I grew up eating meat jun all the time. Never in the home, but man oh man was it aways at least half of my Korean plate lunch that I’d get as a splurgy lunch. (The other half as usually kal-bi). Pile this up along side heaps of white rice, a ton of banchan (kimchi, panjeon – veggie pancake, and those vinegary potatoes for me please!) and it is basically my dream lunch. But what to do when there isn’t any nearby? Make homemade meat jun!
The funny thing about meat jun though is that it’s still relatively hard to find. It’s sort of Hawaiian, and it’s sort of Korean, but it’s not always served at either one of those restaurants outside of Hawaii. Eating in Hawaii is the most unique experience of anywhere I have been because the lines between different cultural foods are blurred. Chinese, Filipino, Korean and Hawaiian food are all served side by side, and are all slightly different than their original recipes. That being said, having moved to the mainland nearly a decade ago, I always have meat jun cravings. Always.
Mean jun is basically thinly sliced strips of marinated beef dredged in flour and egg, and pan fried. It’s a simple dish in the sense that it doesn’t require any wild ingredients, but the flavors are to die for. It’s sweet, it’s salty, and the final product is succulent.
This homemade meat jun is primarily focused on the marinade. If you slice your meat thinly enough, it soaks up the amazing flavors really, really well. The flour dredging and egg dipping is a pretty straight forward method and it’s really hard to get it wrong. Serve this along side a soy sauce based dipping sauce, a heaping pile of veggies and rice, and you have a wonderful, homemade “Hawaiian” comfort food meal.
Looking for more plate lunch inspiration? Try this Easy Baked Teriyaki Chicken or Korean Beef Bulgogi Bowls.
Homemade Meat Jun
Ingredients
Meat marinade
- 3/4 Cup soy sauce
- 1/4 Cup water
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil
- 1/3 Cup white sugar
- 4 Cloves garlic, minced
- 4 Stalks green onion, chopped
- 1 Pound sirloin or chuck roast, thinly sliced
Meat Jun
- 1/2 Cup all purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 Cup oil of choice
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all marinade ingredients and sliced beef. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
- Once meat is marinaded, place flour in one large dish, and eggs in a second dish. Scramble eggs with a fork. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat
- Using a fork, coat each slice of meat in flour, and then the egg, letting the excess egg drain off.
- Place in hot pan and cook about 1.5 minutes per side. Cook all of the meat in batches being sure not to over crowd the pan, and replacing oil if needed.
- Slice each piece of cooked meat jun into strips and serve hot.
Rose
February 3, 2018It turns out really salty but still good. I’d give it a 6/10
Eva Minette
February 6, 2018Using reduced sodium soy sauce or adding some extra water to the marinade is a great way to reduce the salt, if you prefer. Glad you enjoyed it!
Debbie Burke
April 23, 2018I’ve been cravi g this for over twent years. We lived in Hawaii since my husband was in the navy and never found a recipe till Now! I also can’t find the real teriyaki beef that you could get. I’ve tried a few over the years and never even close. Do you have one?
Eva Minette
April 24, 2018This is definitely one of those rare dishes that is hard to find outside of Hawaii, but it really is simple to make at home! Enjoy! Unfortunately I have not perfected that Hawaii teriyaki chicken, so no recipe for that just yet.
Vania fortunato
July 28, 2018A really tasty and easy chicken dish I make is shoyu miso chicken.. can be used with short ribs or steak also..
Equal parts shoyu, sugar, miso and beer ( I usually use bud weiser or bud light) and a couple pieces smashed garlic.. soak over night preferred and hibachi..
Also shoyu chicken.. equal parts shoyu( I use less sodium) ,brown sugar, pineapple chunks w/juice and some garlic.. can add some water if wanted but I usually just use the juice from the pineapples.. onolicious
Christine
November 24, 2020Did you buy your meat jun at Soon’s by the Aliamanu crater entrance? They also served those awesome tasting bean sprouts!
Mark
September 7, 2021Soon’s near Pearl Harbor at Salt Lake Plaza we hit that almost every Friday when in Port
John Kato
June 8, 2018Try a mixture of
one cup shoyu (soy sauce),
one cup mirin
half cup sugar
a couple smashed garlic cloves
grate an inch of ginger.
mix the wet ingredients. Put the meat into the mixture. Let the meat marinate for at least an hour. Best overnight. Cook the meat in a skillet.
For shoyu chicken, increase the wet ingredients 50% and put a couple pounds of chicken. Medium heat and allow the chicken to cook for at least 30 minutes.
Eva Minette
August 3, 2018I think the open flame / hibachi method adds that extra flavor to the chicken. Thanks for the suggestion, hope you enjoy the meat jun!
Vania fortunato
July 28, 2018This sounds really yummy.. I cook and sale plate lunches and needed a new dish idea to make, am definitely going to try this! Mahalo
Julie Andrade
March 2, 2020Just tried it and it was great the family love it , added more water and some mirin. Awesome👍🏼👍🏼
Jayrah Belin
April 23, 2020Great recipe. Thank you. Try boneless skinless chicken thighs, marinade: aloha shoyu. BBQ. DONE! Easiest most bestest recipe lol