Ayara Thai–Inspired Grilled Flank Steak with Jaew Sauce
By Bryan RoofPublished on June 7, 2025
Time
1¼ hours, plus 6 hours marinating
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Beef
¼ cup oyster sauce ¼ cup Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce 4 teaspoons packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon white pepper 1 (2-pound) flank steak, trimmedJaew Sauce
2 tablespoons jasmine rice 2 shallots, sliced into thin rounds3 scallions, sliced thin6 tablespoons lime juice (3 limes)¼ cup fish sauce 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar 1½ teaspoons red pepper flakesBefore You Begin
This steak is great served with rice, noodles, or blanched water spinach or napa cabbage. Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce, produced in Thailand, is a complex soybean-based sauce with deep umami flavors and a hint of sweetness. You can find it at Asian grocery stores or online.
Instructions
- Whisk ¼ cup oyster sauce, ¼ cup Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce, 4 teaspoons packed brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon white pepper together in bowl. Place 1 (2-pound) trimmed flank steak in 13 by 9-inch baking dish, pour oyster sauce mixture over top, then turn steak to evenly coat in marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours, flipping steak halfway through.
- Toast 2 tablespoons jasmine rice in small skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until lightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer rice to spice grinder and let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Grind rice to fine powder, about 10 seconds. Combine rice powder, 2 shallots sliced into thin rounds, 3 thinly sliced scallions, 6 tablespoons lime juice, ¼ cup fish sauce, 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar, and 1½ teaspoons red pepper flakes in bowl; set aside.
- FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter mounded with charcoal briquettes (7 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high; cover; and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).
- Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Clean and oil cooking grate. Place steak on hotter side of grill and cook (covered if using gas) until lightly browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Flip steak again and rotate so that thin end is over cooler side of grill and thick end remains over hotter side. Continue to cook (covered if using gas), flipping steak every 2 minutes, until thick end of steak registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare) or 130 degrees (for medium), 2 to 6 minutes longer.
- Transfer steak to prepared rack, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Transfer steak to carving board and cut in half lengthwise with grain to create 2 narrow steaks. Slice each steak thin on bias against grain. Transfer steak to platter. Serve with jaew sauce.
for the beef
for the jaew sauce
Time
1¼ hours, plus 6 hours marinatingYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Beef
Jaew Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Beef
Jaew Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Beef
Jaew Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
This recipe is inspired by a meal of mu kratha shared with the Asapahu family, owners of Ayara Thai in Los Angeles. Mu kratha is a style of eating that utilizes a tabletop vessel with a grill in the center and a surrounding “moat” of fortified pork broth for cooking vegetables, noodles, and seafood. Without a tabletop grill of our own, we found it tricky to grill small pieces of meat on a traditional grill; they slipped through the grate. So, instead, we opted for grilling a whole flank steak, which has a similar grain structure to the tri-tip the Asapahus used and is more readily available nationally; flank steak also takes well to marinating and cooks relatively quickly. After grilling the meat, we served it with jaew sauce, a mixture of lime juice, fish sauce, shallots, scallions, toasted rice powder, sugar, and red pepper flakes—a perfect foil for the savory meat.
Before You Begin
This steak is great served with rice, noodles, or blanched water spinach or napa cabbage. Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce, produced in Thailand, is a complex soybean-based sauce with deep umami flavors and a hint of sweetness. You can find it at Asian grocery stores or online.
Instructions
- Whisk ¼ cup oyster sauce, ¼ cup Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce, 4 teaspoons packed brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon white pepper together in bowl. Place 1 (2-pound) trimmed flank steak in 13 by 9-inch baking dish, pour oyster sauce mixture over top, then turn steak to evenly coat in marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours, flipping steak halfway through.
- Toast 2 tablespoons jasmine rice in small skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until lightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer rice to spice grinder and let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Grind rice to fine powder, about 10 seconds. Combine rice powder, 2 shallots sliced into thin rounds, 3 thinly sliced scallions, 6 tablespoons lime juice, ¼ cup fish sauce, 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar, and 1½ teaspoons red pepper flakes in bowl; set aside.
- FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter mounded with charcoal briquettes (7 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high; cover; and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).
- Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Clean and oil cooking grate. Place steak on hotter side of grill and cook (covered if using gas) until lightly browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Flip steak again and rotate so that thin end is over cooler side of grill and thick end remains over hotter side. Continue to cook (covered if using gas), flipping steak every 2 minutes, until thick end of steak registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare) or 130 degrees (for medium), 2 to 6 minutes longer.
- Transfer steak to prepared rack, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Transfer steak to carving board and cut in half lengthwise with grain to create 2 narrow steaks. Slice each steak thin on bias against grain. Transfer steak to platter. Serve with jaew sauce.
for the beef
for the jaew sauce
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