With the popularity of our Spicy Korean Chili Seasoning, we had so many requests over the holiday season for a new Korean blend. Since Spicy Korean Chili Seasoning is best in noodle and salad dishes, we wanted to create a complementary blend for flavoring meat – to be used either as a marinade for grilling or stir-frying, or as an easy seasoning once the meat is cooked.
So by special request from you – and after lots of spice blending, cooking, and eating (our favorite part of the job) – we’re launching our new Korean BBQ Blend today.
We handcraft our Korean BBQ Blend with first a combination of ginger, garlic, and black pepper - the base flavor of many Korean BBQ dishes. We then mix in some orange peel powder for a hint of citrus, and Korean chili for its sweet and spicy notes. Finally, we stir in toasted sesame seeds to add an appetizingly nutty, crunch.
The blend makes a quick Korean marinade for Korean BBQ dishes like bulgogi, or simply as a fun way to flavor grilled beef, pork or chicken. You can also skip the marinade, and just use the blend as a seasoning on grilled meats and veggies, stir-fries, and your home cooked Korean dishes.
We love it in a tasty Korean Beef Stir-Fry with Vegetables.
This Korean Beef Stir-Fry recipe uses our new Korean BBQ Blend to make a simple marinade with soy sauce, rice wine, orange juice, honey, and toasted sesame oil.
With the marinade taken care of, there are a few things to keep in mind before you start stir-frying the beef. Here are some tips and tricks, so the texture of the stir-fried beef ends up tender & moist:
1. Choose a good cut of beef, such as top sirloin or flank. With medium fat content & a fine grain texture, they work great for stir-fry.
2. Cut the beef against the grain. This is an important step in ensuring the beef is tender. You want to cut through the muscle fibers of the meat in the opposite direction rather than parallel with it. Cutting it this way helps break down the muscle fibers, so you don’t end up with chewy meat.
(For a more detailed explanation with tips on ‘cutting against the grain’, here is a good article to reference)
3. Slice the beef carefully so all the pieces are the same thickness. Like all stir-fry dishes, you want to keep the ingredients around the same size, so they cook evenly over high temperature in a short time.
4. Cornstarch. The use of cornstarch helps to seal in the moisture of the meat and insulate it from overcooking in the high temperature of the wok.
5. Cook the beef and vegetables separately. Vegetables contain liquid, so it’s important to cook them separately from the meat, to prevent braising. Also, if you are using vegetables of varying density, like in this recipe, each vegetable will have a slightly different cooking time, and therefore will have to be added into the wok at different stages during the stir-frying process.
I hope these tips – and our new Korean BBQ Blend – help you whip up a delicious, home cooked Korean Beef Stir-Fry with Vegetables!
Korean Beef Stir-Fry with Vegetables
by Season with Spice
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
About 1 lb sirloin or flank steak – thinly sliced across the grain
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp oil
Half a zucchini – halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1 carrot – cut into 2-inch thin strips
1/2 yellow onion – sliced
Sauce:
3 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari) – I used reduced sodium soy sauce
2 to 2.5 tbsp of Season with Spice’s Korean BBQ Blend
2 tbsp rice wine, or dry sherry
3 tbsp orange juice, or pineapple juice
1.5 tbsp honey
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Method:
1. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, Korean BBQ Blend, rice wine, orange juice, honey, toasted sesame oil. Mix well.
2. In a large bowl, gently coat the beef with cornstarch, then pour in 2 tbsp of the sauce. Mix well and let marinate for 15-30 minutes.
3. In a heavy bottom skillet or wok, heat 1 tbsp of oil until hot, and swirl to coat the bottom evenly. Add in the beef, making sure the meat is spread out in a single layer. Sear for 1 minute over high heat. Then stir-fry the beef by stirring and scooping, and allowing all the slices to cook evenly. Stir-fry until both sides are slightly charred but still pink inside – about one minute. Transfer beef to a plate and set aside.
4. Wipe the skillet/wok clean with a paper towel. Then heat another 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add in the onion and cook for about 30 seconds. Then add in the zucchini and continue to stir-fry for another minute. Finally, add in the carrots and stir-fry for one more minute. When the vegetables are crisp-tender, turn heat to high, and add the beef back into the wok, along with the sauce. Toss everything together and stir quickly until meat is cooked through and the sauce thickens – about 1 minute. Turn heat off and dish out immediately. Serve hot with steamed rice.
by Season with Spice
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
About 1 lb sirloin or flank steak – thinly sliced across the grain
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp oil
Half a zucchini – halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1 carrot – cut into 2-inch thin strips
1/2 yellow onion – sliced
Sauce:
3 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari) – I used reduced sodium soy sauce
2 to 2.5 tbsp of Season with Spice’s Korean BBQ Blend
2 tbsp rice wine, or dry sherry
3 tbsp orange juice, or pineapple juice
1.5 tbsp honey
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Method:
1. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, Korean BBQ Blend, rice wine, orange juice, honey, toasted sesame oil. Mix well.
2. In a large bowl, gently coat the beef with cornstarch, then pour in 2 tbsp of the sauce. Mix well and let marinate for 15-30 minutes.
3. In a heavy bottom skillet or wok, heat 1 tbsp of oil until hot, and swirl to coat the bottom evenly. Add in the beef, making sure the meat is spread out in a single layer. Sear for 1 minute over high heat. Then stir-fry the beef by stirring and scooping, and allowing all the slices to cook evenly. Stir-fry until both sides are slightly charred but still pink inside – about one minute. Transfer beef to a plate and set aside.
4. Wipe the skillet/wok clean with a paper towel. Then heat another 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add in the onion and cook for about 30 seconds. Then add in the zucchini and continue to stir-fry for another minute. Finally, add in the carrots and stir-fry for one more minute. When the vegetables are crisp-tender, turn heat to high, and add the beef back into the wok, along with the sauce. Toss everything together and stir quickly until meat is cooked through and the sauce thickens – about 1 minute. Turn heat off and dish out immediately. Serve hot with steamed rice.
