Indoor Grilling: Korean-Style Steaks with Spicy Cilantro Sauce
It was four years ago that my now fiancée and I swore off eating out on Valentine's day. The advanced reservations, overpriced pre-fixes, and crowds were more conducive to stress than romance. So Valentine's has become a time for a special home-cooked meal, and when I asked my lady what she might like on the menu this year, like any good Texan, she promptly replied, "Steak!" I don't want to be flying blind when the big day comes, so I've been trying out various steak recipes in preparation, including this Korean-style one.
Mixing the fiancée's request with a relatively quick meal--allowing me to spend more time with her than in the kitchen--this seemed like an appropriate choice. The steaks go into a soy sauce and sherry based marinade for an hour, which gives me ample time to make the spicy cilantro sauce topper. After a short time on the grill over high heat, the steaks are sliced, placed over rice, and topped with the sauce. The cilantro lends a nice freshness to the dish, although the combination of a marinade and spicy sauce overpowers the beefiness of the steaks, at least for this meat aficionado. All-in-all, it's a decent meal. It may not be the final choice for V-day dinner, but it's definitely in the running.
Grilled Korean-Style Steaks with Spicy Cilantro Sauce
Adapted from Gourmet
- serves 6 -
Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup medium-dry sherry
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
6 (1-inch-thick) boneless beef top loin (strip) steaks, about 3/4 pound each
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (including roots and stems)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon minced seeded fresh habanero or serrano chile (optional)
1 (4-inch-long) fresh hot red chile, chopped (optional)
Procedure
1. Stir together 3/4 cup soy sauce, sherry, sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and red pepper flakes in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish until sugar is dissolved, then add steaks, turning to coat. Marinate steaks, turning once, for 1 hour.
2. While the steaks marinate, mix together cilantro, vegetable oil, lime juice, remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, and chile if using. Set aside.
3. Heat grill to high heat, and when ready, grill steaks 3 to 4 minutes per each side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to a cutting board and let stand for 5 minutes. Slice crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices and then top with some sauce. Serve remaining sauce on the side.
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12 Comments:
I am going to try this one for sure, although I may wait until spring so I can grill it outside. Yum!
reger60 at 11:41PM on 02/06/09
I've been using this Gourmet recipe for ages now, it's really delicious. I like to heat up the sauce that you put on top.
Nehna at 5:55PM on 02/07/09
Tried it. Grilled inside last night. Excellent, easy & fun to play with the heat factor!
stigcr at 11:23AM on 02/08/09
@stigcr: Glad it worked out for ya :)
Joshua Bousel at 11:26AM on 02/08/09
Good recipe but only vaguely Korean. The only ingredients that may be in a Korean marinade are soy sauce, garlic, sugar and sesame oil. There's no sherry in Korea. Cilantro is alien to Korean cooking and is generally disliked. And limes can only be found in stores that cater to non-Koreans.
Not upset. As I said, it looks great. But let's be careful about calling anything that is marinated in soy sauce and grilled "Korean."
ZenKimchi at 12:33AM on 02/09/09
Does anyone else have a problem with cilantro? To me, it tastes like soap!
Just wondering.
Tazzo at 10:15AM on 02/09/09
@Tazzo: I have a co-worker with the same problem, which I find fascinating. It's one of my favorite herbs to cook with, I think it just makes everything taste fresh and delicious. I've heard that people that say it taste bad are "super tasters," having more taste buds than the average person.
Joshua Bousel at 10:19AM on 02/09/09
I suppose that's the reason he calls it "Korean-Style Steaks", not just "Korean". If you are slicing meat thin, marinating in soy sauce, and grilling (especially inside at the table), you are certainly cooking in a Korean style.
sandmansd at 3:21PM on 02/09/09
One solution to the "beefiness" problem would be using grass-fed steaks from a ranch that knows what it's doing. I've laid some seriously high-flavored sauces and marinades on the ribeyes I get from San Juan Ranch in CO and the beefy goodness comes through loud and clear. I've reached the point where almost all the grain-fed beef I encounter tastes less than beefy.
zenduck at 1:11PM on 02/11/09
Thank you ZenKimchi!
seamich at 8:55PM on 02/11/09
This sounds great! Thanks for the recipe!
Raiders757 at 11:53PM on 02/15/09
It sounds and looks so great and I am going to try it when weather permits [ I had my stove exhuast fan adjusted so now it doesnt work at all and on my to-do list] and the only thing I 'might' do differently would be to use fresh hot peppers instead of dried pepper flakes .
As far as the cilentro goes my wife loves it in anything I like it also as does the rest of the family except our youngest son [ 30yrs old ] absolutely hates it so he has to pick it out 'no special orders at dads' .
shipwreck at 4:34PM on 02/16/09