Sesame Marinated Steak on Spinach and Soba Noodles

Ingredients:
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh green chili pepper, minced
1 lb tender beef steak (we used 1 inch thick piece of top round)
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine (sake)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, crushed*
1 tablepsoon lime juice
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 2 teaspoons of water
2 oz dried shiitake mushrooms

10 oz frozen spinach, defrosted and drained

soba noodles, cooked

Directions:
Place the steak, soy sauce, chili pepper, sake, sesame oil, lime juice, garlic, sesame seeds and green onions in a large ziplock bag and allow to marinate at least 45 minutes or up to overnight. While the steak is marinating soak 2 oz. dried shiitaki mushrooms in 1 cup hot water. Remove steak from marinade, reserving marinade, and sear on a hot pan. For a 1″ thick steak, cook on high heat for 2.5 minutes on each side for rare steak. Remove steak to a pan and cover with foil. Let sit for 5 minutes and then slice thinly. While steak is cooking, squeeze out mushrooms, reserving liquid, and chop them. Add the mushrooms, cornstarch and liquid to a sauce pan with the marinade. Bring sauce to a boil, cook for 5 minutes and then add the cornstarch mixture. To serve: thinly slice the steak and arrange on a bed of soba noodles and spinach**. Drizzle with sauce.

*This is easiest with a mortar and pestle. In lieu of that, you can crush them between two sheets of wax paper with a rolling pin.

**sauteing the spinach with some minced garlic and sesame seeds is a nice touch, but not entirely necessary.

My thoughts:

Some how the picture didn’t come out as appetizing as I would have hoped. I assure you, this was an entirely delicious meal. Dark soy sauce, which vaguely reminds me of some sort of molasses, is a bit strong tasting for dipping but is great for marinades. It imparts a lot of flavor in a relatively short period of time, which makes it great for weekday dinners. Every once in a while top round (some times called “london broil top round”) will go on sale for just under $2 a pound (it is generally about $7 per pound) and we always stock up. It freezes well and if you get a thinner cut, it defrosts rather quickly.

10 Comments

  1. looks good to me…

  2. Definetely tasty – and may I say that you know how to cook a steak! I love my steaks on the rare side, and don’t get why some people insist on cooking their steaks to within an inch of their lives!

  3. I disagree about your picture, I can taste it from here!

  4. Ooooooh! I’m running out for some spinach and Soba noodles right now!

    That is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in a while.

    I haven’t seen London Broil on sale since I left California and the auspices of my local Safeway. I wish they’d put it on sale here in Texas, but I’m sure the round roast I have will do the trick nicely.

    Thanks for posting!

  5. Rachel,

    You’re wrong about the photo! As soon as it popped up, I wanted to eat it!!!

  6. We’re making this right now. Is there a typo in the marinade ingredients? I don’t think the cornstarch goes in at that point, right? Isn’t it supposed to go in at the end as a thickener?

  7. looks brilliant. in fact, i love you entire blog and plan to try out some of the recipes.

  8. wow . . . sure looks tasty to me. thanks for the recommendation on cut of meat; i never know what to buy.

  9. Seeing your picture, reading through the recipe… I can see why this was such a hit! Looks great.

  10. It is tough to get those colors to blend well in any picture…however, your dish looks/sounds fab!