My Mom Swears By This Brilliant Trick for THE Best Steak (It’s Life-Changing!)

When Vietnamese people hear “sweetened condensed milk,” images of Vietnamese coffee, flan, shaved ice, and smashed avocado come to mind. When I was growing up, I saw my mom scrape the remnants from a can of sweetened condensed milk and add it to her meat marinade. At the time I thought it was her frugal nature — a byproduct of living through the Vietnam war and post-war era when food was scarce. She only had three ingredients in her pantry to use as a sweetener: granulated sugar, palm sugar, and sweetened condensed milk. She didn’t have anything “fancy” like honey, maple syrup, or molasses.

It wasn’t until I was in college and started cooking that I came to understand the food science behind why using sweetened condensed milk is a great hack for caramelizing meat. Through the Maillard reaction — in which both protein and sugar interact when exposed to heat — the meat develops a beautiful, caramelized crust with a complex flavor.

Sweetened condensed milk is made from fresh milk, with 60% of water removed and sugar added, resulting in a thick syrup with 40 to 50% sugar. The high sugar content lends sweetness to the savory marinade and helps caramelize the meat when cooked at high heat. My mom used sweetened condensed milk in place of sugar in meat marinades — especially for beef, pork, and chicken. She made a simple marinade with Maggi seasoning, oyster sauce, sweetened condensed milk, sesame oil, garlic, and freshly ground pepper. Making a similar marinade with granulated sugar can lead to steak that is easily burnt or has an acrid flavor. My mother’s marinade created the most flavorful steak, with the perfect balance of savory and subtle sweetness, whether it was grilled or cooked in a cast iron pan on the stovetop.    

1. Make the marinade. In a small sauce bowl, add 1/4 cup of Maggi seasoning, 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon chopped garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Whisk all the ingredients until well-combined.
2. Marinate the protein. Pour the marinade over the protein (you could use steak, chicken, or pork) and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. Make sure the marinade covers the meat; otherwise you will need to turn it halfway to make sure the marinade gets absorbed equally. 
3. Scale your recipe. This quantity is enough for 1 pound of protein. You can scale the recipe up if you’re cooking more than 1 pound of meat.
4. Don’t toss your marinade. Cook the marinade over low heat until it becomes syrupy, and drizzle it over your protein.

• Try different types of fish sauce, soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, or salt in the marinade. Each of these ingredients brings a different degree of salinity that will affect the flavor of the final marinade.
• Experiment with various aromatics, spices, and herbs. These ingredients will enhance the flavor of your recipe. For an extra-garlicky kick, try grating the garlic instead of chopping or passing it through a garlic press.
• Play around with different amounts of sweetened condensed milk to achieve the desired sweetness. Start with a small amount and adjust to taste.

This article originally published on The Kitchn. See it there: My Mom Swears By This Brilliant Trick for THE Best Steak (It’s Life-Changing!)