Pan-Roasted Rib Eye with Ms. Kwok’s Black Pepper Sauce
Every week, Yahoo Food spotlights a cookbook that stands out from the rest. This week’s cookbook is Lucky Peach Presents: 101 Easy Asian Recipes by Peter Meehan and the editors of Lucky Peach (Clarkson Potter), the bestselling and award-winning quarterly food journal. Read more about Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week here.
Photograph: Gabriele Stabile
By Peter Meehan and the editors of Lucky Peach
Pan-Roasted Rib Eye with Ms. Kwok’s Black Pepper Sauce
Makes 2 to 4 servings
If this recipe were a song, it would be one of those Jay-Z verses that just brags endlessly about how awesome and rich it is. And those facts, whether about him or this meat, check out.
Mary-Frances Heck, who helped create the recipes in this book from ideas scribbled on napkins and family recipes stored in our musty brain buckets, scored this sauce recipe from her friend Bary’s mom, Ms. Cathy Kwok, who brought it with her from Hong Kong to Massachusetts.
Whether or not you dress the steak like we do here, this is also a great technique for cooking steak at home and getting it right every time.
Note: Cooking a steak of this size to medium-rare takes 15 minutes of active cooking time. Don’t skimp on the sear because you think you need to roast it for a certain length of time. Set a timer for 15 minutes. Start it when the steak hits the pan. Sear it properly, then roast it for the remainder of the 15 minutes, flipping about halfway through. If your pan is hot and oven preheated, the timing will work.
Ms. Kwok’s Black Pepper Sauce
1 tablespoon neutral oil
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
⅓ cup water
¼ cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
+ kosher salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch blended with 1 tablespoon water
Rib Eye
1 rib eye (1½-inch thick, about 2 pounds)
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon neutral oil
Make the black pepper sauce: Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the pepper and toast in the oil, swirling constantly, until the white insides of the peppercorn pieces are golden brown. (This is a critical stage in flavor development. Don’t be a dingus. Do not skip this step!)
Stir in the water, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring to a boil and taste it. Like, actually taste it. Add a pinch of salt if needed, or dilute the sauce with a splash of water if it strikes you as salty. Maybe it needs another pinch of sugar? The sauce should be spicy and a touch sweet. Once the seasoning is correct, whisk in the cornstarch mixture and return it to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. The sauce will keep for 1 week in the fridge. Rewarm before serving.
Cook the rib eye: Heat the oven to 400°F.
Season the steak with the kosher salt. Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet over high heat. When a wisp of smoke rises from the pan, lay the steak in, and sear until a brown crust forms, about 2 minutes. Flip and sear 2 minutes longer. Pick up the steak with your tongs and carefully roll the edge of the steak in the pan, rendering the fat cap. Your steak should be browned and crusty all over. Lay the steak back down on a broad side and carefully transfer the pan to the oven.
Roast, flipping halfway through, until the internal temperature reaches 120°F, about 8 minutes total. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before carving into thin slices. Serve with Ms. Kwok’s black pepper sauce.
Reprinted with permission from Lucky Peach Presents: 101 Easy Asian Recipes by Peter Meehan and the editors of Lucky Peach (Clarkson Potter).
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