Y’all remember when I posted a photo of these steak bowls a while back…. and then said I’d write a blog with the recipe? Probably not because it was a looooong time ago (so sorry!), but here it is, as promised and well worth the wait, if I do say so myself. They had a base of brown rice, marinated steak, a sesame cucumber salad, and bok choy.
I love a good meal out of a bowl… in fact, if you ask my husband or mom, you will quickly find that I eat most of my meals out of a bowl. I even have a special bowl at my mom’s house. I guess the fact that I don’t mind mixing everything together helps with this… I’ll put the hot food on the cold salad without hesitation. It probably also stems from the fact that I tend to eat salads a lot… at least as the base for what I am eating. Covid times have gotten me a bit out of this habit and I am working back to it.
Just writing about this recipe is making me want to have it again — y’all, it was SO GOOD. I pulled inspiration from multiple recipes, so I am including the Gretchen version of what I did. Honestly, I can’t remember what type of steak I used — if I had to guess, I would say a rib eye. Whatever it is, you will want something that can withstand a bit of a marinade…anything that tends to be a little tougher will be perfect!
As for the grain (base), you can mix that up. We used brown rice, but you are not at all limited here. You can use white rice, quinoa, couscous, farro…. or any combination of these. It’s perfectly fine to use something that was cooked prior and to reheat it. I find that, depending on the grain, one of the best ways is to dish up the amount you want, cover it with a damp paper towel, and microwave it just until warm. This trick is especially helpful for rice, but the other grains tend to be more forgiving.
You can also mix it up if you don’t have bok choy on hand. Honestly, any greens will do…. the heartier ones will be a little better as they will not get soggy… and no greens also works. This is a good time to use up some “almost time to toss” greens you have in the fridge.
Alright… recipe time! Thanks for understanding that formatting this was tricky — I did the best I could and hope you can follow. Please comment with any questions!
Asian Style Steak Bowl
- Steak, we used Rib Eye, flank steak works well too — approximately 4 oz per person… if you have extra, not a problem, this is great leftover!
- Marinade (for 1 lb steak):
- 1 1/2 cups soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- juice of 1 lime (approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons)
- Slice up steak…. Mix all marinade ingredients…. put steak into marinade and store in the refrigerator. The steak should marinade for about 1 hour… more is fine, but I wouldn’t recommend more than about 4 hours.
- Meanwhile, you will want to prepare the rice (or grain base)… follow package directions.
- You can also prepare the sesame cucumber salad now. For this you will need:
- 1 1/2 cups of shredded cabbage (you can use red, green or a mix (what I used)… you can also use “slaw mix” from the store)
- 1 large cucumber, sliced into half moons
- 1 large carrot, peeled and then thinly sliced or shredded
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil (toasted if you have it)
- 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame seeds (this is optional, but I HIGHLY recommend it!)
- Prepare the vegetables and mix together in a bowl… Prepare the remaining ingredients, minus the sesame seeds (the dressing) and mix them together separately… Toast the sesame seeds (be careful not to burn them as they go from not done to burnt in 0.2 seconds!)… Mix the dressing, vegetables, and sesame seeds together. I recommend allowing this to sit for about 30 minutes before eating – it helps the flavors meld. Taste before serving and adjust to your liking.
- Now it is time to cook the steak… Searing the steak over high heat is my preferred method. You want it done to your liking (medium-rare here) with a little crisp on the outside! You can remove the steak from the marinade to cook, but it’s nice to drizzle a little of the marinade on as it is cooking (be sure it cooks enough to kill any icky stuff in there!)
- If you are using greens, I steamed them when the steak was just about done. This only takes about a minute — you want them to still have a vibrant green color and crispness! I seasoned with some salt as well.
- Time for assembly!! Spoon some brown rice in your bowl…. add your steak… add some cucumber salad and your greens! I like to top my with some extra toasted sesame seeds and a swirl of Sriracha…
- We also served this along with some steamed edamame. This is an easy way to make your meal feel very fancy. You can buy the in pod edamame at the grocery store — you steam them and toss them with plenty of coarse salt. They are fun ‘finger food’ appetizer or pairing with the meal!
Happy cooking. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this recipe!
xoxo, Gretchen
This sounds delicious!
You should try it and let me know what you think!