Vegan Beef Bulgogi Recipe (Korean BBQ!)
This savory vegan bulgogi recipe is a plant-based twist on a beloved Korean dish bursting with smoky, sweet, and savoury flavours that transport you to family gatherings around the dinner table. By combining tender shiitake mushrooms and protein-packed soy curls with a refined sugar-free and gluten-free bulgogi sauce, this dish delivers the chewy, caramelized texture and bold flavour you’d expect from Korean bbq beef - all while being wholesome and accessible. It’s a dish that honours its roots while embracing mindful, plant-based eating.
Servings: 2 -3 servings
Ingredients
- 1-2 cups soy curls rehydrated*
- 2 cups shiitake mushrooms roughly chopped or pulsed in food processor until chunky
- 1/2 small onion thinly sliced
- korean barbeque marinade
- 1/2 cup gluten-free soy sauce
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 3 scallions thinly sliced
- optional
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder or sub cornstarch
- water
- garnish
- scallions
- additional sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together marinade ingredients and set aside.
- Over medium heat, sauté onions until soft and lightly golden and caramelized, then add soy curls and mushrooms to the pan. Cook until mushrooms are soft and lightly glossy.
- Add 1/3 of the marinade to the pan and sauté to coat evenly. Add additional marinade as you see fit, tasting to adjust. The marinade will be quite salty, to start with a small amount and add more to taste, if necessary. To thicken the sauce, you can add an arrowroot powder + water mixture (mix water and arrowroot powder in a small bowl first, then add to the pan).
- Serve over fresh rice and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.
Notes
- For best results, I highly recommend not making any substitutions to the marinade ingredients. I use gluten free soy sauce because the flavour is true to the original, sans gluten. Coconut aminos and liquid aminos have a bit of a sweetness to it, and a slightly different taste, however if you cannot consume gluten-free soy sauce, you’re welcome to substitute as you wish.
- To make this marinade oil free, you can remove the sesame oil but it will similarly change the taste significantly. It is one of the few oils I love to add to recipes for flavour because it’s really a flavour you cannot replicate without!
- To sauté your onions, you can also choose to sauté with a little oil, or water or veggie broth in a nonstick pan. The key is to make sure they are soft, lightly brown and caramelized. This will unlock a really delicious flavour.
- To rehydrate soy curls, follow package instructions. Most soy curls are rehydrated by simply soaking in water until soft. Once rehydrated, squeeze out any excess water before cooking.