Hankered for some steak but not the 300-gm slab of meat that I usually drown in peppercorn sauce. Not today. I wanted a steak with a bit of finesse, flavorful but not intimidating on my plate. And no, I don’t want a filet mignon either!
Then it hit me. I remembered a recipe from one of my Valli Little cookbooks. It did call for eye-fillet steak, which is filet mignon in Australia, marinated in soy, ginger and Szechuan pepper, chargrilled to medium rare, and cut up into cubes before being drizzled with a chili-cilantro dressing. My version, I decided, will feature my favorite beef cut: sirloin.
So I raided my brother’s spice cupboard, ground up some authentic Szechuan peppercorns, marinated the meat and prepared the dressing. I erred on the side of caution and made a bowl of cool cumin-scented cucumber raita, just in case my kid couldn’t handle the heat. In any case, I could always offer him a cup of mango ice cream I had whipped up a few hours earlier but I’m digressing.
After a few forkfuls of spicy, hot, cool and lemony things that happily played with my taste buds, I sat back feeling my lips break into a grin, sated. Oh, did I mention I ate two plates of rice with those little buggers? Talk about finesse!
xxx
Karima
Deviled Steak Cubes
Serves 4 (Adapted from Delicious: 5 of the Best)
Ingredients:
| 2 tbs | soy sauce |
| 1 tsp | Szechuan peppercorns, ground |
| 1 tsp | grated fresh ginger |
| 2 | garlic cloves, grated |
| 1/2 cup | vegetable oil |
| 500 g | sirloin, well trimmed |
| 1/2 cup | seasoned rice vinegar |
| 1/4 cup | brown sugar, packed |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| 2 med | red chilies, seeded and chopped |
| 3 tbs | fresh cilantro, chopped |
Method:
In a shallow glass casserole, combine soy, ground peppercorns, ginger, garlic and vegetable oil. Add the steak and marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Stir the rice vinegar and sugar over low heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in the salt. Let cool then add in the chili and cilantro. Set aside.
Heat the barbeque or chargrill on high. Cook the steaks 2 minutes on each side, just til medium rare.
Rest the steaks for a couple of minutes then cut into cubes. Pile on a plate and drizzle with the dressing. Garnish with more chopped cilantro and serve with rice and cucumber raita.
