Vietnamese Caramel Skirt Steak

Name: Vietnamese Caramel Skirt Steak
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 32 min
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 1½ pounds skirt steak; 2 tablespoons fish sauce; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice; 1 tablespoon neutral oil; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper; ½ teaspoon grated ginger; ½ cup fresh mint leaves; ½ cup Thai basil leaves; 1 small red chile, thinly sliced

Published by Fork Around & Find Out Kitchen — presented in the Lila editorial voice. Editorial standards

Quick Answer

Vietnamese Caramel Skirt Steak marinates skirt in fish sauce and brown sugar, sears it fast, and tosses the slices with fresh mint, Thai basil, and chile.

Jump to Recipe

Fish sauce and brown sugar on steak may sound like two people who should not share an office, but over high heat they make an excellent caramelized crust. Skirt steak has enough beefiness to stand up to that sweet-salty marinade, while lime, garlic, ginger, and cracked black pepper keep the flavor sharp rather than sticky-sweet.

Marinate for about 20 minutes, then grill or sear over high heat for only a few minutes per side. Skirt steak is thin and fast; treating it like a roast is how you turn a flavorful cut into a belt. Rest it for eight minutes, slice thinly across the grain, and toss with fresh mint, Thai basil, and sliced chile right before serving. The herbs are not decoration—they cool and brighten the caramelized beef. This is steak with contrast in every direction: sweet, salty, charred, herbal, spicy, and sour.

Prep20 minutes

Cook12 minutes

Total32 minutes

Serves4 servings

DifficultyEasy

Ingredients

Servings

1½ pounds skirt steak
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon neutral oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon grated ginger
½ cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup Thai basil leaves
1 small red chile, thinly sliced

Instructions

1Mix the fish sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, oil, garlic, pepper, and ginger.
2Coat the steak and marinate for 20 minutes.
3Heat a grill or grill pan over high heat. Cook the steak for 3–5 minutes per side.
4Transfer to a board and rest for 8 minutes.
5Slice thinly across the grain. Toss with the mint, basil, and sliced chile before serving.

Nutrition Information

Estimated per serving: 1 of 4 servings.

500Calories

45 gProtein

10 gCarbohydrates

32 gTotal Fat

11 gSaturated Fat

1 gFiber

7 gTotal Sugars

950 mgSodium

135 mgCholesterol

Estimated from the ingredients and quantities in this recipe using standard food-composition values. Brand choices, trimming, cooking loss, optional ingredients, and actual portion size can change the numbers. How we calculate nutrition estimates.

Pro Tips

Skirt steak is thin — cook it hot and fast. Two or three minutes a side is plenty, and anything longer turns it tough.
Slice thin and against the grain. Skirt has a very pronounced grain, and this is the single biggest factor in tenderness.
Toss the herbs in while the steak is warm, not hot. Warm wilts them just enough; hot cooks them into sludge.

Substitutions

fish sauce → soy sauce plus a splash of Worcestershire You lose some funk but keep the salty-savory backbone.

Thai basil → regular basil plus a few cilantro leaves Thai basil has an anise note; the combo approximates it.

skirt steak → flank or hanger steak Both take the marinade well; flank is a bit thicker, so add a minute per side.

Storage Instructions

Store leftover sliced steak in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It's excellent cold, so pile it over rice noodles or greens straight from the fridge.

Make Ahead

Mix the marinade a day ahead and marinate the steak up to 4 hours (skirt is thin, so it doesn't need long). Chop the herbs just before serving so they stay fresh.

Freezing

Freeze the raw steak in its marinade for up to 2 months and thaw overnight in the fridge. Cooked steak freezes acceptably but the herbs are best added fresh.

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