A flavour packed Asian style flank steak thanks to a surprisingly simple marinade. Quickly grill it for one of the easiest, and tastiest, meals of the summer! This is actually the steak I caught my husband with!
This Asian style flank steak is an old family recipe that I’ve just tinkered with a little bit over time. It’s also the only steak I would eat as a kid (which must have driven my Mom and Nana nuts). It’s such a simple marinade, with ingredients you’ll probably already have on hand (and if you don’t, I’ve got a couple of simple substitutions you can use). This is also the first real meal that I learned how to cook, and the one that I’m convinced helped Bo fall in love with me. I tried brownies first, but WAY over cooked them (like, literally as hard as a rock). I had to redeem myself, and I pulled it off at 17 with this steak.
The marinade is one that you can’t really over-do it with. You can throw the steak in it for a few hours, or overnight, doesn’t matter. Just make sure that you use the low-sodium soy sauce so it doesn’t get TOO salty. The key to getting super tender strips of flavourful steak is in the prep work. Don’t worry, it’s really easy too.
This is how you want your steak to look before it hits the marinade. All you do is make slices with a sharp knife 1″ apart, and only 1/3 of the way through the steak. Then do it again in an opposite direction to create the diamond pattern. After that, use the pointy side of a mallet and give the steak a quick pound to loosen it up, and create some more places for the marinade to seep into the meat. Then, do the same thing on the other side. This doesn’t even take five minutes to do, but it makes a world of difference!
To grill it, crank up your BBQ to high and let it run for 15 minutes with the lid closed to get it as hot as possible. Take the steak out of the marinade, and let any excess marinade drip off it for a second. Oil the grates, then drop on the steak. Let it cook for about 6-8 minutes on each side (depends on how you want it, 6 minutes is rare, 8 minutes is about medium). Then, let it rest. And I mean that… put it on a cutting board and don’t touch it for 10 minutes. If you cut into it too soon, all those flavourful juices will run right out of it, and by the time it hits your plate it’ll be dry. If you let it sit for 10 minutes, all those juices redistribute through the meat, and the steak will be tender and juicy to the last bite.
I was really hoping that we were going to have leftovers last night. I had visions of a steak sandwich gracing my lips today for lunch. That’s not going to happen though, because the entire family (myself included) were like a pack of savage wolves… there wasn’t a scrap of anything left on the plate – but there were 5 very happy (and very full) people in the house.
Asian Style Flank Steak
Ingredients
- flank steak (1 1/2 to 2 lbs)
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (or substitute red wine vinegar)
- 1/2 cup canola oil (or vegetable oil)
- 3 tbsp honey
- 5 cloves garlic, minced (or substitute 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
- 3 tbsp ginger, freshly grated (or substitute 2 tsp ground ginger)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk together all of the marinade ingredients and place in a large zip-lock bag.
- Prepare your flank steak. Make slices 1" apart along the length of the steak, only going 1/3 of the way through the meat. Rotate the meat and repeat to create a diamond pattern. Lightly pound with the dimpled side of a mallet. Flip the steak over and repeat.
- Place the prepared steak into the marinade. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or up to overnight. Remove the steak from the fridge 20 minutes before grilling to let it come to room temperature.
- Preheat your grill on high for 15 minutes with the lid closed.
- Oil your grates, then add the steak directly over the heat. Cook for 6 (rare) to 8 (medium) minutes per side.
- Let the steak rest for 10 minutes (VERY IMPORTANT) before slicing and serving.
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