To make the Korean BBQ sauce, add all of these ingredients listed so far together and bring to a simmer over low heat until the sugar dissolves. As you might have probably guessed, like most Asian condiments, it is made from a base of soy sauce and Asian vinegar (most typically mirin). This salty, umami rich soy sauce based Korean barbecue sauce is perfect slathered over burgers, tofu, tempeh, veggies and more. Brown sugar, garlic, ginger. You can sub white sugar, turbinado sugar, or coconut sugar. The sweetness balances out and enhances the salty flavors. The ‘specialty’ ingredients:

It’s easy to make using pantry friendly ingredients. And if you don’t already have these ingredients on hand, they’re definitely ones you want to consider adding! Ingredients you need for Korean BBQ sauce: In fact, if we take a look at a typical home recipe we can see how it differs from those offered on the market. Home Recipe Korean BBQ Sauce Ingredients Soy sauce. I actually like to buy low sodium tamari and use that in my cooking. Tamari is a Japanese soy sauce, and it is gluten free. When it comes to marinading specifically, Korean BBQ sauce is best used to drench a slab of meat for hours (until the meat absorbs the sauce).Korean Barbecue sauce is typically made of soy sauce, pear (often fresh Asian pear), dark brown sugar, vinegar (mirin, rice, or apple cider), chilis, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and green onion. Although, home recipes and branded product versions of the sauce can vary. While similar in texture, Korean BBQ sauce is generally considered a little more oily and moist than regular BBQ sauce. Rice wine vinegar (aka rice vinegar). You can substitute rice wine or mirin if you’d like. This is usually as easy to find at the store as soy sauce.

From an ingredient perspective, Korean BBQ sauce is based on soy sauce (compared to the tomato base/ketchup of regular (American-style BBQ sauces.) Korean BBQ sauce is different from regular BBQ sauce in terms of ingredients, taste, and texture. IngredientsSo as you can see, branded and bottled versions of this sauce often include preservatives, other flavorings, colors, and sweeteners.

Korean BBQ sauce tastes rich, sweet, tangy, and spicy with savory umami notes. It is oily and moist in texture, and relatively runny in consistency. What Does Korean BBQ Sauce Go Well With? You can use a different soy sauce, but if you use full sodium soy sauce you may want to decrease the soy sauce to 1/3 of a cup just to keep the sauce from getting too salty.But from there, the inclusion of fruits (often Asian Pear), spices, and other flavorings makes this sauce really unique, flavorsome, and versatile. If you don’t have gochujang you can either (a) leave it out or (b) substitute with a different hot sauce or chili. Sriracha, sambal oelek, or even red pepper flakes will work! Still, this sauce does always remain a soy sauce-based barbecue variation at its core. What Does Korean BBQ Taste Like?

Koren BBQ sauce is also known for including pear (typically Asian pear), sometimes sesame oil along with a range of flavorings not shared with western-style BBQ sauces. Taste Equally, the type and amount of vinegar varies, too. Korean BBQ sauce typically uses rice or apple cider vinegar, rather than distilled vinegar found in its ‘regular’ counterpart. As is, the sauce will be on the thin side, almost watery in consistency (but not flavor!). If you want to get a glaze you can brush onto things, we need to add a cornstarch slurry.