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    Home » Meat

    All-purpose Korean Marinade

    Published 06/11/2017. Updated 08/08/2020

    Jump to Recipe

    This large batch Korean marinade will come in handy for your Korean BBQ this summer! You don’t need to assemble a marinade or run to a store to buy a jar of pre-made marinade every time.

    DSC 1851 e1497234578736 - All-purpose Korean Marinade

    This marinade is all you need for Korean BBQ this summer! It takes less than an hour to put this large batch together. You don’t need to assemble a marinade or run to a store to buy a jar of pre-made marinade every time. All the flavor enhancing ingredients are boiled together, so the marinade is so flavorful and the shelf life is naturally long.

    In Korea, this type of sauce is called manneung ganjang (만능간장, meaning all-purpose soy based sauce) or mat ganjang (맛간장, meaning flavorful soy based sauce). The typical Korean soy sauce based sauce is pretty standard, so some people add complexity and layers of flavors by using a flavorful broth.

    Restaurants commonly do this to develop their own unique, tasty flavors, using all sorts of secret ingredients for the broth. It has also become common among home cooks.

    To make this all-purpose marinade, the marinade ingredients are boiled with umami boosting vegetables such as dried shiitake mushrooms and dashima. Korean radish is good too. For fruity sweetness, I used an apple. You can also use an Asian/Korean pear. The fresh lemon is added at the end, which keeps the marinade fresh for a longer period.

    Use it for any Korean BBQ dishes such as galbi, bulgogi, chicken bulgogi, salmon bulgogi, etc., or add Korean flavors to your steaks and ribs. You can zip up the flavors by adding fresh garlic, ginger, onion, scallion and/or grated Korean pear if you like, but it’s not absolutely necessary. Do add some sesame oil. It’s an essential ingredient for Korean meat dishes.

    You will generally need one cup of this marinade for 2 pounds of meat.

    DSC 1794 e1497234686563 - All-purpose Korean Marinade

    For a spicy marinade, simply add gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes) and/or gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste).

    This marinade is also great for stir-frying and braising. Try it with eomuk bokkeum (stir-fried fish cake), gamja jorim (braised potatoes), or gungjung tteokbokki (mild royal court tteokbokki).

    Basically, you can use it in any recipe that calls for soy sauce and sugar. It’s that versatile! Keep in mind this marinade is diluted so you need to use more than the amount of soy sauce the recipe calls for.

    I never thought Korean marinades were hard to put together, but it’s so much quicker and easier with a batch of this basic marinade, especially when I need to put together several dishes at the same time.

    DSC 1789 e1497234747468 - All-purpose Korean Marinade

    DSC 1812 2 e1497235927518 - All-purpose Korean Marinade

    Have you tried this all-purpose Korean marinade recipe? Please rate the recipe below and leave a comment! Stay in touch by following me on YouTube,Pinterest,Twitter,Facebook, andInstagram.

    DSC 1851 150x150 1 - All-purpose Korean Marinade

    All-purpose Korean Marinade

    4.09 from 23 votes
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes
    Servings: 40
    Print Recipe

    Ingredients

    Yields about 10 cups

    • 6 cups of water
    • 4 cups soy sauce
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 1 cup corn syrup (or Korean Oligodang) or use 2/3 cup honey or 1 more cup sugar
    • 1 large onion, roughly cut into small pieces
    • 1 large apple, roughly cut into small pieces
    • 2 scallions, cut into shorter pieces
    • 12 to 14 plump garlic cloves, roughly cracked oped (use a side of the knife)
    • 2 inch long ginger (about 1 inch diameter), thinly sliced
    • 3 or 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
    • 1 teaspoon peppercorns
    • 5 inch square dashima 다시마 (dried kelp)
    • 1 cup rice wine (or mirin) Dry white wine is also good.
    • 1 lemon, thinly sliced

    Instructions

    • Add all the ingredients (except the dashima, rice wine, and lemon) to a large pot with 6 cups of water. Bring it to a boil over high heat, uncovered, and then reduce the heat to achieve a medium boil (between medium high and medium on my stove). Boil for 30 minutes.
    • Add the dashima and continue to boil for 10 more minutes.
    • Remove all the solids with a strainer.
    • Add the rice wine and lemon slices, and let it cool. Store in a jar(s) in the fridge.

    How to use the marinade

      Galbi (beef short ribs) or bulgogi

      • For 2 pounds of beef short ribs or bulgogi meat, use 1 cup of the marinade and add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. You can also add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, grated 1/4 Korean pear and a handful of scallion and onion slices if you like. For galbi, you need to marinate for at least 6 to 8 hours or overnight for best results. Marinate bulgogi for 30 minutes to an hour, up to overnight. 

      Spicy pork

      • For 2 pounds of pork, use 1/2 cup of the marinade, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of gochugaru (red chili pepper flakes), and 3 tablespoons of gochujang (red chili pepper paste). If using more gochujang, use less marinade. You can add 1 or 2 teaspoons of grated ginger, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, and a handful of scallion and onion slices.
        DSC 1800 1 e1497409888294 - All-purpose Korean Marinade

      Notes

      1. You can adjust the sweetness or salt level by adding more sugar or soy sauce depending on the dish you are using it for. Grated pear, corn syrup, honey, and Korean plum extract (maesilcheong) are all great as sugar substitutes.
      2. Add some sesame oil when you use the marinade.
      3. If the smell of boiling soy sauce bothers you, keep your candle lit for an hour or two.
      Tried this recipe?Mention @koreanbapsang or tag #koreanbapsang!

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      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Takla says

        October 02, 2020 at 11:14 am

        I love all your recipes and somday i will travel to korea and taste all the food

        Reply
      2. Cecilia Mabilangan says

        July 29, 2020 at 11:41 am

        5 stars
        Hello,
        I love all your recipes.
        I would like to make this recipe soon, but don’t have the dried kelp.
        Will it affect the taste of the recipe if it is left out?
        Is there a substitute that I can use?

        Thank you!

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          July 31, 2020 at 1:08 am

          It’s okay to leave it out.

          Reply
      3. Cecilia says

        July 29, 2020 at 10:36 am

        Hello,
        This recipe sounds amazingly versatile and I want to make this recipe asap.
        I do not have dried kelp at the moment.
        Will it alter the taste of the marinade if this is omitted or is there a substitute for this.

        Thank you!

        Reply
      4. Kelsey says

        July 04, 2020 at 3:20 pm

        Hi there – how long do I need to marinate meat for? Like 30m? Love your recipes!!

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          July 05, 2020 at 4:26 pm

          Depending on what you use it for. If thinly sliced bulgogi meat, 30 min is good. Longer will be preferable. If you’re using it for beef short ribs, you need to marinate at least for 6 to 8 hours for best results.

          Reply
      5. Jos says

        February 03, 2020 at 6:54 pm

        Can I make this in Instant Pot so I don’t have to babysit it? probably only include the dried kelp after?

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          February 06, 2020 at 12:12 am

          You can, but you probably should reduce the amount of water you add or reduce it down by boiling on the Saute setting after pressure cooking. This is to achieve the right salt level of the marinade and also to thicken it. Try 5 cups of water instead of 6, manual high pressure for 20 min, NPR 10 min, add dried kelp, and then boil it on the Saute for about 10 min. I’m guessing all this because I haven’t tried. If you try it, come back and let me know how it turned out. I’ll try it soon too and update here.

          Reply
      6. ZHANGHONGDA says

        September 29, 2019 at 12:03 am

        5 stars
        Hi, hello, I am from China.
        I found someone sharing your recipe on the kitchen app and found your page.
        Thank you very much for sharing with everyone.
        My sister is a chef and she opened a Korean barbecue shop. I also want to learn, so I searched for relevant information online.
        Thank you for sharing, I am trying to make delicious food on the recipe.

        Reply
      7. JOSUE FLORES CARRERA says

        March 05, 2019 at 5:45 am

        I follow your page a lot. I would like to know more pork pansa marinated. Different styles, such as white wine, garlic, herb, curry, miso paste. They are delicious flavors for pork pansa.

        Reply
      8. Auli says

        December 24, 2018 at 7:44 am

        Hi! Thanks You for the great recipes! My daughter sent mouthwatering food photos from SK and after studying korean food, that’s all I have been eaten and thanks to You, I have found some really tasty recipes on your site. And thankfully in Helkinki we have some pretty good asian grocery stores, althought they have some interesting looking veges, I have no glue what they are or how to use them. Need to experiment. I have consumes quite a lot different kinds of seaweeds, is it safe to eat it almost daily? Not too much iodine?

        Reply
      9. VIRGINIA TING says

        July 25, 2018 at 7:07 am

        How long to marinade the chicken? Is it safe if we stay the chicken in the marinade overnight

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          July 25, 2018 at 8:57 pm

          Depending on the size of the chicken pieces. Overnight is fine.

          Reply
      10. Gigi Sawit says

        July 22, 2018 at 10:34 pm

        May I know what do we do with the solid ingredients strained after boiling. Do we just throw or discard? Can’t it be used for something else or Liquified and added to the boiled marinade? I just find it wasteful if thrown away. Please advice. Thank you

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          July 23, 2018 at 1:07 am

          Those solids have released all the flavors so not much left to give in them, so I discard them. You can try to puree and add back to the marinade if you want. It will make the marinade thick though.

          Reply
          • Grace Lloyd says

            August 06, 2018 at 7:32 am

            When I make my soy glaze after straining I mash the solids through the strainer and cake a roast with the paste. Kinda defeats the purpose of the marinade but sometimes I am making different cuts of meat and or I save one or the other for later.
            I haven’t made the recipe yet but I’ll be back with a review. This looks to be the best of the bunch.

            Reply
            • Hyosun says

              August 09, 2018 at 12:25 am

              Thank you! Hope you try it soon.

              Reply
      11. John R says

        June 24, 2018 at 2:36 pm

        I cannot offer a first hand opinion of this marinade because the night I used it to make kabobs, I missed supper. Even a couple of kids who are legendary for their finicky eating habits returned for 3rds. Near as I can judge, everyone enjoyed it immensely. When it was my turn in the buffet line, there was not so much as a crumb remaining. 🙂 Thanks for kicking off a great evening with this recipe!

        Reply
      12. Kevin says

        June 19, 2018 at 8:20 pm

        This sounds wonderful & very authentic

        Reply
      13. Leslie Williams says

        May 30, 2018 at 11:16 pm

        Hello,
        Love the ingredients in your marinade! However, what is the shelf life of this marinade?
        Thank you,
        Leslie

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          May 31, 2018 at 11:30 pm

          It can last up to several months in the fridge, but why keep that long? Use it to make delicious Korean BBQ any time you want this summer.

          Reply
      14. Julie says

        February 09, 2018 at 8:41 pm

        Thank you for this recipe. We started to enjoy Korean food recently and glad I found this marinade recipe that I can use in so many dishes. I even added a few spoons of Korean citron tea (yuja-cha) to my marinade.

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          February 10, 2018 at 10:52 am

          Oh I’m glad to hear you made this marinade and using it in many dishes! It’s so convenient to have it in the fridge, and you can use it many different dishes. Yuja-cha is great in the marinade. Thanks for leaving me a feedback! Really appreciate it. Cheers!

          Reply
      15. Rudy says

        February 08, 2018 at 12:47 am

        Can you add the sesame oil and minced garlic into the marinade after cooking, or should that be added after when actually cooking the food? I’m looking forward to trying this one out and want to make a big batch!

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          February 10, 2018 at 10:57 am

          Yes sesame oil should be added when you actually use the marinade. You can add garlic later also. Hope you try it soon!

          Reply
      16. JETHRO PAUL RAYMER says

        November 18, 2017 at 8:59 am

        Can you please sing me up for your newsletters

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          November 18, 2017 at 2:10 pm

          Have you tried to sign up in the box on the left hand side of the blog?

          Reply
      17. Angelina says

        September 18, 2017 at 9:01 am

        Hi,

        I would like to know for how long I can keep the marinade in the fridge without it going bad or if there is a way to make it last longer than just a few days, so I can cook the amount for a few bottles ahead:)

        Love your recipes!

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          September 18, 2017 at 9:17 pm

          As I said in my reply to Ty above, 2 to 3 months easily! If you want to be safe, boil it after a few weeks to keep it safely for a few more weeks. Hope you love this marinade as much as I do. Cheers!

          Reply
          • Angelina says

            September 19, 2017 at 11:47 am

            Oh sorry, I didn’t see that haha but thanks for replying again! Really awesome, I am sure I will love it. The ingredients sound promising!

            Reply
            • Hyosun says

              September 19, 2017 at 10:01 pm

              No problem! Enjoy!

              Reply
      18. Angie says

        September 01, 2017 at 5:48 pm

        Hi!!! I can’t find corn syrup in my country, what ingredient can I use for replacement?
        I’m new to korean food but I already love it.
        Thanks for your blog!!!

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          September 03, 2017 at 3:47 pm

          You’re welcome! You can simply use honey instead or use more sugar. Enjoy!

          Reply
      19. Ty says

        July 23, 2017 at 4:00 pm

        How long will this marinade last in the fridge?

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          July 25, 2017 at 10:58 pm

          2 to 3 months easily! If you want to be safe, boil it after a few weeks to keep it safely for a few more weeks if it lasts for that long. Enjoy!

          Reply
      20. Lori Hildenbrand says

        June 20, 2017 at 11:16 am

        Hi Just thought I’d let you know I tried to follow you but it won’t let me. I did bookmark but would rather follow I will check again in a few days. Will definitely be trying more recipes.

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          June 25, 2017 at 1:03 pm

          Hi Lori – There are various ways to follow. Which one did you try?

          Reply
      21. De Mitten says

        June 19, 2017 at 11:04 pm

        Lived in S. Korea for 6 years and it was the best food I ever ate. And I have been in many different places in the world. Outstanding food!

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          June 25, 2017 at 1:04 pm

          Great to hear you’re enjoying food in Korea! I’m jealous.

          Reply
      22. jr says

        June 12, 2017 at 11:11 am

        Hi, this looks great! I have subscribed to your page via email, but I haven’t been receiving any.

        Reply
        • Hyosun says

          June 12, 2017 at 1:57 pm

          Thank you! Hmm I am not sure why. Will look into it.

          Reply

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      Hi! I'm Hyosun, and I am a Korean-American mom of two wonderful grown-up children. Here, you will learn how to cook Korean dishes the way we Koreans traditionally eat at home. Read More...

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