Korean Barbecue Flank Steak Kabobs

Korean cuisine was a hot food trend in 2013. This year, it is practically mainstream. T.G.I.Fridays features Korean steak tacos on its menu. Korean barbecue restaurants are everywhere (there is one two miles from my house).  Kimchi, the spicy pickled cabbage that is Korea’s national dish, is used as a relish or side dish in some of the trendiest restaurants.

Not wanting to be in the dark about any great food trend,  I decided to try my hand at Korean barbecue. I found the recipe for these kabobs on Menu Musings of A Modern American Mom. I am so glad that I tried this recipe. Not only is the meat crazy delicious, but the kabob factor makes eating it doubly fun. After all, who doesn’t love meat on a stick?

Note: as you can see in the photo, my skewers charred during grilling, as I didn’t soak them in water. Now, I highly recommend soaking wooden skewers:-)

Shopping trip: I made a trip to Publix for a few ingredients that I didn’t have–black sesame seeds (found in the Asian section of the International aisle), toasted sesame oil (also in the Asian section), fresh ginger, and wooden skewers (the 12″ ones are in the kitchen gadgets section at my Publix). Lastly, I needed a flank steak.

Flank steak is an inexpensive cut of meat that is crazy good if cut properly and cooked well.  Because I dreaded cutting an entire flank steak into a zillion 1/4 ” slices, I asked my wonderful butcher, James,  (at Publix Valleydale for my Birmingham friends) if he minded slicing the flank steak for me. He kindly agreed, and within minutes, he handed me a huge, beautiful pile of perfect, thinly sliced pieces of flank steak. I was beyond grateful at this  “above and beyond” service, as it saved me at least a half an hour of slicing, not to mention a boat load of frustration. Thank you, James; you are the best!!!

If you don’t have a James who will slice your steak for you, there are very detailed instructions in the Menu Musings recipe that you can click to on the above link. Just be sure that you have a really good knife; otherwise, this task will be overwhelming.

I served this with roasted sweet potatoes & Brussels sprouts and homemade tater tots. These kabobs really scream for rice, which I’ll make next time. The meat was just as good the next day, barely reheated in the microwave.

Korean Barbecue Flank Steak Kabobs

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 3 cloves finely minced garlic
• 1 tsp white sesame seeds
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 pounds beef flank steak

Preparation:

1. Combine all marinade ingredients.
2. Cut flank steak across the grain into 1/4 ” slices, cutting as uniformly as possible.
3. Put all the meat into a gallon sized zip top bag.
4. Pour all of the marinade over the meat.  Squeeze out air, and seal bag completely.
5. Marinate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
6. Before grilling,  thread meat slices onto bamboo skewers using an over-under pattern.
7. Grill kabobs for 5-6 minutes on one side and about 2-3 on the other or until done. Watch them carefully; they cook quickly!