Bulgogi: Korean Stirfry

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I picked up some pork stir-fry from Skagit River Ranch at the Ballard Farmers Market last week, along with their recipe for Bulgogi (Korean Stirfry). I marinated it two nights ago and then cooked it last night. It's hard not to love a main course recipe that literally says "the meat should not need to cook for more than 1 minute"! I made a batch of white rice (Niko Niko Calrose Rice is the only way to go) and some of my uncle's asparagus. (I blanched asparagus and then used half for the stir-fry and half for my uncle's recipe. Definitely not necessary to have it both ways but I'm crazy like that.) Super easy dinner.

I recommend doing 1.5 or 2 times the recipe so you have leftovers.

Bulgogi (Korean Stirfry)

Adapted from Skagit River Ranch
1lb thinly sliced pork or beef stir-fry meat, cut into 2" x 1/2" strips (I used pork)
1 T peanut or vegetable oil
1/2 bunch asparagus

Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T sesame oil
2 T mirin or sherry (I used sherry)
3 T sugar or honey (I used honey)
1 t salt
1 bunch green onion, chopped into 1" pieces
6 cloves garlic, minced

Place all the ingredients for marinade in a large ziploc. Add the meat and moosh around in your hands. Marinate for at least 1 hour or refrigerate overnight (I refrigerated overnight) making sure to moosh it around every so often (my own weird habit).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add asparagus and cook for 1 minute 45 seconds. Transfer immediately to an ice bath. Once cooled, drain and cut into 2" spears on the diagonal. This can be done the night before, then stored in the fridge overnight.

Bring meat to room temperature. Mix in mini asparagus spears. Heat a large wok over medium-high heat (I used a large All Clad saute pan because I haven't seasoned my new Mother's Day wok yet). Heat oil, then add the meat until it is nicely browned. Be careful not to overcook. The meat should not need to cook for more than 1 minute. Depending on the size and shape of your pan, you may need to cook the meat in batches to avoid overcooking. You want to stir-fry the meat - quickly, over high heat to brown it and lock in the moisture. If you overcrowd or overcook the meat, it will get chewy and/or dry. I overcrowded my pan and it ended up steaming instead of browning. I now know better for next time.
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Serves 2-3