Recipe: Asian beef with pak choi and radishes, by Tom Kerridge
Packed with some of my favourite Asian flavours, this is delicious and satisfying. Rich, savoury and yet so simple to make, it seems more like a take-away treat. Just don't add rice!
2 rib eye steaks (about 250g each)
Vegetable oil, for cooking
6 garlic cloves, sliced
4cm knob of fresh ginger, finely diced
2tsp cracked black pepper
1tbs Chinese five-spice powder
2 star anise
2tsp clear honey
75ml dark soy sauce
75ml rice wine vinegar
75ml white wine
150ml chicken gravy (I make it with Bisto chicken gravy granules)
2 heads of pak choi, leaves separated
¼ white radish, also called mooli or daikon (about 80g), peeled and cut into julienne
A bunch of breakfast radishes, topped and halved lengthways
½ bunch of spring onions, trimmed and chopped into 2cm pieces
1 red chilli, thinly sliced, seeds and all
A little sesame oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Season the steaks on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan or sauté pan over a medium-high heat and add a splash of oil. Place the steaks in the pan. Cook them until nicely browned on both sides, allowing about 3 minutes each side for medium-rare. Remove the steaks from the pan and place on a warm plate. Set aside to rest.
Add the honey and cook until it darkens to a rich, caramel colour. Pour in the soy sauce, which will stop the cooking, then add the rice wine vinegar and wine. Bring to the boil and let bubble to reduce by two-thirds.
Add the gravy and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and stir in the pak choi and all the radishes. Cook until the leaves are just wilted, then
add the spring onions and chilli. Season with salt and pepper and add a trickle of sesame oil.
Cut the rested steak into slices, about 1cm thick. Pile the vegetables into warmed shallow bowls. Place the beef slices alongside and pour over the liquor, then serve.
The Dope: Cooked quickly, pak choi adds great crunch and leafy vitality to soups, broths and stews
Recipe taken from Tom Kerridge's Dopamine Diet. Photography
by Cristian Barnett