You might not expect to find bulgogi salad at a barbecue restaurant, but Sweet Auburn BBQ in Poncey-Highland is no ordinary barbecue place. So many of their dishes have a delicious Asian twist. We love everything on the menu but the bulgogi salad is a particular favorite. Will they share the recipe for that delicious dressing?
— Tammy Mann, Atlanta
When Anita Hsu, Sweet Auburn BBQ co-owner with her brother Howard Hsu, sent this recipe, she wrote that she and Howard grew up with many Korean friends. “We spent a lot of meals enjoying bulgogi with banchan and fresh lettuce. This salad is our interpretation of those experiences and has been on our menu for over eight years. It is one of our most popular dishes.”
This recipe is for one serving and can be easily scaled to serve more. The restaurant prepares its own fried wonton strips, but they are also available at many grocery stores. We’ve adapted the recipe to cook the steak in a skillet on the cooktop; at the restaurant, they prepare the flank steak on a flattop grill.
Sweet Auburn BBQ’s Bulgogi Salad
- 1/4 pound flank steak
- 1/2 cup Sesame Soy Garlic Sauce (see recipe)
- Neutral oil, for brushing skillet
- 1 cup spring mix greens
- 1 cup thinly sliced Napa cabbage
- 1/4 cup plus two tablespoons Sesame Dressing (see recipe)
- 1/2 cup fried wonton strips
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell peppers
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions
- 1/4 cup thin lengthwise-sliced cucumber
- 1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
- Marinate steak: Combine flank steak and Sesame Soy Garlic Sauce in a small bowl and turn so steak is coated on all sides. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- When ready to cook: Heat a medium skillet over high heat and lightly brush surface with neutral oil. Remove flank steak from marinade, allow to drain, and transfer steak to hot skillet. Sear 2 minutes, then turn and cook 1 1/2 minutes more. Transfer steak to a cutting board, allow to rest 2 minutes and cut steak into strips. Discard marinade.
- In a large bowl, combine spring mix greens, Napa cabbage and Sesame Dressing. Toss to coat evenly and then transfer to a serving dish. Arrange wonton strips, bell peppers, red onions, cucumber and peanuts in piles around the sides of the dish. Add beef and garnish with green onions. Serve immediately.
Serves 1.
Per serving: 1,212 calories (percent of calories from fat, 60), 50 grams protein, 75 grams carbohydrates, 36 grams total sugars, 16 grams fiber, 84 grams total fat (14 grams saturated), 76 milligrams cholesterol, 3,670 milligrams sodium.
Sesame Soy Garlic Sauce
This sauce is the marinade for the flank steak in the bulgogi salad. The salad is so popular that the restaurant prepares it in 2-quart batches. This recipe makes 1 1/2 cups of sauce, which is sufficient to marinate a pound of flank steak for four salads.
Any sauce remaining after making the salad can be refrigerated in a covered container for up to 2 weeks and used to marinate beef or chicken.
- 1 tablespoon minced green onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes
- Put green onion and garlic in a medium dry skillet and turn heat to medium. Stir constantly until green onion and garlic begin to turn translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Add soy sauce, sesame seeds, sugar, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Lower heat so mixture simmers and cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain mixture into a small bowl, discarding solids, and allow to cool. May be stored covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Makes 1 1/2 cups.
Per tablespoon: 15 calories (percent of calories from fat, 25), 1 gram protein, 2 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram total sugars, trace fiber, trace total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 583 milligrams sodium.
Sesame Dressing
Sambal is an Indonesian chile sauce. You may find it at your grocery store as sambal oelek. You may also be able to find toasted sesame seeds, but if not, put the sesame seeds in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the sesame seeds take on a golden color. Remove toasted sesame seeds from skillet immediately to stop the cooking.
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup sambal
- 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds
- In the jar of a blender, combine peanuts, hoisin sauce, sambal, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, Sriracha sauce, honey, soy sauce and fish sauce. Process until smooth. Remove center piece of blender lid and drizzle in sesame oil and vegetable oil while blender is running.
- Turn off blender, add sesame seeds and pulse 4 times.
- Remove dressing from blender and refrigerate in a covered container for up to two weeks.
Makes 2 1/2 cups.
Per tablespoon: 65 calories (percent of calories from fat, 72), 1 gram protein, 4 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total sugars, trace fiber, 5 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), trace cholesterol, 140 milligrams sodium.
From the menu of ... Sweet Auburn BBQ, 656 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta; 678-515-3550, sweetauburnbbq.com.
Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of” and the name of the restaurant in the subject line.
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