Sirloin Fried Rice with Crisp Red Onions and a Hint of Japanese Seasonings (蒜香味噌牛排炒飯)

The USDA Choice grade sirloin steak was on sale at a local supermarket, from my memory it was at least 50% off. For such a bargain like this, it can be expected that the quality might be compromised. Still great meat but not supreme. So instead of cooking the beef as a mediocre steak, how about turning it into luxurious fried rice? Yes, we are having steak fried rice tonight!

Sirloin fried rice with crisp red onions and a hint of Japanese seasonings -

Ingredients (for 4 portions)?

• 1 lb of sirloin steak
• 6 garlic cloves
• 5 red chilies
• 2 stalks of scallion
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter 
• 2 tablespoons of crisp red onions in oil 油蔥酥
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2.5 cups of white rice
• Small pinch of salt

Marinade:

• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of miso
• 1 tablespoon of mirin

How?

Cook 2.5 cups of white rice, perhaps use a little bit less water than usual to achieve chewier texture for the fried rice.

Discard the scallion stems and chop the remaining into smaller pieces. Save about 2 tablespoons of the chopped green parts to sprinkle on the fried rice later on. Peel and chop off the very tough ends of the garlic cloves. Chop the cloves into smaller pieces. Make sure not to chop the garlic too finely, otherwise it'll get burned easily, plus we are actually looking for those bits of garlicky bites for this recipe.

Roughly chop the crisp red onions. Discard the chili stems and finely chop the remaining.

Chop the steak into small bite size cubes. Mix together the marinade ingredients and add in the steak. Marinate for about 20 minutes.

Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan, or just enough to evenly coat the bottom. Also add in 2 tablespoons of butter. Turn to medium heat. Add in chopped garlic, scallion, chilies, and a little bit of salt to bring up the flavors.

Cook for couple minutes till the garlicky and buttery aroma come out. Watch out not to burn the garlic, if so, slightly lower the heat during this process. 

Add in the crisp red onions and cook for another minute. Turn up the heat to high power, or at least medium high and add in the beef cubes. Give it a quick stir. Cook till the beef is about 80% cooked through. 

Drizzle the soy sauce from the edge of the pan, that way the sizzling heat from the pan will further release the aroma before the soy sauce touches the ingredients.

Lastly, add in the steamed white rice in two batches. Stir well and make sure every grain is coated with the seasonings. You can tell by looking at the color, dark yellow/pale brown hue.

Once ready, plate the fried rice and garnish with the chopped scallion saved earlier.

Butter and garlic is always a good combination. Not to mention there's steak quality beef and lots of chilies used for the fried rice. You can even serve with additional freshly ground black pepper if another layer of spiciness is desired.