Steak with Japanese Grated Onion Sauce 香煎牛排佐和風洋蔥醬

The photos don't do it justice showing how delicious the steak and grated onion sauce combo can be. So please don't let the darkened sauce all over fool you, that brownish color actually holds the key to flavors. That means I've cooked the grated onion enough, fully brought out the sweetness from the onion, also fully bound the ingredients with seasonings.

Steak with Japanese grated onion sauce 香煎牛排佐和風洋蔥醬 - 

Ingredients?

• 1 medium thickness steak
• 1 onion (I used white onion)
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Small bundle cilantro
• 2 tablespoons ponzu sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

How?

Let the steak rest under room temperature for at least 10 minutes. Salt and pepper on both sides.

Chop the cilantro. Peel and grate half of the onion, set aside for later use.

Have a bowl ready and in there add one peeled and grated garlic, 2 tablespoons of ponzu sauce, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of honey. Mix till blended.

Have a pan ready, for steak I would say preferably stainless steel or cast iron. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oile and add in 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Switch to medium to medium high heat and wait till the butter nearly all melted.

Transfer the steak over. Don't move it around at first, just wait till the bottom gets a good sear. Meanwhile you can tilt the pan and baste the top with melted butter. Anyways, just prepare a steak like what you'd normally do.

Once the steak is ready and reaches your desired doneness, remove to a cutting board and let the steak rest for 5 to 10 minutes. After that, slice and transfer to serving plate.

Still using the same pan with residual oil, now switch to medium heat. Add in grated onion and cook till slightly darkened.

Pour in the sauce mixture. Stir and cook till the sauce has been reduced a bit, the color will darken even more. Pour that sauce all over sliced steak and garnish with chopped cilantro.

I used stainless steel pan this time. However, if you've been visiting my blog then you'll know that I often use non-stick pan instead. First of all, different pan works better for certain dishes, so I usually use either stainless steel or cast iron when cooking steak.

Then let's talk about non-stick cookware. There are some voices regarding the dangers of non-stick pan. Especially when use in very high heat or the surface got scratches, some toxic can be released as a result. 

However, the non-stick cookware are so easy to work with, easy cleaning too, so such material is still favored by many people, I myself as one. My point is you have to know what you're dealing with, making sure to use the right utensils like a wooden spatula when handling it, then you can enjoy the goods of non-stick cookware without any health hazards. 

As a result, I'm not against non-stick cookware at all, just the person who uses it have to know how to handle the cookware correctly. And be "generous" to toss the scratched non-stick cookware away. Don't be like one or two scratches are ok, strictly follow the rules then you can be worry-free to use whatever works the best for you in the kitchen. 

Other beefy recipes:

• Braised beef shanks 滷牛腱
• Sloppy Joes
• Pickled chilies and beef stir-fry 剁椒牛肉

Salmon and Quinoa Rice Stuffed Fried Tofu Pouches

Inari age, the "age" part is pronounced as "aa geh" instead of age like talking about how old you are. This Japanese ingredient is basically fried tofu pouches.

I usually use the inari age like a thick sheet of tofu, mostly sliced to strips then add to my dishes. However, to fully utilize its "pouchy" character, it's extra fun when you actually stuff something inside. The pouch can be closed or opened depending on the style of food you're making. As per my recipe here, it's an opened fried tofu pouch stuffed with quinoa rice and roasted salmon.

Salmon and quinoa rice stuffed fried tofu pouches - 

Ingredients (for six pouches)?

• 6 pieces inari age いなり揚げ
• 220 grams salmon
• 2 strings scallion
• Some cooked quinoa rice (or simply white rice)
• Some salt 
• Some black pepper

How? 

Precook the white rice. I added some quinoa mainly for its nutritional value. Destem and chop the scallion. 

Transfer salmon to a baking sheet lined with foil. Season both sides of the salmon fillet with some salt and black pepper. Use more salt and pepper than usual because this will be the main source of saltiness.

Let the salmon rest for five minutes, meanwhile preheat the oven to 390 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius. Once ready, transfer salmon to the oven and bake till fully cooked, mine took about 25 minutes.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil then add in the fried tofu pouches.

Cook for no longer than a minute, just to soften the pouches a bit while drawing out some oil at the same time. Drain and pat dry with paper towel. Bring out just one chopstick. Use it like a rolling pin to roll the pouches to further flatten them. However, make sure not to cause any opening holes.

Use a scissor and cut a slit on on side, that way you'll get a pouch with one opening.

By now the salmon should be fully cooked, remove the salmon from the oven and peel-off the skin if any. Tear the fish to smaller pieces and mix with chopped scallion. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Stuff some rice to the fried tofu pouches, about half way through. Then fold in the openings inward, that way you'll get a smoother rounded openings on top.

Stuff in more rice, about 80% full then top the rice with generous amount of salmon and scallion mixture. 

I like the simple taste of it, especially when very good salmon was used. Also this dish doesn't have be to served hot. As long as the quality holds, eating it under room temperature is delicious too. In fact, I think that way you get to enjoy bouncier bite of the rice.

If you prefer something heavier or saltier, you can drizzle some sauce all over, I think Japanese mayonnaise or Sriracha would be two good options, or if teriyaki sauce is available, that would be great too. 

Other recipes using inari age いなり揚げ:

• Pork bamboo shoot and shiitake takikomi gohan 炊き込みご飯
• Hijiki and inari age onigiri 羊栖菜豆皮飯糰