Korean Nubiani Marinade Recipe

4.7 from 3 ratings

This is very similar to marinated beef you’d see at a Korean barbeque restaurant, like bulgogi and galbi. The marinade is in fact similar enough that it’d be wonderful for bulgogi (buy thinly sliced beef, often chuck) or for galbi (buy “flanken style” or “LA style” short ribs). But this is a slightly older version of those two dishes, and one that my mother reserved for special occasions, made with more steak-like cuts. It works wonderfully with ribeye, sirloin and NY strip. — Chef Ji Hye Kim, Miss Kim restaurant

Prep Time

minutes

Cook Time

minutes

Servings

servings

Korean Nubiani recipe - lunar new year - Miss Kim Ann Arbor - The Daily Meal

Total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoon ginger, sliced into half-inch chunks
2 tablespoon soju
6 tablespoon korean soy sauce
1/4 cup minced scallions (plus 1 tablespoon for garnish)
3 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoon granulated cane sugar
3 tablespoon dark brown sugar (or maple syrup, honey or rice syrup)
2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon sesame seeds (plus 1/2 teaspoon for garnish)
2 tablespoon optional pear juice (or just throw in a few pieces of pineapple with the meat)
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 pound meat and/or vegetables, sliced into ½-inch slices (we like beef sirloin for meat and big slices of zucchini for vegetables; it is fun to marinate big slices of pineapple with the beef and grill them all together.)
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted and chopped

Directions

Make the marinade. In a blender, puree the 2 tablespoons ginger with 2 tablespoons soju. Strain the ginger puree through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl to get the ginger juice.
To the ginger-soju liquid, add the 6 tablespoons Korean soy sauce, 1/4 cup minced scallions, 3 tablespoons sesame oil, 3 tablespoons granulated cane sugar, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, 2 tablespoons pear juice and 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Stir well to make sure all the sugar is dissolved. Keep in the fridge until needed.
In a container, combine 2 pounds of meat and/or vegetables with the marinade. Using your hands, massage the meat to work the marinade into the meat. Let sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes, no more than that.
Grill the meat over medium heat, about 2-3 minutes on each side, taking care not to burn the meat (alternately cook on a grill pan or under the broiler).
Remove from the heat and allow to rest 5 minutes. Garnish with 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts, 1 tablespoon minced scallions and 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy! We like these with the usual suspects of Korean barbeque, like rice, lettuce wraps, gochujang and banchan (small side dishes and kimchi).
If you're looking for more Korean flavors, try this bibimbap recipe.