Restaurants, Food and Drink |

Chef Bill Kim’s Korean BBQ Skirt Steak

Serves 6

Ingredients:

3 pounds skirt steak

2 cups Korean BBQ Sauce (see recipe below)

2 cups Korean Pesto (see recipe below)

12 Bibb lettuce leaves

¼ cup fresh basil and cilantro leaves, loosely packed

Directions:

1. Place the steak in a large, shallow dish, pour the BBQ sauce over the steak, and turn the steak to coat evenly. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.
2. Heat the grill for direct heat cooking to medium-high (400 to 450 degrees).
3. Place the steak on the grill grate and cook, turning once, for about 2 minutes on each side, until lightly charred. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.
4. Thinly slice the meat against the grain. (Look at the steak to see the direction the muscle fibers are running. That’s the grain. You want to slice it thinly against the grain.) Serve with the pesto, lettuce cups and herbs.

Korean BBQ Sauce

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

½ cup water

1 cup soy sauce

1 small white onion, coarsely chopped

1 Asian pear, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 kiwi, peeled and coarsely chopped

8 cloves garlic, peeled

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

¼ cup toasted sesame oil

Directions: Combine the brown sugar, water, and soy sauce in a bowl and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Transfer the mixture to a food processor, add the onion, pear, kiwi, garlic, and ginger, and process for about 2 minutes, until completely smooth. Add the sesame oil and blend until fully combined. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.

Korean Pesto

¼ cup Nuoc Cham Sauce (see below)

¼ cup Lemongrass Chili Sauce (see below)

1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce

¼ cup kimchi, homemade or store-bought

¼ cup dry-roasted peanuts

½ cup fresh basil leaves, firmly packed

¼ cup olive oil

Directions: Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process for about 1 minute, until coarsely blended. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.

Nuoc Cham Sauce

¼ cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

¼ cup fresh lime juice

¼ cup fish sauce

½ cup water

1 clove garlic, minced

2 green Thai Chiles, minced, with seeds

Directions: Combine ingredients in a small bowl, whisking until sugar dissolves.

Lemongrass Chili Sauce

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

¼ cup minced lemongrass

1 cup sweet chili sauce

¼ cup fish sauce

¼ cup sambal oelek

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

Directions: Combine ingredients in a bowl, whisking until blended.

— Reprinted with permission from “Korean BBQ: Master Your Grill in Seven Sauces,” copyright © 2018 by Bill Kim with Chandra Ram. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.