The Briny Lemon: Grilled Beef Skewers with Korean Barbecue Sauce

I love the big, bold taste of the Korean red pepper paste called “gochujang” This warm, spicy paste is a staple ingredient in Korean cooking and is commonly made from ground rice, soybean powder, hot pepper powder, red pepper powder, and malt. Whatever the ingredients, all I know is this stuff kicks up the flavor of whatever it touches—meat, seafood, even vegetable stir-fries.

You may find gochujang sauce in some markets with an ample international foods aisle, but you’ll probably need to visit a Korean—or general Asian—market to find the paste. It’s worth seeking out.

For this recipe, I used the gochujang as a base for a Korean-style barbecue sauce to slather on tender, juicy grilled beef and vegetable skewers. I think it finished the meat, bell pepper, and onion with a hearty pop of flavor.

Note: I grilled the skewers on foil-wrapped bricks to keep the meat and vegetables a bit elevated above the grill grate. This common Japanese method of grilling is especially handy when you're adding a sauce to the skewers—helps prevent sticking. Read more about that here.

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tbsp soy sauce, divided
1 tsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling and grilling
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 lb beef sirloin steak (about 1-inch thick), cut into 12 equal pieces
1/4 cup gochujang
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
8 1-inch wedges of onion
8 1-inch pieces of mixed red and green bell pepper (or all of one color)
sea salt

Beef Chunks

Preparation

Combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and garlic in a large, sealable plastic bag. Add the beef chunks, seal, and turn several times to coat. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (may also be made a day ahead).

Beef in Marinade

Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, gochujang, ketchup, vinegar, sugar, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds in a small saucepan. Bring to a light simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cook, covered, 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Place the onion and bell pepper pieces in a small bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and toss to coat.

Sauce Beginning to Cook

Korean Barbecue Sauce

Onion and Bell Pepper

Light a grill for medium-high heat.
Remove the beef from the marinade and thread 3 pieces onto each of 4 skewers, alternating with pieces of onion and bell pepper. (Soak skewers in water 30 minutes, if wooden.)
Grill the skewers until lightly charred in spots and the beef is medium-rare, turning a few times, 8-9 minutes (or to desired degree of doneness). About 2 minutes before the skewers are done, baste the beef and vegetables with the sauce, turning to prevent the sauce from burning.