Slow cooker Korean Beef is a mouth wateringly aromatic dish. Tender chunks of beef are slowly cooked in a sweetly spiced dark and sticky sauce. Serve with plump jasmine rice, this one is not to be missed!
Make the marinade. Add the gochujang paste, garlic, ginger, soy, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, and pepper into a bowl and mix together well. Add the chilli flakes now if you want extra heat (this is optional).
Cut the beef steaks into large even strips 3cm thick. Add these to the marinade and stir well to ensure all of the beef is coated. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Peel and slice the onion then peel and core the pear and cut it into chunks. Place these in the slow cooker.
Sprinkle the cornflour over the onion and pear and stir through.
Add the marinated beef to the slow cooker, then pour in the apple juice and stir. Try to submerge the beef as much as possible. At this point the liquid will not be able to cover the beef entirely but as the meat, onion and pear cook they will release more juice and a glossy sauce will develop which will coat the beef.
Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. Serve with freshly cooked jasmine rice or noodles.
Notes
Recipe Notes
Cut the beef into thick and even strips 3cm across. This means they will cook evenly and that they will be tender without falling apart in the sauce.
Different brands of soy sauce will have different levels of saltiness. I use Kikkoman soy sauce as it is fragrant with a lovely rich taste. If you are using a different brand it may be necessary to adjust the level of soy sauce in the recipe.
There are many different brands of Gochunjang paste available online and in the supermarkets. The one I use is by Chung Jung One, it has real depth of flavour and a medium level of heat. Brands have varying levels of chilli so if you are using a different type then you may want to adjust the amount of chilli flakes you add.
If you want to add additional vegetables to the dish, strips of pepper or carrot work well. Add these half way through the cooking time so that they maintain thier crunch.