Dining alone? Stephen Harris of The Sportsman has the perfect recipe for solo diners, fancy enough to feel special, but simple enough to for a midweek dinner.
Serves: 1
Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 high-quality rib-eye steak, seasoned in advance
• knob of fresh ginger root, finely grated
• 1 large garlic clove, bruised and finely grated
• 1 chilli, finely chopped (use whatever suits your preferred heat levels – I use a jalapeño)
• 25 ml (1 fl oz/generous 11/2 tablespoons) light soy sauce
• 25 ml (1 fl oz/generous 11/2 tablespoons) mirin
• juice of 1 satsuma
• 1 bunch of spring onions (scallions), green and white parts chopped separately (lose the top green bits as they are tough)
• 1 small bunch of coriander (cilantro) chopped
• squeeze of lime juice
Method
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat, then place the steak in the pan on its side so that the fat renders. You may have to hold the steak in place. Cook until the fat is well browned and some of the fat has rendered into the pan.
- Now fry the steak on one side until nicely browned (I use a light weight like a saucepan to keep the steak in contact with the pan) for 4–5 minutes, then flip and cook for 1 minute on the other side. Remove the steak to a plate.
- Without reducing the heat, add the ginger, garlic, chilli and the green parts of the spring onion to the pan and fry them in the steak fat for about 1 minute, keeping the contents moving by shimmying the pan. Add the mirin and bring to the boil, then add the satsuma juice and again bring to the boil. Add the soy sauce and cook everything together for just a minute, then remove the pan from the heat.
- Slice the steak as thickly or thinly as you like, then add the juices from the plate to the pan along with the white parts of the spring onions and the chopped coriander. Stir everything together and add a squeeze of lime. Serve the steak with the sauce.
The Sportsman at Home, Flavoursome Recipes for Nostalgic Eating, by Stephen Harris, penguin.co.uk
