The Korean Staple You Should Be Serving With Steak

Steak might be the hero of the meal whenever it's on the menu, but it's never truly complete without a great sidekick. Whether that's a creamy peppercorn number for a classic steak au poivre, creamed spinach in a traditional American steakhouse, or even just your basic red wine sauce, the perfect pairing can take your meat to the moon. Generally, steaks bring big, meaty flavors to the party, so the best accompaniments have to provide a similar level of boldness. But one staple food that you might not have thought to pair with steak is a pretty perfect side — kimchi.

From L.A. galbi to bulgogi, that smoky, charred flavor is crucial to the identity of Korean cuisine. And in pretty much every Korean home, and pretty much every mealtime, kimchi is on the table. It's really not that surprising that it pairs so well with steak. It's crunchy and deeply refreshing in terms of texture and carries a deeply complex flavor, tart and spicy at first, with a subtly sweet undertone. As with most ferments, it also packs a strong, salty punch and is bursting with umami. That savory side of kimchi supports similarly salty notes you'll find in steak, while the sourness and sweetness provide a welcome contrast, much like a zingy chimichurri might. Meanwhile, that umami acts as a natural flavor enhancer, boosting the steak's inherent qualities and truly taking things to the next level.

When it comes to kimchi, not all steaks are equal. While it makes a great accompaniment to just about all grilled meat, it pairs better with darker, denser flavors. As such, to truly make the most of kimchi as a steak side, serve it with fatty, more flavorful cuts such as ribeye or strip steak rather than the more delicate filet mignon, for example. Cuts such as flank steak or onglet, that have a heartier, more intense beefiness are also great to pair with the bright flash of freshness that kimchi provides.

To really imbue your meat with a kimchi flavor, you could try making a kimchi sauce by blending it with homemade mayonnaise, sesame, and rice vinegar until silky smooth. It goes brilliantly with fries, too! For the ultimate infusion, though, marinate your steak with kimchi (especially its acidic juices, which will impart a strong kimchi flavor with the added bonus of tenderizing it). Then, finish things off with a kimchi compound butter — just blitz some kimchi with garlic and salted butter, leave to set in the fridge, and use it to baste your steak to give a beautifully complex, developed umami flavor.