Yukhoe (Korean Seasoned Raw Beef)

Yukhoe means, roughly, "raw meat." The Korean Food Promotion Institute's Hansik magazine suggests the habit of eating meat raw may have come from Chinese influence in the Three Kingdoms period or from the hunting customs of nomadic peoples. Late in Goryeo, it says, cattle were raised in large numbers, and nobles ate the raw flesh of many animals. Detailed methods for preparing both yukhoe and gabhoe (raw offal) appear in Joseon-dynasty works such as Siui jeonseo and the royal-feast record Jinchan uigwe. One Michelin Guide Korea feature places the earliest written records in the seventeenth century.

For most of history, the dish was a luxury. The Michelin feature explains that cattle were a state resource, slaughter was restricted, and fresh beef good enough to eat raw was hard to find, so yukhoe appeared mostly at court banquets. In the early twentieth century, slaughterhouses opened in Seoul and Jinju and meat restaurants gathered nearby; Hansik magazine ties Jinju's yukhoe bibimbap to that period. The same magazine notes that yukhoe was mainly eaten in winter and served at Seollal.

The principle has not changed: the meat has to be as fresh as possible, so that it can be eaten untreated, and it is seasoned lightly enough to keep its own taste. That same dependence on freshness is why the dish carries real food-safety questions, discussed below.

• Protein and minerals: top round is a relatively lean cut. USDA lists raw top round at about 22 g protein and 2.8 mg zinc per 100 g, with vitamin B12 and selenium.
• Fruit and seasoning: the pear adds a little fiber and sweetness that balances the savory beef.
• A traditional claim to treat with care: Hansik magazine argues that raw beef retains nutrients and enzymes; the article offers no study, so treat it as a traditional view rather than evidence.

• Classic style: lean top round or eye of round, cut into fine strips and garnished with Korean pear, pine nuts and egg yolk. The Michelin feature describes the traditional dressing as the lightest one, gireumjang (salt, sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds), with a vinegar-chili or vinegar-mustard sauce on the side; a sweet soy dressing is common today.
• Jeolla style: dressed with gochujang for a sweet-spicy flavor that goes well with rice; the region is also known for a chicken version. See Jeolla.
• Daegu mungtigi: mungtigi is a Gyeongsang dialect word for raw beef cut into thumb-sized chunks, seasoned with sesame oil, garlic and coarse chili powder. Compare Gyeongsang.
• Jinju yukhoe bibimbap: seasoned raw beef over rice, a regional dish said to date to the slaughterhouse years of the early twentieth century. See bibimbap.