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Fathers. What do we do without them? When moms are there to kiss our boo-boos away and make our favourite dishes on days we desperately need a pick-me-up, dads are all about great advice, seriously cute little post-it reminders and of course, dad jokes.
Parenthood is not exactly a walk in a park, especially if you are Asian. The terrible twos are wilder, the expectations are higher and there is no reprieve from the endless responsibilities they hold.
As we get older, we start to realize and actually cherish the memories of the swishing rotan, loud family dinners and the occasional don’t-tell-dad or don’t tell mom moments. This would usually follow with being rewarded with a piece of kuih and candy.
With all this in mind, we should never forget to celebrate our parents and acknowledge all that they have done for us! So, what shall we do on Father’s Day?
Cook Your Way To His Heart
Sometimes, planning a small, intimate dinner speaks volumes and what better way to celebrate Father’s Day than with a plate of sizzling grilled steak? After all, we Asians hold the phrase, ‘cook your way to his heart’ quite close to our hearts.
This Father’s Day, Celebrity Chef Nik Michael Imran has shared with us the ultimate fool-proof steak recipe. Yay! One thing we can say is, even the most solemn-faced father would smile and nod with approval when trying Chef Nik’s special recipe.
So, grab your shopping bags and head to the nearest grocery shop because tonight, you are making steak for your dad!
Ingredients:
- 250g rib eye, either black angus or wagyu, under an inch thick
- 1 teaspoon of fine salt
- 1 teaspoon of Maldon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons of Canola oil
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 cloves smashed garlic
- 4 sprigs of thyme
Method:
- Season the rib eye liberally with fine salt. Place the rib eye on a metal rack with a tray underneath. Leave in the refrigerator for 6 hours, uncovered. This will dry the brine of the rib eye and make it juicier.
- Remove steak and brush off salt with a kitchen towel. No need to get all of it off but make sure that the surface of the steak is completely dry.
- Heat a cast iron pan up on high heat for 5 minutes so you can get it as hot and as even as possible. Then, add a light drizzle of canola oil, just enough for the surface of the steak to touch the pan.
- Once smoking, add steak and apply light pressure so that an even crust will form. Apply pressure for about 45 seconds.
- Flip over and repeat pressure for another 45 seconds. There should be quite a bit of smoke. If the pan is not hot enough, apply pressure longer. All we are doing here is building a crust.
- Once a nice crust has formed. add in butter, garlic and thyme. Bring down the heat to medium.
- As the butter melts and foams, baste the steak by using a spoon, tilting the pan slightly towards you and scooping the butter over the steak repeatedly. Try to focus on the lighter-coloured spots to get an even colour on the crust of the steak
- As soon as an even-coloured crust is formed after basting for about 1.5 minutes, Flip the steak over and repeat basting until the internal temperature of the steak is at 54 degrees Celsius for medium rare doneness.
- Then, remove steak and leave it to rest on a clean wire rack to drain off the excess butter. Also, season it with freshly cracked black pepper at this point. Chef Nik avoids doing it earlier to avoid the flavour of scorched black pepper.
- Allow your steak to rest for 1 minute before serving it on a hot plate with your favourite sides. For Chef Nik, he serves this steak with plain mashed potatoes and hot English mustard because that is how his father enjoys it.
Happy Father’s Day!
We hope the recipe will be part of your Father’s Day tradition henceforth. No matter how much you spend for expensive gifts and holidays, nothing is as rewarding as spending an hour of quality time with your dad over meaningful conversations and a plate of juicy, medium rare steak.
