American Kobe Steak with Simple Japanese Sauce, Extra Sunny Side Up to Make this Single Meal Even More Comforting

There are always some kinds of meat products stock up in my freezer section in case of emergencies. Emergencies here usually mean two things - poor weather condition preventing me from grocery shopping or stomach growling. Usually the stomach growling part tends to be far more serious then rainy days..if you have ever encountered hungry and grumpy people, you'll know how big the issue is here.

As I was digging through the freezer the other day searching for some munchies, a few pieces of frozen steaks were hiding in between the sausages and flash frozen fish that my mom got from a local market. Took a closer look, man, those were actually high quality American Kobe steaks from Snake River Farms! Treasure hunt! 

As I removed and cooked some of the sausages to shut the noise making monster in my tummy, I've also transferred one steak to the fridge and let it slowly defrost overnight. The very next day, I shall have comforting steak lunch all for myself.

American Kobe steak with simple Japanese sauce, plus a sunny side up egg -

Ingredients (for one, double the amount if cooking for two)?

• 1 large piece of steak
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons of twice concentrated Japanese tsuyu
• Some olive oil
• Some fresh ground medium grains black pepper
• A little sea salt

Optional:

• Dried seaweed flakes and toasted white sesame seeds
• Substitute the egg with oroshi/grated daikon

How?

Remove the steak from the fridge and let it rest till reach room temperature, about 10 minutes before cooking.

Season both sides of the steak with just a little bit of sea salt and regular amount of freshly ground black pepper.

Try to use medium to coarsely grind black pepper if possible. It'll give the meat, especially the fatty part an extra flavor kick during the searing process, when the fat and spice melt and infuse together.

Oil the bottom of the grill pan and turn to medium high heat. Wait till the grill gets pretty hot then add in the steak. Don't move it around too soon because the beef might still be clinging onto the pan. Wait till the surface is about cooked through before changing the steak direction in order to get beautiful crosswise searing marks. It takes about 2 minutes on the first side for my steak.

Flip the steak and wait till the surface is cooked through before changing the direction again. Two to three minutes should be enough for a medium rare steak. However, cook time varies depending on your personal preference.

Transfer the steak onto the plate and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Do not cut the steak right away otherwise all the beefy juice will flow out, leaving dry meat behind.

Mix 1/2 lemon juice together with Japanese tsuyu. Pour the sauce to the grill pan while the pan is still hot. The two different temperatures collide and helps picking up the yummy brown bits sticking on the bottom. The mixture will sizzle a little, wait for about 30 seconds then pour the sauce to a bowl for later use.

Drizzle some olive oil to a pan and wait till the oil turns hot. Cook one sunny side up egg and transfer on top of the steak. Sprinkle some black pepper over the egg.

Drizzle some sauce over. Garnish the steak with dried seaweed flakes and toasted sesame seeds if desired.

If using oroshi instead, try to use the middle section of the daikon, which the flavor is milder and not as spicy compared to the ends.

Besides serving the steak as it is, you can also steam some rice or vegetables as the sides. Steam rice would be a great option because the soy sauce-like Japanese tsuyu works wonderful on it, creating flavorful and juicy bites every time.