Based on the ingredients it looks like this recipe was aiming for a galbijjim sort of vibe, only with less fruit in the marinade, no veggies in the stew, and made with steak instead of short ribs.

Personally, I found the finished dish a little too sweet for my tastes. I think I'd be inclined to cut back on the brown sugar and/or omit the honey next time. But it was quite good. And the meat was very tender. I did kind of miss the veggies though. I'd be tempted to toss in a carrot or two next time, just to lighten it up a bit. It's very nice overall though.

Korean-Style Beef Bowls

Slightly adapted from Healthy Instant Pot by Alexis Mersel

Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion, coarsely choppsed
• 1/2 c. soy sauce¹
• 1/2 c. brown sugar²
• 1/4 c. sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. mirin
• 8 cloves garlic
• 2-3cm piece of fresh ginger³, peeled
• 2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. honey⁴
• 1 Asian pear
• 1kg stewing beef
• 1 red onion, halved and sliced thin
• 6 radishes, sliced thin
• seasoned rice vinegar⁵
• cooked brown rice, to serve
• 2-3 scallions, sliced (optional)
• 1-2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

1. Add the yellow onion, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, mirin, garlic, ginger, pepper, and honey to a blender.
2. Peel, quarter, and core the pear and add it to the blender as well. Purée until smooth.
3. Pour the marinade over the beef, turn to coat, cover, and marinate (in the fridge) for 4-24 hours.
4. Meanwhile, place the red onion and radishes in a bowl and pour in enough vinegar to cover them. Cover and store in the fridge for at least 15 minutes and as long as 2 weeks.
5. When the meat is done marinating, transfer it and the marinade to the InstantPot and pressure cook on high for 35 minutes followed by a 15-minute natural release.
6. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the sauce, then switch the InstantPot to sauté medium for ~10 minutes to thicken the sauce a bit.⁶
7. Serve the beef over rice, topped with sauce, pickled veggies, scallions, and sesame seeds (if using).

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¹ I used a mix of dark and light soy sauce. ^Back
2 I actually used 1/4 c. of this Splenda brown sugar blend stuff which is supposed to be equivalent to 1/2 c. of brown sugar. I might try cutting it back to 1/3 c. of brown sugar or 3 Tbsp. of the Splenda stuff next time though, just to cut the sweetness a bit. ^Back
3 I used 2 Tbsp. of ginger paste in place of the fresh ginger for this. ^Back
4 I would consider omitting the honey next time. ^Back
5 The original recipe calls for white wine vinegar with a pinch of salt added to it. I already had some nice, vinegar-y cucumber and onion salad on hand, so I just used that in place of the onion and radish blend this time around. That said, if I were doing it again and didn't have any appropriately prepared veggies already on hand, I think I'd be inclined to just use seasoned rice vinegar here. ^Back
6 I was very, very tired by the time the beef was finished yesterday and I actually completely forgot this step. So we have very saucy beef indeed. Whoops! ^Back