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Slow Cooker Korean Beef (Bulgogi Style)

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Beef chuck roast or thinly sliced flank steak marinated and braised on LOW for four to eight hours (depending on cut) in a sauce of soy sauce, grated Asian pear, brown sugar, mirin, gochujang, fresh garlic, and fresh ginger — the pear enzymes tenderizing the beef throughout the long cook as the soy-sugar-sesame flavors permeate every fiber. Thickened with a cornstarch slurry to a glossy, coating consistency, then finished with toasted sesame oil added after cooking to preserve its full fragrance. Served over short-grain rice in a bowl with a fried egg, kimchi, sesame spinach, and a generous scatter of toasted sesame seeds and green onions. Slow cooker Korean beef that is not bulgogi but is excellent on its own specific terms.

  • Total Time: 8 hours 55 minutes (chuck) / 4 hours 55 minutes (flank)
  • Yield: 4–6 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

The Beef

  • 2–2.5 lbs (900g–1.1kg) beef chuck roast OR flank steak, sliced ¼-inch thin against the grain

The Marinade/Braising Sauce

  • ½ cup (120ml) soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp packed brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • 3 tbsp grated Asian pear or Bosc pear (about ½ pear)
  • 5–6 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
  • 1–2 tbsp gochujang (to taste; optional but recommended)
  • 3–4 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ¼ tsp black pepper

The Cornstarch Slurry (for finishing)

  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 3 tbsp cold water

The Finish

  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil — added after cooking, never before

For the Bowl

 

  • Short-grain or medium-grain white rice, freshly steamed
  • 1 fried or soft-boiled egg per person
  • Kimchi
  • Toasted sesame seeds
  • Thinly sliced green onions
  • Sesame spinach, sliced cucumber, shredded carrots (as desired)

Instructions

For chuck roast (shredded version — 8 hours):

  1. Combine the sauce. In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, grated pear, grated garlic, grated ginger, gochujang (if using), and black pepper until the sugar is dissolved.
  2. Build the slow cooker. Place the chuck roast in the slow cooker. Add the green onion pieces around the beef. Pour the sauce over everything, turning the roast to coat.
  3. Cook. Set to LOW and cook for 8 hours, until the beef is completely tender and falls apart when pressed.
  4. Shred. Transfer the beef to a cutting board and shred into generous pieces using two forks. Return the shredded beef to the slow cooker.

For flank steak (sliced version — 4 to 5 hours):

  1. Combine the sauce as above. Toss the thinly sliced flank steak in the sauce in the slow cooker insert, ensuring every piece is coated.
  2. Cook. Set to LOW and cook for 4 to 5 hours, until the beef is tender and fully cooked through.

Both versions — finishing steps:

 

  1. Thicken the sauce. Whisk together the cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Stir into the slow cooker. Switch to HIGH and cook uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the sauce is glossy and coats the beef and spoon in a thick layer.
  2. Add sesame oil. Switch to KEEP WARM. Stir in the toasted sesame oil. Taste and adjust — a splash more soy sauce if needed, a pinch of brown sugar if it needs balancing.
  3. Build the bowls. Spoon steamed rice into bowls. Ladle the Korean beef and its sauce generously over one section of the rice. Add a fried or soft-boiled egg, kimchi, sesame spinach, sliced cucumber, and shredded carrots in sections around the bowl. Scatter toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions over everything. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • The pear is essential. Grated Asian pear or Bosc pear contains proteolytic enzymes that tenderize beef at a molecular level during the long braise — it is not merely a sweetener. The pear integrates completely into the sauce and is not detectable as pear in the finished dish. Do not omit it and do not substitute apple, which lacks the same enzymatic action.
  • Sesame oil goes in after cooking — always. Toasted sesame oil is the most heat-volatile aromatic in this recipe. Added at the start of an eight-hour slow cook, it contributes nothing by the time the lid comes off. Added immediately before serving, it is the defining aromatic note of Korean beef. One tablespoon. After the cook. Every time.
  • Gochujang is the upgrade. If gochujang is in the pantry, add it. One tablespoon adds fermented complexity, a hint of heat, and a specifically Korean flavor depth that significantly elevates the dish beyond soy-sugar beef. It is available at most Asian grocery stores, at Whole Foods, and increasingly at standard supermarkets in the international foods aisle.
  • Grate the garlic and ginger. Minced garlic produces identifiable pieces in the sauce; grated garlic dissolves into the liquid entirely. The same applies to ginger. Use a Microplane or the fine side of a box grater for both.
  • The fried egg is not optional. A fried egg over a Korean beef rice bowl, with the yolk broken and stirred through the rice and sauce, is one of the best things in weeknight dinner cooking. The egg enriches the sauce and the rice together in a way that changes the character of the bowl entirely. Do not omit it.
  • Kimchi is the accompaniment. The fermented, spicy tang of kimchi is precisely what the sweet-savory Korean beef needs alongside it — the contrast between the two is central to the dining experience. Store-bought kimchi from the refrigerated section of the grocery store is entirely correct. If kimchi is not available, a quick-pickled cucumber (rice vinegar, sugar, salt, sesame oil, five minutes) provides the necessary acidity.
  • Short-grain rice, not long-grain. The sticky, slightly dense texture of short-grain Japanese or Korean rice is what allows the sauce to cling to the bowl and to each spoonful. Long-grain rice absorbs the sauce but does not integrate with it in the same way.
  • Author: Elle
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8 hours on LOW
  • Category: Dinner, Main Dish
  • Method: Slow Cooking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free

Find it online: https://slowcookerrecipes.us/slow-cooker-korean-beef-bulgogi-style/