Steak Marinade – 3 Best Asian Cuisines

The magic beef steak marinade transforms inexpensive beef into a tender, juicy and delicious steak. It provides additional flavor without overpowering the natural flavor of the beef and makes the meat more rich.

I present you the 3 best and easiest Asian marinades for steak. Follow the steak marinade recipe and you’ll have a tender and juicy steak for your whole family. You can also use this marinade to make steak sandwiches for your brunch, lunch, or lunchbox.

To learn how to prepare it, check out my post on Steak Sandwich.

Steak Marinade Ingredients. 

Chinese Black Pepper Steak:

• 1 pound flank steak
• 8 gloves garlic, minced
• 4 sliced ginger
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/2 can beer

*In this recipe, the beer has the function of softening the beef, because the yeast in the beer can soften the beef.

Korean BBQ Steak:

• 1 pound flank steak
• 5 gloves garlic
• 1 pear
• 1/2 onion
• 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• put all ingredients to blender.

*In this recipe, the pear has the function of softening the beef, because the fruit acid in the pear can soften the beef.

Thai Steak:

• 1 pound flank steak
• 6 gloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1/2 Lemon juice
• 2 lemongrass stalk, chopped (optional)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 sliced small red hot pepper (optional, or judge by yourself)
• 1/4 cup water

*In this recipe, the fish sauce and lemon juice have the function of softening the beef, because the yeast of the fish sauce and the fruit acid of the lemon juice can soften the beef.

What Type of Beef is Suitable for Marinade? 

Use this marinade for inexpensive steaks – it makes the meat more tender and gives it more flavor. For example, flank steak, skirt steak, hanger steak, sirloin steak, and bavette.

Do not use this for expensive, prime-grade beef steaks!

What’s the Best Way to Marinade Steak? 

• Put the steaks, all the ingredients and sauces in a sealed plastic bag.
• Knead the sauce and steak evenly with your hands, squeeze out the air and seal the bag so that all the beef is completely submerged in the marinade.

How Long Should I Marinade A Steak? 

• The best steak marinade time is at least 1 hour and no longer than 12 hours.
• Easy steak marinade should last no longer than 10-12 hours.

How To Tenderize Steak? 

Below is some information on how to tenderize steak naturally.

• Natural fruits: lemon juice, orange juice, pineapple juice or yogurt.
• Vinegar: such as balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, etc.

Fruits and vinegar contain the acid that helps soften the old hard fibers, but too much use will make the meat older or even ripe.

Tip: For two pounds of beef, it’s recommended to start with ¼ cup of sour acid

• Wine: red wine or beer.
• Fish sauce.

Wine and fish sauce are fermented naturally, yeast is produced which can soften beef.

• Simple baking soda- Sprinkle 1 tsp baking soda (bi-carbonate soda) on 1 pound flank steak. Toss with fingers and let sit for 30 minutes.

Tip: If you use baking soda, the steak will be the best tender after 30 minutes. Wash the steak before marinating.

If you want to know how to tenderize beef for stir-fry like in a Chinese restaurant. You can read my earlier post.

How Do I Make The Steaks In The Pan? 

• Heat the pan on high. Put the steaks in. My steak is about 3/4″ thin. So I fry on one side for 2~3 minutes.
• Fry the other side for 1 minute, then reduce the heat to medium-high and fry for 2~3 minutes. Cook the steaks until desired doneness.
• It took me about 5-7 minutes, turning the steaks 2 times until they were well done.

How Long Do You Cook The Steak? 

Thin steaks cook quickly, so prepare a thermometer and clamps, turning it over and over to make sure the core temperature has reached your desired cooking level.

Steak temperature for reference.

• Rare: 125 – 130 (not recommended for food safety reasons).
• Medium rare: 130 – 135 degrees
• Medium: 135 – 145 degrees
• Medium well: 145 – 150 degrees
• Well done: 150 – 160 degrees

Tips To Cook Steak. 

• Remember that before pan frying, the surface of the meat must be wiped dry so that the steaks can be fried golden and charred.
• Also, remove any leftover marinade, such as garlic, ginger, etc. The smaller the crumbs, the easier they’ll burn.

Tips For Eating Steak.

• After cooking, the steak must stand for five minutes to allow the juices to flow back into the grain.
• Cut against the texture to break the slender fiber to make the teak tender and juicy.

What Do You Eat With Steak? 

You can try this Thai steak salad. The salad dressing is the same as the Thai steak marinade sauce. You only need to take one serving for the salad.

• Cherry tomatoes, cut to 1/2
• Some fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup Cucumber, sliced
• Some fresh parsley, chopped
• Roasted peanuts, cut into large pieces

Other Chinese Beef Recipes.

If you want to know how to tenderize beef for stir-fry like in a Chinese restaurant. you can read my earlier post. There I show you tips and tricks that Chinese restaurants often use.

MOGOLIAN BEEF

BEEF WITH BROCCOLI

SZECHUAN BEEF

BEIJING BEEF

STEAK SANDWICH

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