Mirinade

I've been trying to change up the usual marinades that I use for steak and it hasn't been easy. I always push myself towards Asian so I thought I would put together an Asian marinade that's not like the pre-bottled hoisin/sesame/teriyaki/molasses baths you see in stores.
The marinade that I came up with is as follows (roughly):
1/2 c Mirin
1/4 c Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 c Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/4 c Canola Oil
2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Sambal
2 tsp Grated Ginger
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp Freshly Ground, Coarse Black Pepper

Again, that's just a rough guess at the eyeballing I did but I was trying to go heavier on acidity because mirin is sweeter.

The meat in question is flank. I cut a few today and decided to try a new method I learned from a meat cutting book I have. The flank is tenderized and is rolled with a small thin "stick" of suet that you can shape with your fingers (at around room temperature). The rolled flank is then tied and cut into filets.
I am marinating four filets and using two tonight and two tomorrow. This way I can see how the flavor develops and find out if it needs a long sit or if a short one is sufficient. I will report the results of both. Once the steaks are marinated, they'll be seared in a cast iron on high heat for 2 minutes per side and finish them in a preheated 330 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. After they're done cooking, they'll rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes. Sometimes I like to get fancy and leave a sliver of compound butter on resting steaks just to keep them juicy and add a light flavor to the final product. I anticipate that this marinade will not come through too strong (and especially with only 2-3 hours to sit) so I figured a compound butter would be good here but I decided against a traditional garlic/herb/citrus butter. To retain continuity, I decided to take some of the ingredients from the marinade and make a ginger chile butter. You can really just eyeball and taste this one as you go for your measurements.

Butter, 1 stick
Sambal
Grated Ginger
Soy Sauce
Toasted Sesame Oil (just a little bit. 1/4 tsp at most)

I am currently in the butter softening stage of this recipe execution so that's it for now. The results are forthcoming. I've got a good feeling about this one but I also have that feeling that if its not good, it will be pretty strange and maybe unpleasant.

The accompanying music for tonight comes from California:
Polarity by Decrepit Birth

Results:

2.5 Hour Marinade:

Perfection.

There's good news and better news. The good news? This marinade and compound butter combo are pretty incredible. The better news? I've got 2 more of these guys marinating for tomorrow night. 

Awesome flavor, good balance of savory and sweet with just enough heat.