Beef Steak with Basil Vinegrette/Vinaigrette

Beef is another meat that I love working with. It has a very unique and intense flavour to it, Jo and I like to call it the "beefiness" taste. Growing up, my family do take beef, but it was always cooked traditionally into soups and occasional into stew. My parents, like most traditional Chinese parents, they prefer beef cooked thoroughly and into soups. When growing up, I always wondered how a proper steak tasted like. To be honest, I cannot recall when exactly I had my first steak. But it was not as pleasant I thought. Haha. I think it was a cafe or some sort in Malaysia during my college times.

Because of that, I was determine make myself a good piece of steak. Over the years, watched a lot of videos/cooking show on how different chefs prepare their steaks. Tried many times over the years, maybe I think I have finally made ourselves a proper steak. Coming from a Chinese family, it is not common for us to eat our beef rare. But I grow older (even Jo agrees with me), rare beef do taste rather amazing. Love the texture, the smell and the how well a good thin slice really just melts in your mouth.

Here is my take on a classic new york strip, also known as a striploin steak. Medium rare, served with a fresh basil vinegrette.

Ingredients

Steaks

2 Grass-fed Striploin Steaks (got ours from Jaya Grocer, price is rather reasonable, vacuumed individually thus ensuring the freshness is maintained)

6 Cloves of garlic

Salt

Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Butter

Fresh thyme

Basil Vinegrette

50g Basil leaves

1 Lemon (Squeezed and seeds removed)

3 tablespoons of wholegrain mustard

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

4 tablespoon of Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

First, season your striploins with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Rub them into the steaks and leave them aside to marinade when we prepare the vinegrette.

For the vinegrette, remove the basil leaves from the stalks and soak in water. Place them in a salad spinner after and spin the basil leaves dry. Place half the basil leaves into chopper, put in about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a small amount of salt and pepper. Attach the hand blender to the chopper and blend till smooth. Slowly add in the remaining basil leaves and add another 2 tablespoons of olive oils, juices from 1 squeezed lemon, 3 tablespoons of wholegrain mustard, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and blend again until smooth. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Now to cook the steaks. On a medium high heat pan, place 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon of salted butter. Once the butter has melted, using a pair of tongs, hold the striploin with the fatty part, facing down. This is to ensure that the fat on the steak is well rendered. Render the fat for one and half minute for each steak. to add flavour to the steak, put a few stalks of fresh thyme and the 6 cloves of garlic into the pan. Then, place each steak side down in the pan, cooking on each side for another one and half minute n each side on medium high heat. During this process, constantly use the tongs to rubs the thyme and garlic cloves on the steaks. Lastly, cook the steak another thirty seconds on each side then remove from the pan. Allow the steaks to rest for three minutes.

Slice the steaks slowly into thin slices and drizzle the basil vinegrette onto the steak before serving. Extra vinegrette can be served on the side.

Here are some photos of our steaks from 2 different dinners, one served with truffle slices (steak used was from the knuckle region - a bit tough but great "beefiness" to it, especially the rare parts) and another served with Brussels sprout chips (Striploin steaks used, recipe for Brussels sprout chips will be uploaded later).

Hope you guys enjoyed this one. Take care.