(Too Easy) Asian Marinated Flank Steak with Stir Fried Brown Rice

What I love about cooking - pretty dang easy but tastes like it took forever. The hardest part of this was steaming the brown rice. It always takes twice as long as I think. And I think it takes forever. But in the end this was the "best dinner in a long time." Complaint or compliment?" Doesn't matter. I've got to capture it before I forget. (Cooks tip - buy sushi grade rice every time you use a steamer. Maybe it's a rip off, but I notice the difference. For real.)

Asian Marinated Flank Steak with Stir Fried Brown Rice

Serves "about" 4

Marinated Skirt Steak

¼ cup Worcester sauce

¼ cup soy sauce

3 Tablespoons honey

3 Tablespoons hot/sweet Thai chili sauce

3 Tablespoons pineapple juice

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 ½ pound flank steak (or sub skirt steak)

Add the ingredients except the steak to a bowl and whisk until thoroughly blended. Place in a resealable plastic bag with the steak and marinate overnight.  Prior to cooking, set aside ½ of the marinade for the rice.

As you are preparing the rice, cook the steak until medium rare. I use a two burner cast iron griddle, but you can use the broiler or a grill. On the cast iron griddle over medium to medium high heat, cook for about 5 minutes on side, and 4 minutes on the other. Let rest for at least 10 minutes. Slice thinly (AGAINST the grain) and serve with the rice.

Fried Brown Rice

2 cups steamed brown sushi rice (still warm and moist)

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon + teaspoon coconut oil

½ large yellow onion, finely diced

1 medium carrot, shredded

1 cup thawed green peas

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

S & P to taste

Break the eggs into a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper, and give a slight stir with a fork to break and slightly blend the yolk. This allows for a mix of cooked yolk and whites. Place 1 teaspoon coconut oil in a preheated wok (or deep saute pan) over medium heat. Flip once and cooked until it is just firm. Chop to medium and set aside to cool.

Add the onion, carrot, and peas, and a touch of salt and pepper in the wok and cook until the onions are soft and slightly translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil and one-half of the marinade from steak. Cooked until thoroughly heated and just starting to bubble. Add the rice and another touch of salt and pepper,  and cook until hot, about 5 minutes. 

Reduce the heat to low, add the chopped up egg stir well, let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir every few minutes, but let cook untouched for the last 5 minutes or so. I like a little bit of brown crisp to the rice. Not too much, but just enough to add some texture.

Place ¾ cup of rice on a plate and top with 4 oz of the sliced steak. Serve steaming hot.

Sloooooow Braised Beef Ragu

Last week I was in Illinois with my mom. She had an off-week from chemo, and I am lucky enough that I can work from anywhere. After spending two days shoveling the 12+ inches of snow, I was craving a "stick to your ribs" meal. Something with more substance than meatloaf, and fancier than pot roast. My mom brought me a recipe from one of her Ladies Red Home Style magazines, and I saw a version of beef ragu that looks like it fit the bill. I made it tonight, and our guest food critics Maren and Savannah gave it two thumbs up. That's all the approval that I need. In fact, I wish that they would dine here more often. I need to work on that....

Chef's note: How you braise it is up to you. This is written for the crazy working family life in a slow cooker, but feel free to go old school in a dutch oven. I use an All-Clad slow cooker. I love this expensive little gem because I can cook in the crock over the stove to brown and deglaze, and then place it directly in the slow cooker to finish. I highly recommend it.

Sloooooow Braised Beef Ragu
Serves 4

1 1/2 trimmed stalks of celery
1 medium carrot
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp of olive oil (I use coconut oil)
1 beef chuck roast - 1.5 to 2 pounds (I used center cut)
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
1/2 c. red wine
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
pinch of chopped dried rosemary
12 oz pappardelle, egg noodles, or your favorite wide cut pasta, cooked and drained
Parmesan cheese, grated, for garnish
S & P to taste

Clean and cut the celery, carrots, and onion in to medium chunks. Put in a food processor with the garlic, and pulse into it is finely chopped, maybe even very finely chopped, scrapping the sides intermittently.

In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat. Season the roast with salt and pepper and sear the roast on both sides. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker crock (or remove and set aside). Reduce heat to meduim, and add the vegetable mixture and a pinch of S&P (I call it a loose paste) to the skillet and cook until soft and slightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook about 3 more minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Lastly, add the wine and stir in well, scrapping the loose bits of flavor off the bottom of the pan. Pour over the beef in the crock, add the oregano, basil, and rosemary, and cook over low (very low) heat for about 8 hours. You know it's done when you have to carefully remove it to keep it from falling apart.

Set the beef aside, and place the sauce (however much you plan to serve, or about 1 cup per serving, in a skillet and let it simmer uncovered over medium low heat. Remove and fat from the roast and discard. Shred the roast into bite size chunks, and add back in to the sauce after it has slightly reduced, about 30 minutes.

Add the pasta to the pan and toss. Serve with Parmesan and enjoy!