"Ssam" refers to Korean dishes in which leafy vegetables, usually lettuce, are wrapped around meat. This is a recipe by the much celebrated chef David Chang, from his famous New York restaurant Momofuku. The marinade for the beef is a classic Korean marinade and infuses the meat with enough flavour that they can be eaten as is, without a sauce. The sauces are simple to make once you get your hands on the ingredients. Excluding the marinating time, this is really fast and easy to make.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Grilling, Main, Starter
Cuisine: Asian, Fusion, Korean
Servings: 4- 6
Calories: 480cal
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Ingredients
Beef and Marinade
2 lb / 1 kg skirt / flank / hanger steak(Note 1)
2cupsapple juice
½cuplight soy sauce
5garlic cloves, minced
1/2brown onion
1tspsesame oil
1tspfreshly ground black pepper
Ginger Spring Onion Sauce
8 oz / 250 gshallots/scallions, thinly sliced
5gfresh ginger, finely chopped or minced
4tbspgrape seed oil(or another neutral oil)
1 1/2tsplight soy sauce
3/4tspsherry vinegar
3/4tspsalt(adjust to taste)
Ssam Sauce
1tbspssamjang(Korean fermented bean-and- chili paste, available in many Asian stores)
1/2tbspkochujang(Korean chili paste, available in many Asian stores)
1/4cupsherry vinegar
1/4cupgrape seed oil(or another neutral oil)
To Serve
3small heads of Bib Lettuce, leaves removed, washed and dried
Instructions
Combine Beef with Marinade and marinade at least overnight, up to 24 hours.
Remove beef from marinade. Preheat outdoor grill or heavy based skillet on stove on very high heat. You want it to be screaming hot. Cook the beef to your liking (see notes for guide).
When done, remove from heat, cover loosely with foil and let them rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
Make the Ginger Spring Onion Sauce by combining the ingredients and mixing to combine.
Make the Ssam Sauce by combining the ingredients and mixing well until smooth.
Slice the beef into 0.5cm / 0.2 inch thick slices, against the grain.
Serve with lettuce, Ginger Spring Onion Sauce and Ssam Sauce on the side.
To eat, place a piece of beef in a lettuce leaf, top with some of each sauce, then fold over lettuce, eat and be happy.
Notes
1. You can substitute the skirt steak with other cuts of beef. But one of the great things about this recipe is that it uses skirt steak which is a budget cut, and turns it into something so amazing. Try to use a cut of steak that isn't too thick because otherwise the marinade won't infuse enough into the meat.2. The original recipe in David Chang's "Momofuku" cookbook uses a Kimchi Puree as the second sauce instead of the Ssam sauce. The Ssam sauce is also from his cookbook and is served with his famous Pork Bo Ssam. It's such a great sauce and goes wonderfully with this recipe which is why I have used this instead of the Kimchi Puree. However, if you want to use Kimchi Puree instead, simply puree 250g/8oz of Kimchi to a chunky paste.3. These nutrition facts assumes this serves 6 people and that you use all the sauce (which is where a lot of the calories are because of the oil in them) but the reality is that you probably won't use all of it so the calories are overstated. Skirt steak is actually a very lean cut and the meat itself is only 250 calories. The balance of the calories are from the sauce.