Soy-Doenjang Steak Marinade

Let me indulge again and praise High Street Market for its existence. They’re not paying me to say any of this (though I wouldn’t turn it down), but I’ve been finding amazing stuff there. The damaged label wine bin is my new toy chest. Their cheeses are plentiful and affordable. And right now they’re having a special on Wagyu ribeye steaks (2 for W26,000). That may seem expensive to some for a steak, but in Korea beef is expensive–and these are Wagyu steaks. I got two great quality steaks for around half the price of one mediocre steak at a Korean steak house.

I wanted to treat EJ to a nice steak dinner since we haven’t been able to go out and enjoy steaks since the baby was born. She also needs the iron. I thought I’d play on my steak marinade recipe and introduce some Korean flavors. One of the ingredients that may be difficult to find is Tuna Extract, called “Chamchi Ek” 참치엑 in Korean. You can find it in Japanese and Korean grocery stores. It’s a smoky meaty tasting sauce that is like the Mrs. Dash for Asian food.

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After coating them in some roughly pestle-crushed peppercorns, I cooked EJ’s well done and mine medium rare. Added to that my mashed potatoes, some roasted vegetables (onion, green pepper, carrot, garlic, tomato) with herb salt and balsalmic and sherry vinegars splashed on top, some buttered Paris Baguette toast, some really good kimchi and a few shavings of Parmesan-Reggiano (also from High Street Market). The knife went through the steak like butter, and it was one of the top ten best steaks of my life. Doenjang works well with steak.

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