Bulgogi with Fresh Mint and Chard

My husband brought home some lovely shaved beef from the gorcery store last weekend, and it made me think immediately of a great use for a huge bunch of chard I had in the 'fridge. We visited Korea several years ago and fell in love with Korean beef (bulgogi) wrapped in leafy greens with a side of rice.

I found a recipe for the unique bulgogi marinade here. I was pleased to find that the sweetness comes from a pear and honey (I omitted the additional refined sugar).

Make marinade sauce for 2 pounds of beef by mixing following:
½ cup soy sauce (I used tamari)
12 cloves minced garlic
1 medium size onion (crushed)
1 small size pear (crushed)
½ cup of water (can be replaced with cooking wine)
1 tbs of honey.
*tip: Using a food processor is very convenient.

Prepare a large stainless bowl and pour the marinade sauce in it. Place the sliced beef into the marinade and add 1 or 2 tbs of sesame oil and some toasted sesame seeds. Mix it by hand and keep it in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

After 3 hours, grill the meat on charcoal bbq, broil it in oven, or grill it in a pan.

Then wrap it up in halves of chard from which the stems have been removed and enjoy.

[In Korea, bulgogi was often served with mint leaves for wrapping, in addition to other leafy greens. I couldn't find any mint leaves big enough, so I just sprinkled some fresh mint leaves over my meat before wrapping in the chard leaf].

Delicious!