A top chef’s take on beef stir-fry
Jeremy Chan, of two-Michelin-starred Ikoyi, shares his recipe for a perfect end-of-week meal
November is a good month for ambitious home cooking: long nights, few holidays, purse strings looser than they will be next month. This week’s recipe comes from Jeremy Chan, chef at the two-Michelin-starred Ikoyi in London. It’s something he cooks at home for his family — his take on a Chinese takeaway, but with the flair you’d expect from one of London’s top young chefs. It’s a date night meal if ever there was one.
The recipe asks you to do two things you may balk at: one, make your own bone broth, and two, dice prime steak for a stir-fry. You can compromise on the former (see the substitutions box) but not the latter — it’s the tenderness of the marinated beef that makes the final dish so delicious.
Drink
A cold beer.
A cold beer.
Substitutions
You could buy bone broth or, at a push, use good-quality beef stock. Don’t compromise on the quality of the meat — tougher cuts won’t work with the short cooking time.
You could buy bone broth or, at a push, use good-quality beef stock. Don’t compromise on the quality of the meat — tougher cuts won’t work with the short cooking time.
Tip
Roasting bones before making stock isn’t strictly “necessary” but gives them a richer, deeper flavour. The remaining bone broth can be used for soups, casseroles or even as a replacement for pasta water.
Roasting bones before making stock isn’t strictly “necessary” but gives them a richer, deeper flavour. The remaining bone broth can be used for soups, casseroles or even as a replacement for pasta water.
Jeremy Chan’s soy-braised beef
To serve two
- 1Roast the beef bones in a roasting pan for 45 minutes at 180C.
- 2To make the broth, drain the bones and discard the fat, then simmer the bones in the water on low heat for four hours, skimming away any impurities on the surface. You are aiming to reduce the broth to about a third of its original volume. Then remove from the heat, discard the bones and infuse the liquid with the remaining ingredients for an hour before straining.
- 3While the bones are simmering, trim the fat from the rib-eye. Place the fat in a pan and cook it on a medium heat until it has liquefied. Pour it into a small bowl and set aside.
- 4Dice the beef into one-inch chunks. Mix the marinade ingredients well and marinate the beef for an hour, covered and at room temperature.
- 5An hour before you want to eat, rinse the rice under running water until clear. Drain well and let it dry for 20 minutes.
- 6Drain the beef from its marination (retaining the marinade) and pat dry with paper towels.
- 7Heat 20g of the rapeseed oil in a hot wok and sear the onions until blistered but al dente. Remove to a bowl and wipe the pan.
- 8Sear the beef in batches in the remaining oil, allowing the pieces to caramelise and char. Then add the marinade and onions back into the pan along with the beef and simmer for a minute to cook the beef through. Leave to rest in a gently warmed oven.
- 9Mince the vegetables for the rice finely, then fry them in the beef fat you retained earlier in a medium-sized pot until aromatic. Add the rice and continue to cook until the rice begins to crackle. Add 350ml warm beef broth and quickly bring to the boil.
- 10Cover with a lid and turn down to low on a small flame and cook undisturbed for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes before fluffing.
- 11Serve the rice with the beef spooned over the top.
- 1Slice the broccoli at a diagonal angle into 4cm pieces. Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for a minute then shock it by submerging it briefly in ice water — this will keep the colour vibrant.
- 2Roast the sesame seeds at 160C for 10 minutes. Chop the coriander finely. Slice the garlic and toast in the oil with the spices. Add the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar then mix well with the broccoli in the pan.
- 3Fold in the coriander and sesame seeds.
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