How to make a spicy Korean barbecue marinade

Tracey Koch

June 2, 2025

Korean barbecue marinade

Yields 3 cups

1 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon black pepper

6 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger

½ cup chopped green onions

2 cups low-sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup toasted sesame oil

½ cup vegetable oil

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, salt, red pepper flakes and pepper. Stir until well combined.
Add garlic, grated ginger and chopped green onions.
Slowly whisk in the soy sauce until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the sesame oil and vegetable oil.
Use a funnel and pour the marinade into a jar or bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Chill until you are ready to use. This marinade will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

This article was originally published in the June 2025 issue of 225 Magazine.

By Tracey Koch

Tracey Koch has been creating recipes, instructing cooking classes for both kids and adults, and writing food columns in the Baton Rouge area for over 25 years. She began writing her favorite column, “Dining In,” back in 2013. Find it featured in the Taste section of 225 Magazine every month. When she is not in the kitchen developing and testing new recipes, she is writing stories for her children’s book series about a little goose from Toulouse.