Easy Japanese Steak Recipe
You probably have had steak many times in your life. But Japanese steak is different than Western style steak. While the steak is cooked similarly and can be made rare, medium rare, or well done, Japanese steak is served with a special sauce. This easy Japanese steak recipe has a sauce that is made with traditional Japanese seasonings such as mirin and soy sauce. This sauce is what makes Japanese style steak quite different than Western style steak.
Steak is served in restaurants and cooked at home. Although Japanese seldom cook steak at home and it is reserved for special occasions. Even on special occasions, Japanese often celebrate at steak restaurants as opposed to eating at home!
Tips for Making Japanese Steak Recipe
- I like to cut the tendons before frying the steak. This makes it easier to eat afterwards. If you don’t cut the tendons, the thin stringy sections can be quite difficult to eat and you might be chewing on the steak for a while!
- This special steak sauce can also be used on Japanese Hamburger Steak recipes. In my Japanese hamburger steak recipe, I used a different type of sauce, but this steak sauce is often used on hamburger steaks as well.
- I recommend tasting the sauce before serving to ensure that the spiciness from the onion is gone.
- If you have extra time, Japanese sometimes allow the steak to warm up to room temperature before cooking. I recommend trying this cooking method if you have the extra time. If you do not have extra time, cooking the meat from the refrigerator is okay.
- I like to use butter because it makes a deeper flavor. However, you can also use oil if you prefer.
Easy Japanese Steak Recipe
Ingredients
Meat Ingredients
- 400 g steak (~1 lb)
- salt (for taste)
- pepper (for taste)
- 1 tbsp butter (for frying steak)
Sauce Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
Making the Steak
- Cut thin slices in the 2 pieces of steak
- Add salt and pepper to both sides of the meat and leave at room temperature for 10 minutes
- Add 1 tbsp of butter into a fry pan and turn the stove on high heat
- Add the steak and fry on both sides on high heat (well done – 2 minutes on each side; medium rare – 1.5 minutes; rare – 1 minute on each side) (the cook time depends upon the thickness of the steak)
- Turn off the stove and cover with aluminum foil. Leave for 3 minutes.
- Remove the steak from the pan. The remaining liquid will be used as the base for the steak sauce.
Making the Steak Sauce
- Peel and grate an onion
- Add the grated onion into the left over steak sauce and turn on the stove to medium heat
- Add the sugar, mirin, and soy sauce into the sauce
- Heat until the sauce begins simmering
- Taste the sauce and if the spiciness from the onions is gone, the sauce is complete
- Plate the steak with the sauce an enjoy!
Video
Did You Make This Japanese Steak Recipe?
Our family wants to see it! Tag @MrsMyJapaneseRecipes on Instagram and hashtag it #myjapaneserecipes!
We would also love to hear from you in the comments below.