Korean Style Steak

This Korean style steak is a quick recipe to throw together on a busy weeknight. You’ll likely have all the ingredients in your pantry, but if not, you can adjust according to what you’ve got available.

Hanger steak was not available the day I shopped so I used skirt steak with good results. I would say that if you use skirt steak, you will likely use all the marinade since skirt steak is large and flat. But if using hanger steak I would anticipate leftover marinade. I might only pour half on and see if that’s enough. Then you’ve got marinade for another use on a different night.

I find that hanger steak and skirt steak can benefit from additional tenderizing since the meat is naturally on the chewy side. I always “pin” the meat—that is, stab it all over with a fork or a long metal skewer.

Make sure to slice it thinly, on a slight diagonal, after grilling. The grain on skirt steak is fairly uniform and easy to slice across the grain. On the hanger steak, you’ll need to pay attention to the grain, it can subtly change direction within the piece of meat, so you’ll want to adjust the angle of your knife accordingly to keep your slices across the grain.

I served this with a stir-fry of asparagus and mushrooms cooked with a tablespoon of the marinade that I'd added and that made for a very complementary side dish.

Easy is the name of any weeknight dinner game, and this simple yet so flavorful hanger steak scores all the points. This Korean style steak really will make dinner a slam-dunk (ok, I'll stop now) since it comes together in 45 minutes—including marinating time!

The Asian-inspired marinade would work well with a variety of cuts of meat, just in case you have trouble locating a hanger steak. (I'm thinking a flank or bistro steak next, and possibly extending the marinating time.)

The flavors also play well with different sides. I opted for rice and grilled vegetables but this would be so freaking good in a salad with crumbly cheese or in a sandwich with pickled veggies and cilantro (or not—cilantro is a very personal thing). My only wish was there was a sauce when serving over rice or with a similar side. I'm tempted to reduce the marinade after removing the meat and see if that would produce something worth drizzling over the top before serving.

Oh, and I also found that my steak took just a tad longer to reach medium-rare on my grill than suggested, so I highly recommend using a thermometer instead of relying on timing. That's it. Go team!

This Korean style steak was a winner for Memorial Day or any cookout anytime! This was a fast and delicious grilled meat and it was a winner with everyone.

I used sirloin flap steak. Since I used sirloin flap meat and it was long when unfolded, a resealable bag for marinating was out of the question. I lined a sheet pan with parchment and laid the flap meat out before adding the marinade. Go easy on any additional salt in the marinade, because the soy sauce was plenty salty.

Next time, I would marinate the meat for 1 to 2 hours refrigerated and then 15 minutes at room temperature. The 15 minutes didn't seem like enough time for the marinade to penetrate the meat. We finished the meal out with smashed potatoes, salad, and a nice Merlot.

I'll definitely keep this recipe handy for future grilling!

This Korean style steak recipe is quick to prep as well as quick to make. The result is delicious.

I came upon a piece of flap sirloin at the store and decided to give it a try. The only other time I had made flap meat it was very tough. I wanted to see if this recipe with its teriyaki-style marinade would change my mind about this cut of meat. It sure did. Flap meat is well marbled, and the fat melted and made the meat very tender. It was really yummy.

I made oven-roasted potatoes and asparagus on the side.