Steak Maggie
Backstory:
For her birthday this year I offered Maggie a dinner by Squirrl with the option of me creating an original dish for her. She accepted and provided me with some info on her tastes and this recipe is the result of that.
Ingredients:
1 lb ribeye steak
1 bunch korean chives
1 bunch bias sliced scallion greens for garnish (use whites in the sauce)
kosher salt (to taste)
black pepper, freshly ground (to taste)
1 batch of Steak Maggie Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chevre
1 batch of Steak Maggie Sauce
1 batch of Steak Maggie Mushroom Topping
Optional:
1 head of red leaf lettuce or lettuce of choice (for lettuce wrap version)
Method, Fancy Version:
Prepare your Steak Maggie Sauce and your Steak Maggie Mushroom Topping per their recipes.
Season your steaks with salt and pepper to taste. Cook your steaks to desired doneness using the method you are most comfortable with. Set aside to cool.
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Trim the more fibrous ends of the chives leaving 6-8 inches of the leafy ends. Place the chives in the boiling water for 30 seconds until soft and flexible. Remove and drain.
Trim the steaks to leave just the fat/gristle free center segment. Reserve the trimmings for another use such as a salad or steak sandwich.
Slice the remaining steak into 1/8 - 3/16 wide strips that are at least 3 inches long.
ASSEMBLE! Lay out 6 chives like a ladder or the lines of a music sheet. Place 1 steak strip on each chive. Place a teaspoon of the chevre filling on the right side of each steak. Carefully roll the steak over the filling to create a tiny roulade. Gently wrap the chive around the steak and tie off with a square knot being careful not to pull too tight and squeeze out the filling. Trim the long ends of the chives to look presentable. Once all are wrapped place a dollop of your Steak Maggie Sauce in the center of the plate of your choice. Arrange the roulades around the dollop sitting on one of their flat surfaces. Top each with a teaspoon of the mushroom topping and then a sprinkle of scallion slices.
Serve with chopsticks.
Method, Lettuce Wraps aka Ssam (more simple/approachable) :
Prepare your Steak Maggie Roasted Garlice and Lemon Chevre, Steak Maggie Sauce and your Steak Maggie Mushroom Topping per their recipes.
Season your steaks with salt and pepper to taste. Cook your steaks to desired doneness using the method you are most comfortable with. Set aside to cool.
Wash and dry lettuce then tear into roughly 3 inch by 3 inch sections. Lay out on a plate.
Trim the steaks of any gristle or overly large fat portions. Cut into single bite portions. Place onto a serving plate.
Place all ingredients into appropriate serving dishes/plates. Arrange all ingredients around a griddle or korean bbq in the center of a table. Provide guests with metal chopsticks and allow them to sear off individual bites of steak. Alternatively, you can quick sear all the steak at the stove and serve the steak hot and ready to go but it's less fun overall.
Guests can build lettuce wraps with any and all ingredients provided and have a good old time chatting and cooking.
Serve with chopsticks.
Steak Maggie Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chevre (Soft Goat Cheese)
1 lb chevre (soft goat cheese), room temp
3 lemons
1 head of garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method, Steak Maggie Roasted Garlic and Lemon Chevre
Preheat your oven to 400. Slice the top off of a head of garlic to expose just the tippy tops of the cloves. Place on a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with neutral oil and wrap the head in the foil. Place in oven on a baking sheet to catch drips and roast for 30-40 minutes until desired roast level is achieved. The cloves should be fully softened and jammy when done enough. Once done remove from oven and allow to cool. Squeeze the head of garlic from the base so that all of the cloves squish out the top into a bowl.
In a mixing bowl combine the chevre, roasted garlic, the zest of 3 lemons, salt and black pepper to taste. Mix with a wooden spoon or other sturdy device until well combined. Ensure the chevre is room temp or you will have a bad time mixing.
Steak Maggie Mushroom Topping
1 lb mushrooms of choice, cut or torn into 1/2 inch bits
2 tbsp ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 large shallot, minced
2 tbsp neutral oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp mirin
kosher salt to taste
Method, Steak Maggie Mushroom Topping
Preheat a saute pan on medium high with your neutral oil. Once the oil is hot enough that a test mushroom bit sizzles aggressively when dropped in then add all of your mushrooms. Add a couple pinches of salt and stir the mushrooms to coat with oil.
Sautee the mushrooms until well cooked. They will initially cook out a bit of water which needs to be cooked off until the mushrooms are taking on good color.
Add the ginger and shallots and fry for two minutes then add the garlic and fry for 1 minute more.
Add in sesame oil, light and dark soy sauce and stir to combine. Cook until everything starts to caramelize a bit.
Deglaze the pan with the vinegar and mirin and cook out until dry again. Remove from heat and reserve for later use.
Steak Maggie Sauce (Ssamjang inspired)
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tbsp chopped scallion
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp doenjang 된장 (Korean fermented soy bean paste)
2 tbsp gochujang 고추장 (Korean red chili pepper paste)
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp mirin or rice wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp neutral oil
water to thin as necessary
Method, Steak Maggie Sauce
Preheat a small sauce pan with a tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, scallion and garlic and stir fry until the onion is cooked.
Add the doenjang, gochujang and the remaining ingredients minus the sesame seeds. Stir well for a few minutes until everything is well incorporated.
Remove from heat and blend until smooth. This can be done in a blender or in a tall narrow vessel with an immersion blender.
Add sesame seeds and stir well to combine.
Adjust consistency with water as desired. Sauce will thicken significantly as it cools.