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Steak Adventures

There are steak lovers .. who rave about gourmet, premium cuts of of meat and how to cook it just right, medium rare or even less cooked.

So, I wanted to learn how to cook steaks. Beginning my little cooking journey with supermarket steaks. Sirloin, surprisingly not at an exorbitant price. I suppose my taste is more Asian because I like the meat to be more cooked, towards the medium well or well done stage. A little bit of redness is fine but not too much for me. Alas, I will not be a steak connoisseur.


First attempt:

This steak was the thickest of my three attempts here. And the first piece to tell me that medium rare is not quite for me.
Some people more experienced in cooking steaks tell me that they do not even season the meat when it is a nice, fresh piece. Salt, pepper, any sauces are optional after the meat is cooked.

I spread some salt and pepper on a plate and then pressed each side of the steak onto it. Then heated some vegetable oil in the pan and fried each side for a few minutes, depending on level of done-ness required.
Starting my attempt - a little bit of vegetable oil, then the meat.

Not more than 5 mins.
The steak looks well cooked but it was still quite rare (quite a bit of pink) when I cut the meat.

Asian vegetable for this plate - it's chai sim which needed to be cooked already.


Second serve:

I purposely chose a thinner cut of steak for my second attempt and this piece from the supermarket was right for me. Very happy with the steak, boiled potatoes garnished with a bit of butter, salt, chopped onions and Thai basil and caramelised onions.

NTUC supermarket's sirloin steak is quite affordable.

A quick wash, then dry the meat before coating it with salt and pepper.

The potatoes and onions were lovely. The steak as well.

Oh! I didn't forget my greens.


Third plating:

Full works. Decided to brush up on plating as well. Simple salad, no dressing, used grapes and cherry tomatoes for the main flavour. Half portion of spaghetti aglio olio style. And steak again with onions and carrots.

Good old NTUC supermarket price!

Playing with my food for plating, it's just a simple salad.

Half portion of spaghetti with sweet basil and garlic - aglio olio style.

A decent steak plate
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