5 Minute Cast Iron Grilled Steak

I love my cast iron skillet. It is the best investment I have spent on a pan. Unlike my nonstick, which I have to replace every year, my cast iron skillet will be with me for a long time. The versatility of cast iron is amazing, as it can go easily from stovetop to oven. If you have a cast iron skillet or are curious what type of recipes cast iron skillets can make, check out my cast iron recipes here.

For Valentine's Day, I purchased a jumbo pack of strip loin steaks which was on sale. Each steak weighs about a pound. I looked for a recipe online that allowed me to use my favorite skillet to cook my steaks and came across this Alton Brown recipe. The beauty of this recipe is that the steak takes only 5 minutes to cook; great for any night really. Cast iron for the win again!

Ingredients
Steak (1 inch thick)
Oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Take the steaks out of the refrigerator 20 minutes before cooking to allow the meat come to room temperature. This allows the steak to cook evenly.

2. Place the cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F.

3. Lightly oil the steaks and season with salt and pepper on both sides.

4. Once the oven temperature reaches 500 degrees, take the cast iron skillet out of the oven.

5. Turn the stove to high and heat the cast iron skillet for 3 minutes or until it just starts smoking. Do not add any oil to the skillet.

6. Place steaks on the cast iron skillet and sear for 30 seconds.

7. Flip and sear the other side for another 30 seconds.

8. Once both sides have been seared, place the steak in the oven and cook for 2 minutes.

9. Take the steak out of the oven, flip and cook for another 2 minutes in the oven.

10. Remove steak from the cast iron skillet and allow it to rest on a plate loosely covered with tinfoil for 5 minutes before serving. Are you hungry yet?

Source: Food Network

Red Bean (Azuki) Paste (Free of Top Allergens)

My mom loves red bean. Growing up, our pantry was always stocked with at least a bag or two of dried red beans. We regularly had red bean steamed buns, red bean soup, red bean glutinous rice balls (recipe here), red bean pancakes, red bean and rice; see a common theme?

As a child I loved red bean. But I went through a phase in my 20s when I was not a fan of red bean and would cringe every time I see it. I guess after many years of not eating it ALL. THE. TIME., I started liking red bean again.

Recently, for Chinese New Year, I made Sweet Red Bean Glutinous Rice Balls. It brought back good memories of my childhood as I carefully bit into each glutinous rice ball and savored the smooth sweet red bean paste.

This red bean paste recipe is easy but requires some time to soak and cook the red beans. Traditionally, red bean paste does not have butter in it (at least not my mom's version) but I like the addition of butter in red bean paste as it adds a richer taste. My little man ate a bowl of red bean paste on its own and kept asking for more. I guess he must take after grandma.

Ingredients
400 g (13 oz) dried red beans
Cold water
1-1/2 cups white sugar
2 tbsp butter or vegetable oil

Directions
The Night Before
1. Soak the beans in a large bowl or container overnight for at least 8 hours. Cover the red beans with at least 1 inch of cold water.

The Next Day
2. Discard any red beans that float to the surface. Drain and rinse the red beans.

3. In a large pot, add the red beans and enough water to cover the pot by 1 inch.

4. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to simmer for an hour until the red beans are soft and easily mashed with a spoon.

5. Transfer 1/3 of the cooked red beans to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Add a little of the reserved cooking liquid or water if needed. If you are using a blender, you will need to scrape down the sides of the blender a few times. Repeat until all of the red bean has been pureed.

6. Over medium heat, add the pureed red beans, butter and sugar to a large pan. If you are using vegetable oil, heat the vegetable oil first in a large pan over medium heat before adding the red beans and sugar.

7. Cook until the paste is thick (similar to the consistency of tomato paste). Allow the red bean paste to cool completely before using. The pureed red bean paste can be refrigerated for a week or frozen up to a month.

Oh the possibilities of all the things you can make!

Source: Slightly adapted from China Sichuan Food

Ginger Syrup for Glutinous Rice Balls

This year has been my busiest Chinese New Year (CNY) to date. Between a full deep cleaning and decluttering of our whole house and making 8 of the 9 course CNY meal from scratch, I am so exhausted. Needless to say, I am looking forward to eating leftovers, catching up on writing blog posts and watching Season 5 of Downton Abbey!! Any Downton fans reading this by any chance? (No spoilers please until Sunday evening; we are planning a long binge watching session). :)

As promised in yesterday's post, here is a nice and light ginger syrup you can serve with glutinous rice balls. If you decide to make your own, please check out the Red Bean Glutinous Rice Balls recipe I posted yesterday; it is free of the top allergens).

This ginger syrup is amazing. Not just because it came from my favorite blogger in the whole wide world: Jen Yu of Use Real Butter. It is light, not too sweet and pairs perfectly with my homemade glutinous rice balls. It has a nice light ginger flavor but if you love ginger, add a few more ginger slices.

This was our ninth course in our Chinese New Year dinner feast. Despite being overstuffed, I managed to finish my bowl of glutinous rice balls without any issue.

A nice light dessert.

Happy Chinese New Year! Gung Xi Fai Cai (Mandarin) or Gung Hay Fat Choy (Cantonese). (Translation: This means best wishes for a prosperous new year.)

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy, healthy, prosperous Year of the Sheep.

Photo Credit: Photo.elsoar.com

Ingredients
2 cups water
3 tbsp brown sugar
5 slices ginger

Directions
1. In a small saucepan, mix the water, brown sugar and ginger. Bring to a boil on high heat.

2. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Ladle 1/4 to 1/2 cup of ginger syrup over cooked glutinous rice balls. Serve hot.

Source: Use Real Butter