Bulgogi, a classic Korean dish of thinly sliced, marinated beef, is a staple of Korean households. bulgogi—eaten over rice or wrapped in lettuce—is a ubiquitous meal in seemingly every Korean cook’s repertoire and deeply ingrained in Korean culture. According to the peer-reviewed Korea Journal, the dish’s origins stretch back to the Goguryeo era (37 B.C. to 668 A.D.), the evolution of a kabob-like skewered meat preparation called maekjeok. Over time, maekjeok became seoryamyeok, a brothy dish of marinated beef soaked in cold water, which by the early 20th century gave way to neobiani, a luxurious dish of thinly-sliced, marinated and charbroiled beef favored by Korean royalty.