Bulgogi

My first time to try a recipe from the Good Housekeeping cookbook vol. 6. I've amasses a pile of local culinary magazines the last few days and so far, it's the first two I got - the Good Housekeeping tomes, I see as being the most practical. My first try is the Beef Bulgogi, a simple Korean recipe with 2 steps and all the necessary ingredients in my pantry. I remember how much I savored the Bulgogi made by Harry's wife and replicating it seemed like a wonderful idea. The recipe didn't call for any onions, but that's how I remembered the good Bulgogi to be so I added in a nice big yellow onion and about 1.5 additional teaspoon of the liquid seasoning. The recipe was to be fried or grilled, and the photo certainly looked like dry bulgogi, but my attempt produced a watery version - not really bad, because my favorite bulgogi was watery too. Still, I wonder if I should've gone the dry route and added in the beef into the pan very slowly to sear the meat. I put everything in and the pan temperature certainly dropped. Maybe I should put more attention to that pan temperature thing always touted in cookbooks. Anyway, the beef was boiled more than fried.

The result? The dish did look good, and I think the beef was cooked just right. Cooking time was short due to the thin cuts. The taste? It's...good, but unfortunately after eating such spectacular bulgogi in the past, my personal attempt seems quite dim. I followed the recipe (almost) to the letter, but I think there's something missing from it. I was itching to add in some cracked peppercorns while I was eating, much like how I do my standard donburi. Did the good bulgogi have pepper in it too? I don't remember.

The sweetness was light, to my surprise (I was expecting it to be quite sweet due to the sugar). It did smell like bulgogi at close sniff, but somehow even the smell seemed several levels dimmer than Harry's wife's version. It suddenly made me think about "umami" and left me wondering if adding a dash of aji-no-moto would solve the problem. (Not that I would put any of that MSG stuff in my food!)

Would I make this again? Yes, but not without some variation. Maybe I should've added some more sesame oil? Threw in peppercorns? I really don't know. I may look at online bulgogi recipes and see what others do. But maybe the best bet is to ask Harry's wife after all.

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Edit: After looking through online recipes, I came across some interesting points:
1) They all had ground black pepper
2) some call for white cooking wine (sake or mirin)
3) some also call for pear juice
4) some recommend toasting the sesame seeds
5) the marinade is not included when searing the beef
6) a lot of recipes call for grilling, but using a skillet is OK too.
7) It's probably best to use good quality soy sauce, not the Philippine kind.

Hmmm...I'm disappointed that Good Housekeeping has a recipe that leaves out the black pepper! Apparently it leaves something to be desired. Now I'm a bit hesitant of the other recipes in the book...