Gochujang Steaks

Is there anything tastier than the Korean BBQ sauce flavor profile? Me thinks not.

What’s the key to that delicious flavor profile anyways?

It’s the red pepper paste or Gochujang, although calling it red pepper paste is over simplifying what goes in this delicious kitchen essential. Gochujang is comprised of “chile peppers, glutinous rice (also known as sticky rice), fermented soybeans, and salt.”

The peppers give it the obvious spicy kick, meanwhile the rice gives it a hint of sweet, and the soybeans give it a strong umami flavor that brings it all together. Gochujang is ubiquitous in Korean cuisine but you usually do not want to use it by itself, it’s way to harsh. Think of Gochujang as the essential sauce base for anything you make when you want a nice Korean kick to the food, I love to cut it with some oil, grated pear, touch of brown sugar, and some Mirin to make a delicious Korean BBQ sauce that isn’t too sweet but isn’t so spicy that blows your face off.

Gochujang falls in line with a greater theme in Korean cuisine which follows a larger theme of rural cuisine which is the usage of preserved foods in cooking. This ties to the fact that large portions of Asian cuisine are based off of a traditional rural background where ingredients were not readily available year-round so families had to make due with what they had. Thus you had large amounts of pickling; everything from cabbage to soybean you had to find a way to get through the hard months while still being able to get your proper nutrients. The end result of all of this is the fact that pickled foods, especially from the cabbage family are really good for you especially for your colon in the fight against colon cancer.

So what does Gochujang have to do with today’s post? Well it serves as the base of the sauce I use to make these delicious hanger steaks. Hanger steak is one of my favorite cuts of meat because you don’t have to cook it very long and it’s incredibly flavorful. The trick to this dish is freezing the steak ever so slightly so you can cut it easier and more fine, you then season with your homemade sauce and cook it in a frying pan (or on the grill).

Ingredients

1 Hanger Steak (Partly Frozen)

1 Tsp. Salt

1/2 Tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 Tbsp. Peanut Oil

Korean BBQ Sauce

1 Grated Asian Pear

1 Tsp Brown Sugar

2 Tsp. Gochujang Paste

2 Tbsp Rice Wine

2 Tsp. Fish Sauce

Method

Step 1 – Wrap steak in plastic wrap and freeze for about an hour.

Step 2- Remove from freezer and slice steak thinly. Then season with salt and pepper

Step 3- Mix sauce ingredients together and warm in a saucepan until ingredients are well mixed through, be careful not to burn sauce.

Step 4- In a large saucepan, heat oil until it’s just about smoking, then add your seasoned steaks.

Step 5 – Brown each side, then remove from heat and coat with the sauce. You don’t want to overcook the hanger steak.

Step 6- Serve with some warm rice and enjoy!

 

 

Sometimes Steaks get a bad rap for being unhealthy, check out this link that gives you some of the health benefits behind steak!