I’ve been loving the last few Asian-themed recipes, and I can’t quite get the cuisine out of my head. I don’t want to get in a rut of similar flavors though because that would get boring real fast! That made adding the Korean Skirt Steak with Kimchi Aioli recipe to my blog an easy decision. Skirt steak is very different from ramen, soy sauce eggs, and salmon, so I do not feel like this theme is getting old, and I hope you’re not either! This recipe promises a savory cut of beef with zesty aioli-style sauce. It looks and sounds wonderful, and I’m here for it!
This Korean Skirt Steak with Kimchi Aioli is definitely worth a try! If you don’t have a grill pan then let this be the reason you invest in one. There is something about those grill marks that just makes steak so much better.
The Ingredients
My whole pre-shopping kitchen look-see turned up a few things. I had soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds, rice, and dried chili powder. I chose Korean gochugaru since I had it on hand and it fit the theme best.
There were a few other ingredients, but not enough of them for this recipe. That left me with a fairly short shopping list, and I found almost everything at my usual grocery store.
The only thing they didn’t have was sake, and that surprised me. I had to run to the liquor store to get it. I would have had leftovers from my last post, Japanese-style risotto with Seared Salmon, but I managed to spill it while I took photos.
The Process
This recipe was divided into three main parts: steak, aioli, and serving. It also has the option of being made in one day or over two days. I chose the latter since it had the longest marinating time for the steak.
If you aren’t familiar with skirt steak, I highly recommend reading the linked articles in this recipe’s notes. They both have lots of tips and photos demonstrating the techniques of trimming skirt steak and cutting meat against the grain.
The Marinade
The skirt steak needed to marinate for 4 to 24 hours, so I chose the latter and began this recipe the day before cooking and serving it. That meant I had to start with the skirt steak and marinade. My skirt steak was trimmed and didn’t have any excess fat to be removed, so I went straight to the marinade.
Making the marinade was super easy! The recipe says to mince the garlic, ginger, and scallions before adding them to the other ingredients. I veered from that slightly and chose to press the garlic and grate the ginger because I find it easier than mincing with a knife.
After that, I added everything to a large sealed container and gave it a mix. Lastly, I cut the skirt steak into strips about as long as the container. I made sure to coat each side of the pieces as I added them, then put the lid on and popped it into the fridge.
The Kimchi Aioli
Since sitting in the refrigerator allows flavors to meld and develop, I chose to make the aioli right after the marinade was taken care of. This step was even easier than the marinade! All that was needed was to add all the ingredients to my food processor, press a button, and let everything blend for about 90 seconds.
I briefly considered using my mini-prep but opted for my full-size food processor because I wasn’t sure if the mini-prep would hold everything. It turns out that this recipe made 10 ounces (1 1/4 cup) of aioli, so the mini-prep probably would have worked.
Everything looked good when I was done, but there was a minor issue with the aioli the next day. It didn’t look separated, but I gave it a stir anyway and found the consistency to be thin but a little grainy. This time I used one of the bullets that came with my blender. It took care of the bits of kimchi and gave the aioli a smooth consistency.
Tip: I used a squeeze bottle to mimic the aioli in the recipe’s photos. If you don’t have a squeeze bottle, you can use a piping bag or add the aioli to a ziplock bag and trim a tiny bit of the corner, essentially turning it into a piping bag. Or you could skip all of that and drizzle it with a spoon because the consistency was very thin.
Cooking & Serving
The cooking part of this recipe was very simple. The steak called for my trusty grill pan, so I added some oil and let it preheat to medium-high.
While that was happening, I prepped the skirt steak. First, I rinsed the skirt steak to remove the clumps of ginger, garlic, and scallion. Then I made sure to pat both sides thoroughly dry with paper towels.
Rinsing removed the marinade’s solids so they didn’t burn and turn bitter during cooking at high heat. Drying the steaks afterward helped ensure a good sear during cooking. And trust me, removing the solids did not remove the marinade’s flavor! The steak soaked it up and had a strong ginger-garlic flavor.
Speaking of cooking, I chose to cook mine for 2 minutes per side for a medium-rare. Closer to rare, even though my steaks were 1/2 inch thick at most. The cooking times listed on the recipe say they apply to steaks that are 1 inch thick, so I’m guessing my pan wasn’t as hot as it could have been (I set it at 7 out of 10 on an electric stove).
I had toasted the sesame seeds the day before, so there wasn’t much left to do while the steaks rested. Just slicing the scallions, reheating the rice, and spooning some onto a plate. Once the steak had rested, I sliced it thickly against the grain and placed it on the rice. A dash of gochugaru, a drizzle of kimchi aioli, and a few scallions were the final step. (I forgot the toasted sesame seeds for the photos but I did add them before serving.)
Timing
This recipe listed 5 minutes to prep, 20 minutes to cook, 4 to 24 hours to marinate, for a total time range of 4 hours 25 minutes to 24 hours 25 minutes total. Here’s how my time was spent:
- 9 minutes to make marinade
- 24 hours to marinate
- 6 minutes to make aioli
- 9 minutes to toast sesame seeds
- 8 minutes to cook steak
- 10 minutes to rest
- 3 minutes to slice, plate, and garnish
- 24 hours 45 minutes total
I went over everything but the marinating time. I’m not sure where the slowdown was, so I think it’s likely spread throughout the whole process.
