Garlicky Soy and Ginger Butter Basted Steak with a Crisp Cucumber & Tomato Salad and Garlicky Yoghurt
perfect hot weather food
I think the hottest I’ve ever been in my life was working in a restaurant kitchen in London during a heatwave in the Summer. It’s a level of heat I can’t actually explain. But I want to try. London in a sweltering Summer is at the best of times fairly uncomfortable but step into a kitchen where you’re positioned next to 8 open gas burners, dressed in full length chefs trousers and jacket? Oh and with no air con. And ‘hot’ doesn’t begin to cover it. You know when you go somewhere really hot and that first moment you step off the plane and you get a gust of hot air that kind of engulfs you? It’s like that, on repeat for a 12 hour shift.
So, it’s been hot this week in the UK and scarred by my time in restaurant kitchens, I can’t bring myself to turn on the oven. I want lovely light dishes that require no to minimal actual cooking. And this refreshingly crunchy cucumber salad with garlic soy butter basted steak is just the perfect kind of recipe for when the mercury rises.
The only cooking required is for the steak, which is completely worth it. And the rest is just chopping and assembling. This is really so delicious, it’s packed full of flavour and contrast and crunch. I love this way of preparing steak - the soy butter sauce is so incredibly good. The salty soy works so well with the meatiness of the steak and makes such a delicious contrast to the light crunchy salad.
Now let’s talk about steak!
I prefer to get one big good quality steak when cooking for 2 people rather than two small ones. I do this even just when cooking for myself as then I have leftovers. I don’t buy steaks that often but when I do, I do think they are a good thing to buy from the butchers (if this is an option for you!)
Ribeye is always the cut I choose to cook at home, although I do also love a fillet (my bank balance doesnt). I don’t love sirloin or rump as for me they are always a little tough and unflavourful but if you love those cuts then by all means choose the steak you love the most - it doesn’t have to be ribeye.
My top steak cooking tips
1. Bring the steak to room temperature before cooking it.
This makes an amazing difference to cooking the steak through evenly. You can be marinating it as it comes up to room temp so that’s two birds with one stone.
2. Get your pan SMOKING HOT before putting the steak in
This is important, if your steak doesn’t sizzle in quite an excited way when you lay it in the pan, you’re never going to get the golden crust on the outside so just take it out and wait for the pan to heat up properly
3. Remove the steak from the pan BEFORE it gets to your perfect level of “doneness” because the internal temperature will continue to rise as it rests
4. REST your steak for 5 to 10 minutes
This is very very important and should never be skipped. This gives the steak time for the fibres to relax and so that the juices can soak back in. It makes the world of difference!
Marinating: If you can, leaving the steak to marinate for a couple of hours is ideal. However, I know that it isn’t often realistic for me on a weeknight, so even 15-20 mins makes a difference whilst you do the other bits or as soon as you get through the door.
The full recipe is below for paid subscribers (along with a handy PDF version). You also get access to helpful notes on the recipe in case you want to make it vegetarian friendly, or you’re feeding more people and want to scale up easily. Perhaps you’re feeding the whole family? It’s all covered in the Notes.
All perfect for hot days when you want to keep cooking to a minimum
Brown butter scorched peaches, ribbons of parma ham and pools of mozzarella
Sesame Crusted Seared Tuna with Chilli Coriander Pesto, Grated Tomato, Cucumber and Crispy Bits
This recipe serves 2. Very easy to scale up.
I love this as it is as a light salady type of supper but you could skip the garlicky yoghurt and serve with some rice instead which is also great as it has the whole hot and cold thing going on plus it makes it a bit more substantial.
