I’ve seen a lot of good suggestions, but I wanted to point out the common theme that a marinade should have oil, salt, acid, and unami (savory/ meatiness).
So for asian style maybe sesame oil, vinegar, Soy sauce (Soy sauce does salt + unami).
Or my mum’s was orange juice, red wine, garlic, salt & pepper. I’d maybe add some Worcestershire sauce or olive brine for a bit extra unami, but smell it, taste it, go with your gut…
To clarify to your question, what’s inexpensive largely depends on what is already in your cupboards, but hitting those 4 areas will usually work out well.
I’ve seen a lot of good suggestions, but I wanted to point out the common theme that a marinade should have oil, salt, acid, and unami (savory/ meatiness). So for asian style maybe sesame oil, vinegar, Soy sauce (Soy sauce does salt + unami). Or my mum’s was orange juice, red wine, garlic, salt & pepper. I’d maybe add some Worcestershire sauce or olive brine for a bit extra unami, but smell it, taste it, go with your gut…
To clarify to your question, what’s inexpensive largely depends on what is already in your cupboards, but hitting those 4 areas will usually work out well.
In the short term. In the long term you are likely going to want to replace ingredients you like as you use them up.