Korean-Style Steak Sauce

This easy sauce recipe makes enough for four steaks, chicken breasts, or fish filets. We also love this Korean-style sauce with noodles, tofu, shrimp, and vegetables. The recipe gets deep flavor from toasted sesame seeds and toasted sesame oil. When buying the oil, do not substitute neutral untoasted sesame oil. The flavor is completely different and you'll lose the depth of flavor that's achieved with toasted sesame oil. The same goes for the sesame seeds. Toasting them before adding them to sauce helps release their oils and infuse more flavor into the finished dish.

For the other ingredients, our taste testers preferred the texture of finely mincing the garlic and green onions. It helped evenly distribute them throughout the sauce. You can also thinly slice them if you prefer a chunky topping. Like more heat? Increase the amount of cayenne pepper or try adding crushed red pepper flakes. We used brown sugar for a touch of sweetness but you could easily substitute honey, maple syrup, or white sugar. It's easy to adjust the sweetness level of this Korean sauce recipe. Start by adding half a teaspoon at a time until it tastes right to you.

In addition to using it as a dipping sauce, you can use this recipe to marinate meat, veggies, or fish. To use it as a marinade, place your protein or vegetable of choice in a large resealable plastic bag and cover with the sauce. Place the bag in a dish and refrigerate for two hours, turning occasionally. Remove the protein or vegetables from the marinade and cook as desired. Discard any remaining marinade.

You can make this Korean dipping sauce recipe up to one week ahead. Store it in the fridge in an airtight container (like a Mason jar) and let stand at room temperature before using. The oil may solidify when it chills. If you'd like to serve the sauce warm, gently heat it over low heat until warmed through.