Secret Recipe Club: Korean-Style Steak and Sweet Chili Green Beans

I was super-excited when I received my Secret Recipe Club assignment for this month. There may have even been some hand-clapping.  Possibly even a really dorky happy dance. Possibly.

You see, was My FIANCE! Likes It, So It Must Be Good, a blog written and photographed by Peggy, a culinary student who lives in Louisville, KY. I’ve been a regular follower of her blog for a couple of years now, going all the way back to the days when it was still My Boyfriend Likes It, So It Must Be Good, so I knew I’d have a ton of great recipes to choose from.

In fact, Peggy has literally posted hundreds of delicious fiance-approved recipes over the past three years, ranging from basic meat and potatoes dishes like Skirt Steak with Stout Pan Sauce to highfalutin’ fancy meals like Pan Seared Trout w/ Black Trumpet Mushrooms & Almond Caper Dressing to newfangled twists on old stanbys like Red Curry Chicken Wings, and pretty much everything in between.

As it turns out, I had such a hard time deciding that I ended up making two recipes this month: Korean Flank Steak and Sweet Chili Green Beans, which I paired up to make a sweet-and-spicy Pan-Asian meal.

As always, I did make a few changes to the original recipes to suit my own preferences.

I happened to have a really nice flatiron steak sitting in the freezer, waiting for just the right recipe to come along, so I decided to use that instead of the flank steak… and since it really was a gorgeous piece of beef, I also decided to keep the steak whole rather than cutting it up into strips as Peggy did in her version.

The weather’s been so mild lately that I had initially planned on firing up the grill, because I’m a sucker for a proper grilled steak, but my plans were scuttled by a cold front and high winds that blew in overnight.

Instead, I opted to cook the steak under the broiler, since I find that tends to be a more reliable cooking method than pan-frying – especially since I don’t have a proper grill-pan (or any pan large enough to accommodate an entire flatiron steak, for that matter).

As for the green beans, I left out the bacon, since it seemed like it would be a bit much when paired up with steak.  It was probably for the best, anyways, since the beans turned out a little bit on the salty side… the added saltiness from the bacon would’ve been too much.

Out of the two recipes, I have to say the steak was my favourite. It was juicy and flavourful, with a great balance of sweet and salty that makes it feel kind of like an upscale take on Beef Bulgogi… which is hands-down my favourite Korean dish. It was all I could do not to snarf down the whole thing in one sitting, though thankfully I managed to save enough to shoot a few photos. :)  I can’t wait for it to be warm enough to fire up the grill, so that I can try this recipe again!

That’s not to say the beans weren’t great, because they were actually quite delicious, with a nice spicy kick from the sweet chili sauce. With a little less fish sauce on the next go-round (and maybe with the bacon added back in), I think it’ll be a total keeper.

All in all, I’d say I came out pretty well for this month’s edition of the SRC.  Can’t wait to see who my assignment is for next month!

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