This Secret Ingredient Made Julia Child's Flank Steak Marinade So Flavorful

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Julia Child may be famous for introducing Americans to French cuisine, but the celebrated cookbook author and TV personality didn't limit herself to French classics. She paired martinis with goldfish crackers and loved the popular fast food chain In-N-Out. French may not have even been her favorite cuisine: Julia Child loved Chinese food, though she never cooked it herself. Still, she kept at least one iconic Asian ingredient in her kitchen because soy sauce was an important part of her flank steak marinade.

Flank steak has a strong flavor which pairs well with a soy sauce marinade, and the enzymes in soy sauce help tenderize the meat, which is important for a dry, tough cut like flank steak. Child demonstrated the recipe in Season 5 of "The French Chef." After scoring a 2-pound flank steak, she chops three or four scallions while noting that shallots would work too. She combines the scallions with 1½ tablespoons of soy sauce, 1½ tablespoons of cooking oil, and "a little bit of herb." Child recommends thyme, but noted she was using an Italian seasoning mixture on the show. 

Finally, she adds pepper. "Or you could use some of that hot pepper salt," she explained. This is followed by a dash of lemon juice or wine. "You could use a regular wine marinade," she said, "but this one is very simple and nice." She poured the marinade over the steak and turned it to cover both sides before letting it marinate for 20 minutes.

By 1968, the year Child published the recipe in "The French Chef Cookbook," Americans were familiar with soy sauce. The soy sauce giant Kikkoman began marketing to Americans in the 1950s, and by the time the cookbook was released Kikkoman's U.S. sales had reached $2.5 million annually. But is it French?

"Soy sauce is delicious," Child explained on the show. "I don't think they use it much in France, but I think it is excellent for a marinade." Soy sauce isn't necessarily un-French, though. It was used in Louis XV's court as a salad dressing in the 1700s and became popular in Paris among the fashionable set shortly after. In other words, Child wasn't the first to pair soy sauce with French cuisine. Still, the recipe shows her ability and willingness to innovate. On "The French Chef," she stressed the ability to substitute and adapt the recipe to your own needs. Go ahead and take her attitude to heart next time you make a marinade.