Fist of Kitchen presents… Eat it: China!

beef

• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. Szechuan peppercorns or husks
• 2 1-lb. beef ribeye steaks (should be a good 1" thick)
• 3 cloves garlic

sauce

• 1 tbsp. oil
• 2 c. onions
• 1 lb. fresh mushrooms (sliced thinly)
• 2 tbsp. shredded ginger
• 4 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 c. beef stock
• 1 c. mushroom or beef stock

Now we’ve really wandered off the range with Beef with Ginger and Mushrooms. It’s February, this is Wisconsin, and I want a steak. A 40° day will do. We’ve made it into a grilled rib-eye, and added a Szechuan peppercorn crust.

Drizzle 2 tbsp. soy sauce over one side of the steaks and pierce 40 times with a fork. Grind the Szechuan peppercorns in a spice grinder, mash the garlic, and make a crust on one side of the steaks. Let the meat come to room temperature ½ hour before grilling (no cold beef on the grill).

Build a white-hot, direct grilling situation

1. Use a chimney, no lighter fluid or Matchlight (bullshight), just 3 sheets of newspaper.
2. When the coals on top are almost white, dump the coals into a two- or three-inch tall hot spot on one side of the grill. You don’t want to spread them out. Bricks are great to have in a grill. They hold in heat (good for Winter), and they hold the shape of your fire. You can also use them to raise a fire.
3. When you can’t hold your hand more than two to three seconds, six inches above the coals you’re ready. Place steaks directly over the hot spot, cover with all the vents open. Grill four minutes per side (medium rare)—use a timer, it helps. If they’re not charred enough for your taste, they could go a minute longer. If you do a good job making a hot spot, you shouldn’t have to worry.

Place the steaks in a dish in the oven set at 200° to rest at least 10 minutes.

Sauce

Sauté the onions in oil until tender. Remove onions and sauté mushrooms (we used crimini/baby bella). Add ½ c. soy sauce, ginger and onions, and cook on low for five minutes. Add cornstarch mixed in 1 cup mushroom stock, plus any juices that have come out of the steaks. Cook, stirring constantly, but gently until the sauce is thickened.

Finish

Slice steaks 1/4″ thick with a very sharp knife. Serve with sauce and rice. Sprinkle something green on it. And eat a vegetable.

We used white tamari soy sauce this time. Just as salty as Kikkoman’s but more complex, nutty. One could also add an optional 2 tbsp. sherry to the sauce. For a Winter warmer version of this, look into our our snuggly oven chuck roast version.

Think Chinese food on the grill won’t work? Think again. Think your new iPhone is good enough for food photography when you forget the real camera? Think again!

It was a dark and snowy night, but following my grill instructions above you should even be able to do this perfectly at 30 degrees blindfolded.