Chaliapin Steak Don

A French-Japanese steak-don, as inspired by Shokugeki

Chaliapin Steak Don recipe

makes 2 to 3 servings

Ingredients

1 lb sirloin or skirt steak 

2 to 3 large onions, minced

6 tbsp butter

1 tbsp neutral-flavored oil

½+ cup red wine 

2 tbsp black bean soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

(Optional) dissolved potato starch

To serve

1 green onion, sliced thinly

a handful of fresh parsley, minced

kosher salt, to taste

steamed rice

Directions

Begin by mincing the onions and placing them in a large bowl. Chop enough onion to cover all the meat on on all sides, with extra. Next, place some plastic wrap over the steaks to protect the meat from the tenderizer, and pound the steaks with a mallet; this is an important step as it softens the fibers, resulting in an easier to chew and easier to digest steak. If you don’t have a meat mallet on hand, a heavy cast iron pan or a rolling pin would work as well.

Cover the meat completely with the minced onions in the large bowl, taking care to pat the onion onto the edges of the steaks; this will help tenderize the meat further. Place plastic wrap over the bowl and let sit for 30 minutes, or longer in the refrigerator.

Gently brush off the onions from the steaks, making sure all the onion bits stay in the bowl. Place the steaks on a plate or cutting board and generously salt and pepper both sides.

In a cast iron skillet on medium low, add half the butter, oil, and all the onion in. Season with salt and cook down, stirring occasionally until the onions turn a golden color, about 20 to 30 minutes. Turn the heat to medium for the last few minutes to further brown and crisp the onions and continue to stir occasionally. Transfer to a fresh bowl.

In the same pan or skillet, turn the heat to medium high and melt the rest of the butter in the skillet. Then, using tongs, arrange the steaks in the pan. Cooking time with vary, but about 2 to 3 minutes per side for a 1-inch piece of meat will result in medium-rare to medium steaks. Resist the urge to move the steaks around; allowing them sit undisturbed will help a nice crust form. After a couple minutes, or when ready, flip the steaks and cook the other side. When they’re done cooking, remove from pan and onto a cutting board. Let the meat rest while you make the sauce.

In the same pan or skillet, lower the heat to medium and pour the wine in to deglaze the pan. With a wooden spatula, scrape up anything stuck to the skillet, mixing the meat juice and bits with the wine. Let the wine cook down for 1 to 2 minutes before adding the black bean soy sauce and honey, stirring and allowing the mixture to cook down more, about 2 to 3 minutes. When the sauce has thickened slightly and is bubbling, remove from heat. If a thicker sauce is preferred, add in some dissolved potato starch when adding the honey.

To serve, mix some minced parsley and salt with rice, adjusting the amounts to your liking. Slice the steak into a few pieces and place on top of the rice, then generously drizzle the sauce across the meat, allowing the sauce to drip into the rice. Lastly, pile the caramelized onion on top of the beef and garnish with green onion.