My parents always made steak, and we had it with soy sauce and white rice. There were no frills, simply a steak cooked to a medium rare with soy sauce poured on top directly from the bottle.
I know. It doesn’t sound good at all. It’s so clichéd that it hurts: Chinese folks + steak = white rice and soy sauce.
To what extent, though, is this a problem? The definitive response is “no.” Despite the negative associations associated with the pairing, steak with soy sauce is actually a fantastic flavor combination. What then shall we do? We opted for a thick-cut, bone-in ribeye steak grilled with a soy-butter coating in the style of a classic steakhouse, where the completed steak is typically doused in melted butter. Brush on the glaze and serve it on the side until you’re ready to delve into a wonderful, perfectly caramelized, ever-so-slightly burnt steak.
Just. Amazing.
This grilled ribeye recipe honors the delicious, umami-laden flavor combination of soy sauce and butter, which has a long and storied history on this very food site.
Ingredients:
- 1 thick-cut of rib-eye steak
- ¼ cup of low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons of melted butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- To avoid toughness while cooking, defrost a steak from the freezer completely before using. Before cooking, drain the steak and pat it dry using paper towels. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper. For maximum grilling flavor, turn on at least three burners to high and leave the lid closed for 5-10 minutes.
- Mix together the soy sauce and melted butter in a small bowl. Once it has heated up, place the steak on the grill and let it brown for a minute or two on each side. To produce a lovely caramelization on the edges of the steak, close the grill cover and let the heat build up. To get those perfect grill marks, flip the steak 45 degrees after 1 to 2 minutes. Reheat for another minute or two. To cook the other side of the steak, simply turn it over.
- To finish browning the steak, use tongs to raise it up when both sides are almost done. Even the edges of a thick steak should be cooked properly. Now comes the time for the soy-butter glazing. Apply the soy butter mixture liberally to the steak using a heat-safe basting brush. Brush both sides of the meat, then flip it over. Put on an oven mitt, because the butter could spark some serious fires. A steak glazed with this will have a scorched, caramelized crust. Thanks to our hard work, the char and color are now evenly distributed throughout the meat, thanks to the grill marks.
- Glaze the steak liberally and consistently until it reaches the desired doneness (rare, medium-rare, medium, etc.); this translates to an additional 3–5 minutes of grilling for medium-rare, 7–8 minutes for medium, and 10–12 minutes for medium-well, though this will vary depending on the thickness of the steak. Poking the steak softly with the tongs is a better way to determine whether or not it is done. Choose a tender cut of steak if you prefer your meat rare. Tighter equals better in this case. Seems quite straightforward, doesn’t it?
- Take the steak away from the stove and rest it for ten to fifteen minutes. We know it’s a long wait, but you won’t regret it when you cut into your steak without a puddle of beef juice spilling out onto your cutting board.
- Serve with more soy-butter glaze on the side (you can use the same glaze you used to baste the steak or prepare a new batch; either way, the steak is safe to eat after grilling because it was basted).