Grilled Skirt Steak with Broccolini

Shirley Chung

Ms. Chi, Culver City, CA

In her new cookbook, Chinese Heritage Cooking From My American Kitchen (Page Street 2018), Shirley Chung writes, "Broccoli beef is one of the best known Chinese American dishes. This simple dish is very hard to execute perfectly because it requires extensive wok sill. I use a grill to make my version of broccoli beef, and I created the nice, charred “wok chi” flavor by giving the steaks nice grill marks. Broccolini is a closer cousin to Chinese broccoli, gai lan, than regular broccoli. It also grills a lot better. You might not want to go back to regular broccoli after you taste it!"

Yield

4 servings

Ingredients

Steak:

  • 1 bunch green onions
  • 2 ounces crushed garlic
  • 2 ounces ginger
  • 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • One 2-pound skirt steak (about 900 grams)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper, plus more to taste
  • Kosher salt to taste

Garnishes:

  • 2 red onions
  • 1 pound broccolini
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • Crunchy sea salt to finish
  • Black Pepper Sauce

Method

Pat the skirt steak dry with paper towels.

In a blender, combine the green onions, garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, canola oil, and soy sauce. Blend until smooth. Pour this mixture into a shallow bowl and rub it all over the steak. Allow the steak to marinate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, clean and peel the red onions. Slicing against the grain, cut them into 1 inch–thick rings. Clean the broccolini and put them into a large bowl with the onions. Dress them with sesame oil, season them with salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.

Preheat the grill on high heat. After the steak is marinated, wipe off the marinade. Season the steak with all 1 1/2 tablespoons of black pepper on both sides and salt to taste. It is very important to grill the steak over high heat so there is a nice char and a quick sear, just like cooking in a wok. Skirt steak is very thin, so it cooks really fast; each side will only take 90 seconds to 2 minutes for medium rare, which I think is the best temperature to enjoy this cut of steak.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the grill, char the red onions for about 2 minutes on each side. When both sides are charred, but the onions are still raw, place them in a salad bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The carry-over heat will create steam to finish cooking them. Lightly grill the broccolini for 1 quick minute so they are still green and crunchy.

Allow the skirt steak to rest for a couple minutes before slicing. Set the steak on top of the red onion rings and the grilled broccolini. Finish with sea salt on the steak and serve with black pepper sauce.

Chef’s note: To cook a thin piece of protein, give it a harder sear on one side. Cook until it’s almost done on that side only. Then give it “a light kiss” by quickly cooking the other side for no more than 30 seconds. This way you will have a well-seared, caramelized, crispy side with a lightly cooked, tender side. This cooking technique works well on all meats and seafood.

Adapted from Chinese Heritage Cooking From My American Kitchen (Page Street 2018) by Shirley Chung.

https://www.jamesbeard.org/recipes/grilled-skirt-steak-with-broccolini