I came up with the recipe for these Japanese Steak bowls recently as I had two beautiful looking grass fed 300gm scotch fillet steaks and there were four of us. Now don’t be alarmed, I can easily polish off a 300gm Rib Eye on my own, no questions asked, but I couldn’t be bothered going to the shop and truth be told, 150gm is an ample amount of protein. I am just somewhat of a glutton. I also used a bit of a cheat as I happened to have a family sized pack of the already cooked brown rice that literally takes two and a half minutes to heat up, instead of 45 minutes to cook. Admittedly, I am not as much of a fan of this rice as much as I am the freshly cooked, absorption method variety but they are a brilliant time saver for those in a hurry and the portion size is bang on.
These Japanese Steak Bowls were so easy to make and apart from marinating the steak for about an hour (you could do this before work) they were literally on the table in under half an hour. They were laden with all the goodness of a variety of fresh vegetables and your typical Japanese pantry staples (except for a jar of Japanese pickles my son bought me but I will give you an alternative for those) and I have a feeling they will be on high rotation at my place as they were given a massive high five by the family.
My son bought me a delicious Japanese pickle of cabbage and beetroot that resembled kimchi but was slightly sweeter but still had a good amount of kick. If I needed to substitute I would use kimchi but would add a little pickled ginger juice to sweeten it up slightly. This is totally optional as the pickled ginger on its own is equally good. The other fabulous thing about this recipe is that I have bought all of the ingredients for the Japanese Steak Bowls at your average supermarket in the Asian section. If you live remotely, you can always find these ingredients on line.
Prep time: 20 Minutes
Cooking time: 20 Minutes
$$ Medium Budget
Serves 4
For the Japanese Steak Bowls:
2 x 300gm Scotch Fillet Steaks (you could use sirloin, rump or eye fillet if you prefer)
2 tsp of white miso paste
1/2 a cup of light soy sauce
1/2 a cup of mirin
1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar
2 tsp of finely grated ginger
2 tsp of sesame oil
For the Rice:
1 family sized packet of precooked short brown rice (or 2 cups of freshly cooked brown rice)
2 tbs of mirin
Furikake seasoning for sprinkling (available in the Asian section of the supermarket)
For the Vegetables & Garnish:
2 soft boiled eggs, peeled and halved
1 bunch of broccolini, bottom ends removed and then sliced on the diagonal
1 1/2 cups of edamame beans (I buy the already peeled variety in the freezer section and literally blanch them for about two minutes in boiling water)
4 radishes, very thinly sliced and then cut into matchsticks
2 spring onions sliced
4 tbs of Japanese pickled ginger
4 tsp of wasabi paste
4 tsp of Kewpie mayonnaise
Togarashi chilli powder for sprinkling on the eggs (optional but totally adds another amazing element to the dish)
Micro herbs for garnish (optional)
To prepare the steak, place all of the ingredients for the marinade in a shallow dish and mix to combine. Place the steaks in the dish and spoon the marinade over so the steaks are completely covered and pop in the fridge for at least half an hour but the longer the better. You may want to turn them over at the half way mark so they marinate evenly.
Place your radish and finely sliced spring onion in a bowl of iced water so they are really crisp, drain before serving.
Heat a BBQ or griddle pan to a high heat and cook the steaks on each side for approximately 6 minutes for medium rare (obviously this depends on the thickness of your steak and ours were about one and a half inches thick) and when turning the steak, drizzle over the marinade. Once cooked, allow to rest on a plate before slicing.
While the steaks are resting, cook the rice according to packet instructions and then place in a heat proof bowl. Pour in the mirin, season with a little salt & pepper and toss with a fork. Steam the broccolini until just tender and now is the time to blanch the edamame.
To serve the Japanese Steak Bowls, divide the rice between four bowls, over to one side and sprinkle over a good amount of Furikake seasoning. Slice the steaks about 1 cm thick and lay the steak slices opposite the rice, drizzle over any juices then spoon in the blanched and drained edamame beans and steamed broccolini. Top the bowls with half a soft boiled egg and sprinkle with Togorashi chilli. Lastly, pile a good amount of the radish and spring onion salad on top with micro herbs, the kimchi and pickled ginger if you are using and then squeeze the wasabi & kewpie mayonnaise on the side. You could also place these in the centre of the table and everyone can help themselves.
If you are partial to this kind of Bowl Food, you should definitely check out these recipes!