Fourteen ingredients and forty-five minutes, twenty of which are the marinade doing its work.
The steak is seared whole rather than in pieces, rested for three minutes, and only then sliced. Everything else in the bowl is arranged around it.
Why This Recipe Works
- Reserving two tablespoons before marinating gives a glaze that never touched raw meat.
- A very hot grill pan chars the outside while the inside is still short of overdone.
- Searing the steak whole rather than in strips keeps the interior from drying.
- Three minutes of rest is part of the safety standard, not just a courtesy.
- Boiling the reserved marinade for a minute reduces it to something glossy enough to cling.
Ingredient Notes
- Top sirloin steak
- A pound and a half, seared whole. Whole-muscle beef, so 145 degrees Fahrenheit plus a three-minute rest is the standard.
- Gochujang
- A teaspoon against a third of a cup of soy. Small, and it is the flavour that names the dish rather than the heat of it.
- Reserved marinade
- Two tablespoons set aside before the steak goes in, then boiled for a minute. Marinade that has held raw beef is not reused here.
- Broccoli, carrot and red chile
- All three are part of the bowl rather than garnish. The broccoli is steamed crisp-tender and the carrot is shredded raw.
How to Make It
Whisk, reserve two tablespoons, marinate
Whisk soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and gochujang. Reserve 2 tablespoons; marinate the steak in the rest for 20 minutes.
Sear whole to 145F, then rest
Heat a grill pan or cast-iron skillet until very hot. Sear the whole steak until deeply charred outside and at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit inside, then rest 3 minutes.
Boil the reserved marinade one minute
Boil the reserved marinade for 1 minute in a small saucepan and reduce until glossy.
Slice into strips, toss lightly
Slice the rested steak into strips and toss lightly with the reduced glaze.
Build the bowls
Divide white rice among bowls. Arrange steak, broccoli, shredded carrot, and red chile around it.
Sesame and scallion, nothing else
Finish with scallion and sesame seeds. Do not add egg, kimchi, bok choy, or a pooled red sauce.
The Marinade Is Used Twice, and That Is the Careful Part
One whisked mixture does two jobs here: it marinates raw beef and it glazes the cooked steak. Everything below the gate depends on the gate having been cleared first, and the reserve in step 1 is what keeps the two jobs apart.
- Reserve 2 tbsp before the beef goes anywhere near it1/3 cup soy sauce, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil, 3 garlic cloves, 1 tsp grated ginger and 1 tsp gochujang, whisked - and 2 TABLESPOONS TAKEN OUT FIRST. Once 1 1/2 lb of raw sirloin has sat in the rest for 20 minutes, that liquid has held raw meat. The reserved two tablespoons never did, and this is the first instruction in the recipe for exactly that reason.
- Twenty minutes, and the steak stays wholeThe sirloin marinates WHOLE rather than cut. A whole steak can take a deep char on the outside while the inside is still short of overdone; strips cannot, and you want charred, glazed edges.
- A very hot pan, direct heat onlyA grill pan or cast-iron skillet heated UNTIL VERY HOT. The char is what this dish is about, and only direct high heat makes it.
Check before you continue
At least 145F, then a 3-minute rest — Instant-read thermometer, into the thickest part of the steak
Whole-muscle beef is a 145F standard and the three-minute rest is part of it rather than a courtesy afterwards. The rest is also what lets the juices settle before the steak is sliced - cut straight off the heat, they run onto the board instead of staying in the strips.
- The reserved 2 tbsp, boiled for 1 minuteBoiled in a small saucepan and reduced UNTIL GLOSSY. Even though it never touched the beef it is boiled - and that minute is also what turns two tablespoons of thin marinade into something that clings to sliced steak rather than running off it.
- Sliced into strips, tossed lightlyThe rested steak cut into STRIPS rather than cubes, then tossed LIGHTLY with the reduced glaze. Lightly is the operative word: there should be no pooled red sauce, so the glaze coats and stops there.
- The bowl, and what is not in it4 cups of white rice divided between the bowls with the steak, 2 cups of crisp-tender broccoli, 1 shredded carrot and 1 sliced red chile ARRANGED around it - all part of the bowl rather than garnish - then 2 scallions and 2 tsp sesame seeds. Step 6 leaves out egg, kimchi and bok choy by name.
Success Tips
- Reserve the two tablespoons first — it is easy to forget once the steak is in.
- Get the pan genuinely hot; a deep char is what this bowl looks like.
- Rest before slicing, and slice into strips rather than cubes.
Serving Ideas
Four bowls, a cup of white rice each with the charred glazed steak strips over it and steamed broccoli, shredded carrot and thin red chilli slices around the edge, finished with scallion and sesame seeds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pour the leftover marinade over the steak?
Not the marinade the beef sat in. Two tablespoons are reserved before the steak goes in, and those are boiled for a minute to make the glaze.
How is this different from the slow cooker Korean BBQ beef?
That one is a chuck roast braised in the sauce with no browning step at all. This is a whole sirloin seared to a deep char on direct high heat, then sliced.
Should there be a fried egg or kimchi?
No — step 6 rules out egg, kimchi, bok choy and a pooled red sauce. The bowl is rice, steak, broccoli, carrot and chilli.
