, this is the ultimate hack: it cooks in two minutes flat, delivering a golden, perfectly adhered crust that tastes exactly like a Honolulu plate lunch counter.
Before you start
If you are slicing the beef yourself, freeze the block of meat for 45 minutes until firm before taking a knife to it.
This is a classic kitchen trick to make shaving the meat into 1/8-inch thick cutlets incredibly easy. If you bought pre-sliced bulgogi or shabu-shabu meat from an Asian market, skip this step.
Ingredients
- thinly sliced beef (ribeye, top sirloin, or flank steak)1 lb
- soy sauce1/2 cup
- sugar1/4 cup
- toasted sesame oil1 tbsp
- garlic3 med cloves
- green onions2 med
- black pepper1/2 tsp
- all-purpose flour1/2 cup
- eggs3 large
- neutral oil1/4 cup
- soy sauce3 tbsp
- rice vinegar1 tbsp
- toasted sesame oil1 tsp
- sugar1 tsp
- gochugaru1/2 tsp
- garlic1 med clove
- toasted sesame seeds1 tsp
Method
- 01
Whisk together the half cup of soy sauce, quarter cup of sugar, one tablespoon of sesame oil, three cloves of minced garlic, green onions, and black pepper in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves.
Add the beef slices and toss gently with your hands to ensure every single piece is separated and fully coated in the dark marinade, then cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
- 02
Combine the remaining soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, gochugaru, one minced garlic clove, and sesame seeds in a small bowl.
Stir until the sugar dissolves; this acidic, slightly spicy sauce will cut through the richness of the fried egg and perfectly balance the meal.
- 03
Set up a breading assembly line with the marinated beef, a shallow dish of the flour, a wide bowl of the beaten eggs, and a wire cooling rack.
Organization is the secret to moving quickly and preventing a gummy mess.
- 04
Dredge a slice of beef in the flour, vigorously shake off the excess to leave only a microscopic dusting, and immediately dip it into the beaten eggs.
The flour acts as a glue, but too much of it will create a doughy layer; you want the meat enveloped entirely and evenly in the egg wash.
- 05
Fry the egg-coated beef slices in a ¼-inch layer of shimmering hot neutral oil over medium to medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Do not crowd the pan. Because of the sugar in the marinade, the meat will brown quickly; look for a puffy golden brown crust with slightly crisp edges.
- 06
Transfer the cooked meat to the wire rack to drain, wiping out the pan and adding fresh oil between batches if the oil gets too dark with burnt bits.
Using kitchen scissors, snip the large pieces into bite-sized strips and serve immediately alongside hot white rice, macaroni salad, and kimchi.
Notes
If you are using mainland soy sauce like Kikkoman instead of Aloha brand, add a tablespoon of water to your marinade.
Mainland soy sauce is saltier and less sweet than what is typically used in Hawaii; a splash of water helps mimic the correct island flavor profile.
From Cook Hawaiian in America.