The most tender and flavorful Korean steak bites are cooked on the stovetop or in the air fryer. These juicy steak bites are sweetened with fruit to recreate an authentic bulgogi flavor that’s so addicting for kids and adults!
What Makes This Recipe Great
Steak will probably always be my favorite cut of meat. I usually love it grilled plain with just a bit of salt and pepper, but sometimes, I’ll get fancy with a marinade when I want to make it a bit more special. These marinated Korean Steak Bites are one of those recipes that’s just full of flavor and so easy to prepare.
If you are a fan of bulgogi, you are going to love these marinated steak bites. Sweetened with dates, the marinade is just so addicting and full of umami, and the steak pieces are so tender and flavorful. You can serve them as a party snack with toothpicks or eat them as an easy meal alongside some cauliflower rice or roasted vegetables.
Watch a Short Video of This Recipe
How to Make Steak Bites with Korean Marinade
The cooking process for these steak bites is straightforward and simple. You need to marinate them in the bulgogi sauce for at least 2 hours, and then they take just 10 minutes or less to cook! Here’s what you’ll need and how to make steak bites on the stovetop or in the air fryer. Find the printable version in the recipe card below.
Ingredient Notes
Steak Bites
- top sirloin steak: Or ribeye steak, New York strip steak, or tenderloin– any tender cut of steak will work.
- avocado oil or olive oil
- sesame seeds and chopped green onions
Marinade
- coconut aminos
- toasted sesame oil
- garlic cloves
- pitted Medjool date
- fresh ginger
- gochugaru
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep & Marinate
- Cut the steak into 1-inch cubes or bite-sized pieces and place in a resealable bag or bowl.
- Make the marinade by blending all its ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
- Pour the marinade over the beef, seal or cover it, and marinate it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Remove from the fridge and drain the bulgogi marinade when ready to cook.
Stove Top Method
Step 1
Heat oil in a large skillet (or cast iron skillet) or over medium-high heat.
Step 2
Add the steak cubes to the hot skillet in a single layer and sear for 2 minutes.
Step 3
Flip the pieces, and then cook for 2 more minutes.
Air Fryer Method
Step 1
To make air fryer steak bites, preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 400 degrees F.
Step 2
Add the steak bites to your air fryer basket in a single layer and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 3
Flip the steak bites and cook for another 5 minutes.
You can garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onions before serving. Season with salt and black pepper if desired. Both methods turn out fantastic in both texture and flavor!
Expert Tips
- I highly recommend marinating these steak bites for at least 2 hours. The meat really needs at least this much time to absorb all the delicious flavors of the marinade!
- If you are not doing the Whole30, you can replace the Medjool date with 2 tsp of maple syrup to sweeten the bulgogi sauce. Or if you are eating low carb, you can replace it with 2 tsp of monk fruit sweetener.
- For both the stovetop or air fryer steak bites, cook the meat pieces in a single layer so they cook evenly and yield the best texture. This means you may need to cook the meat in 2 batches for either method.
- The suggested cooking times will cook the steak bites to medium rare to medium. If you like your steak well done, I would add a few more minutes of cooking time to each method.
- For extra spice, garnish with red pepper flakes.
Serving Tips
These Korean steak bites can served alone as an appetizer on toothpicks. However, if you are serving these as a meal, here are some delicious sides to serve them with:
- cauliflower rice
- roasted broccoli
- steam green beans
- mashed potatoes
- kimchi or radish kimchi
- Korean side dishes from Korean Paleo
However you serve these juicy and flavorful Korean steak bites, they are guaranteed to be a hit and please even the pickiest eaters!
Storage Tips
Store leftover steak bites in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat the leftovers in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes or the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
Unfortunately no! Unless you’re cooking low and slow in a crockpot, I do not recommend using stew meat (which is typically chuck roast) because it is very tough. More tender steak cuts will work best for this recipe.
More Delicious Asian Recipes
Whole30 Mongolian Beef (Paleo, Keto, AIP Option)
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Paleo & Whole30 Sesame Chicken – Stovetop & Air Fryer Method
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Easy Korean Steak Bites (Stovetop or Air Fryer)
Ingredients
- 1½ lb sirloin steak or ribeye, strip steak, or tenderloin
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or your favorite cooking oil, for stovetop method
- For garnish: Sesame seeds and chopped green onions omit sesame seeds for AIP
Marinade
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil or olive oil for AIP
- 4 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 pitted medjool date OR 2 tsp maple syrup for non-Whole30
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- Optional: 2 tsp gochugaru (Korean chili pepper flakes) – omit for AIP
Instructions
- Cut the steak into 1 inch cubes or bite-sized pieces and place in a resealable bag.
- Place all ingredients for the marinade in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour over the steak, seal the bag, and massage the steak to coat. Place in the fridge to marinate for 2 hours to overnight.
- Remove from fridge and drain the steak. Discard the marinade.
Stovetop Method
- Heat avocado oil on a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Once the pan is sizzling hot, add the steak pieces in a single layer and sear for 2 minutes.
- Flip the steak pieces and cook for another 2 minutes until cooked through and golden brown.
- Remove from heat and garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onions before serving.
Air Fryer Method
- Preheat the air fryer at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Add the steak bites to the air fryer in a single layer. You may need to cook them in 2 batches to do this.
- Cook for 10 minutes, flipping the pieces halfway through.
- Remove from the air fryer once golden brown and cooked through. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onions before serving.
Video
Notes
Expert Tips
- I highly recommend marinating these steak bites for at least 2 hours. The meat really needs at least this much time to absorb all the delicious flavors of the marinade!
- If you are not doing the Whole30, you can replace the Medjool date with 2 tsp of maple syrup to sweeten the bulgogi sauce. Or if you are eating low carb, you can replace it with 2 tsp of monk fruit sweetener.
- For both the stovetop or air fryer steak bites, cook the meat pieces in a single layer so they cook evenly and yield the best texture. This means you may need to cook the meat in 2 batches for either method.
- The suggested cooking times will cook the steak bites to medium rare to medium. If you like your steak well done, I would add a few more minutes of cooking time to each method.
- For extra spice, garnish with red pepper flakes.
Serving Tips
These Korean steak bites can served alone as an appetizer on toothpicks. However, if you are serving these as a meal, here are some delicious sides to serve them with:- cauliflower rice
- roasted broccoli
- steam green beans
- mashed potatoes
- kimchi or radish kimchi
- Korean side dishes from Korean Paleo
Storage Tips
Store leftover steak bites in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat the leftovers in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes or the microwave for 1-2 minutes.Regarding other affiliate links and affiliate relationships: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Thank you for your support and understanding.
I’m so exited to try this in my air fryer! It looks so good!
I love these! Each bite is tender, juicy and full of so much flavor!
Thanks so much for the additional tips on making these bites. Will surely be making it soon.
Love how easy this is! I have all the marinade ingredients so I can’t wait to try this.
These were so good, but super easy! Definitely going to be added to regular rotation in our house
So easy! And I’m a new cook. My korean husband was so impressed and asked to add it to our rotation
Ah that’s the best review. Thanks so much!
Thanks to this recipe I‘ve recently moved up the ranks to “most popular” at dinner. I used to be “least likely to succeed”…
Made a double batch of marinade and did both filet and chicken. Yummy!
Amazing idea!!
Amazing! Did the stove top version and we absolutely loved it! Will make again!!😋
Yay, thank you so much!!
Hello! I just found your site recently and am so glad I did. I’ve been working out some autoimmune issues for almost a year so I find your site helpful and encouraging.
I have the meat marinading for the night. Would you have an idea of how to cool this in an instant pot? Or would that not be recommended.
Because it cooks fast fast, I wouldn’t recommend the Instant Pot. It might cook down the meat too much (like a tender roast instead of steak) unless you just use the sauté function of the Instant Pot.
So excited, I just received your cookbook Korean Paleo! I want to make this recipe For tomorrow nights dinner but only have beef stew meat. Will that be okay to use?
Thank You,
DeeDee
Yes, I think it will!
So good!!!
Thank you so much!
This was absolutely amazing. I could not find the Korean chili flakes so I just used red pepper flakes and it was really good. I will definitely be putting this in the meal rotation! Yum Yum
Amazing! So glad it worked out. Thanks for leaving a review!
Incredible! I did them stove-top this time, but am excited to try them again in the air fryer. So so delicious.
This was so yummy even the baby gobbled it up! I didn’t have time to marinate so I just made the sauce to serve on the side. Can’t wait to make it again! Just found your website and I’m drooling over all your recipes!
Instant hit with the family! This is definitely going into our meal rotation. I didn’t have aminos, but I subbed in soy sauce and it turned out great. I love that most of the prep is done ahead of time so that the cooking step at the end is super fast.
Made this tonight and loved it! Did the air fryer method and timing was perfect for medium rare. Will become part of our regular dinner rotation.
Wanting to try this, I’m currently on AIP and sesame oil is not compliant, what oil would you swap for this recipe? (FYI sesame seeds and red pepper flakes are also something that would need to be omitted for AIP since this is listed as AIP compliant)
I specify in the recipe to use olive oil. But avocado oil also works!
Hi! I made this last weekend for meal prep, but found it to be incredibly salty. We are not huge salt users so, in all fairness we are a bit salt sensitive. Would recommend anything to reduce the salt flavor? I want this to be something in my meal prep rotation! I just know it’s great!
Hi! You can just use less coconut aminos, even halve it if you are especially sensitive. Hope it works out!