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Asian Infused Steak

14 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Beef, Dinner

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Sometimes a bargain can’t pass me by.  The other day I was in a local supermarket and they had a couple of sirloin steaks reduced to a silly price.  Now I’ve worked in a butchers before and these were fantastic steaks (proper marbling of fat for that full flavour, and a good thickness too) and really nothing wrong with them at all.  I just had to have them.

Thing is a plain steak can be a bit dull, even a bit of sauce (pepper for preference, or a Madeira) didn’t seem that appealing to me.  I actually wanted something with an asian influenced flavouring, so I made one up.

Asian Marinated Steak

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  • 2 Thick cut sirloin steaks
  • 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp sherry
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 3 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1-2inch root ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1.5 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
  • 2 tbsp soft brown sugar

Directions

  1. Okay before we start lets talk the marinade.  This is almost a perfect teriyaki sauce.  Change the garlic infused oil for sesame oil, and really the sherry should be Japanese rice wine.  Mind you I never have seem to have rice wine when I want it, but I always have some Harvey’s Bristol Cream which I’ve used as a substitute for years, and everyone seems to love the flavour it gives.  Also, to be honest, I use a lot of ginger…probably about a good 2 inch chunk (at least).  No apologies, I love the taste and actually it worked really really well.
  2. So, in a jug add all the ingredients except the steak and mix well.
  3. Either put the steaks in a dish and pour over the marinade, or get a seal-able plastic bag and add the steaks and the marinade.  Leave in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours.  I left mine overnight which I have to say meant the flavour really sunk in (but it did discolour the beef).IMG_0207
  4. On a griddle pan, or a grill or frying pan.  Cook the steaks until medium-rare – anything else is just criminal to be honest.
  5. Take off the pan, rest for a few moments, slice and eat with whatever you like.  A stir fry of sugar snap peas and red pepper might be nice.  Mine is shown with some new baby potatoes and a simple salad of tomatoes and cucumber…..and very nice it was too I have to say.

Okay this isn’t complicated cooking, and honestly doesn’t really look too impressive.  But the flavours are simply amazing – the beef after 24 hours marinating was so soft and tender it just melted –  and it was such a simple idea.  What’s more it created so many other ideas for me.  I didn’t have any fresh chilli in the house, but that or dried flakes would have spiced up the marinade.  How about a few spoonfuls of plum or chilli jam?  Fresh coriander? Lemongrass?

Like all the best ideas this one idea has spawned so many more.  Suddenly I have half a dozen combinations and now a simple steak suddenly has so many possibilities.

Oh and the other steak didn’t go to waste.  I finely sliced it and added to a mixed salad to make a fantastic lunch. (okay I had a bit more left over and in a crusty bread roll with onion marmalade it made an even better late night snack)

Thai-style Mussels for Supper

10 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Seafood, Starter, Supper

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I am a fan of seafood, and shellfish in particular and the other week for lunch at The Outsider in Edinburgh they served up classic mussels with a side of fries which was just delicious.
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So on my travels today I decided that for supper I’d make some for myself.  I was also thinking ahead to a weekend coming up with a few friends at a loch-side cabin.  What better lunch that a huge plate of mussels and bread to soak up all the alcohol we’ll be consuming?

Thai-style Mussels (for 4)

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  • 2kg mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
  • bunch of spring onions (or half dozen shallots)
  • 2 lemongrass stalks, outer layers removed and chopped
  • 2-3 inch chunk of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2-4 garlic gloves, roughly chopped
  • 2-4 red chillies, roughly chopped + 1 more to serve
  • Large bunch coriander
  • groundnut or other flavourless oil
  • 400 ml tin coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 lime, juiced + 1 to serve

Directions

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  1. Clean the mussels and run under cold water, tapping and discarding any that don’t open.  With mussels, any that are open before cooking should be thrown away, any that are closed after cooking should also be thrown away.
  2. Place the onions, lemongrass, chilli, ginger, garlic and coriander roots into a food processor and blitz to a paste (a bit of water can help).
  3. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in as large a pot as you have.  Add in the paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.  Then add the coconut milk, fish sauce and lime juice and bring to a simmer.  Don’t let it over cook of you could split the coconut milk.
  4. Add in the mussels, place a lid on and steam for 3-4 minutes until they are all open (remembering to discard those that don’t).
  5. Place the mussels into bowls and scatter with fresh chopped coriander and sliced red chilli and serve with lots of fresh crusty bread to soak up all the flavours.

Okay cleaning mussels takes time, but this is just delicious.  A huge bowl shared with friends is a great starter to a meal, or just as a light lunch.  The garlic, ginger and chilli are all guidelines so add as much or as little as you like (too be honest err on the generous side).  I did this with just 2 red chillies, and while I don’t like too much heat it wasn’t quite enough and the flavour can handle 4 no problems, the coconut milk help to smooth the heat out.

If you don’t have all the fresh ingredients to hand, you could try replacing the ginger/chilli/garlic paste with a couple of tablespoons of good shop-bought red thai curry paste which would still give a fabulous flavour.

Chicken for supper, with a Japanese twist

24 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by in Chicken

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Having friends round for a party means lots of buffet food and I’m always looking out for ideas for something different or new.  I noticed in the shops lots of places doing yakitori chicken skewers, sounded interesting but I wasn’t impressed by what you got for the price, so I made my own and very nice they were too.

However I took the sauce and turned it into a very nice supper.

Yakitori Chicken with Coriander Rice

For the sauce

Yakitori Chicken and coriander rice

  • 1/2 sup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup mirin
  • 1/4 cup sake
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • Fresh ginger, chopped (about 1 inch worth)
  • 1 tbsp cornflour (plus a little water)

For the rest

  • Boneless, skinless chicken thighs (2-3/person)
  • 50-60g rice/person
  • handful of chopped coriander
  • 1 tsp tumeric

Directions(for the sauce)

  1. In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, sugar, mirin, sake (I didn’t have any so I used 50/50 sherry/white wine), garlic and ginger.
  2. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar and then cook over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes.
  3. Mix the cornflour with a little water.
  4. Stir the cornflour mixture into the soy sauce mix and cook until thickened, stirring constantly.
  5. Strain the sauce and refrigerate until required.

I used the sauce for buffet food initially, adding some of it to diced chicken thigh in a seal-able bag and leaving this in the fridge to marinate overnight.  I then threaded onto mini-skewers and baked for about 18 minutes and served as part of the buffet.

For supper I took the whole chicken thigh and covered in a couple of tablespoons of the sauce and left for about 20 minutes (you could leave overnight).

I then griddled the chicken until cooked, brushing a little more sauce on towards the end.

For the rice I just cooked as per the packet, but added the tumeric to the water.  This gives the rice a lovely golden colour, and once drained forked through a bit of chopped coriander leaf.

I served the chicken up on a bed of the rice and drizzled a bit more of the sauce around the plate.  It was really delicious.  The sauce has a sweet, yet savoury tang to it that is really nice.  It would make a fabulous stir-fry sauce (I added a few teaspoons to fresh noodles as a side dish and was lovely too).

It would make a great sauce for barbecues as well.  I can see me making this a lot.

Note:  I know it’s sad I looked this up, but yakitori describes the method of cooking chicken on a skewer, and not the sauce itself (its really a tare sauce) but it will always be yakitori sauce to me 🙂