well it's my last night alone. marcela returns tomorrow and i CAN'T WAIT!!! i've enjoyed the weekend to myself, but it's wearing old more and more with each passing minute. i think i did just about everything i wanted to coming into today, but i realized i hadn't done any cooking. normally i wouldn't want to cook for just myself as it's so much more fun cooking for others, as i've mentioned before, but with one night remaining and nothing on tap, i decided it was okay.
for tonight's dinner, i decided to try something i'm not at all experienced with. not necessarily the technique involved, but the flavors. i almost had sushi this afternoon as that was the flavor i was really hungry for, but i didn't and so i decided to go that route for dinner. i had found this recipe a long time ago, but hadn't had the craving. i have to say the flavors were amazing and i'd never have thought i'd find myself eating wasabi with steak!!! it was a really easy recipe and only took about 30 minutes to prepare. however, finding the right ingredients took me to 3 different grocery stores and about an hour and a half of my time!
i had the nori sheets leftover from making homemade sushi. for this recipe i coarsely processed 2 sheets with a teaspoon of crushed red peppers, a tablespoon of sesame seeds, and a teaspoon of black pepper. i then dredged a sirloin steak in this seasoning and pan fried it on both sides just until the nori was crispy. meanwhile, i blanched the ends of some scallions and whisked together a mix of soy sauce, mirin (which i used sake and some sugar as a replacement) and a teaspoon of olive oil. i removed the stems from some shitake mushrooms and placed them gill side down on a rack placed on a cookie sheet. after the steaks were seared, i placed them on top of the mushrooms and placed it in a 400 degree preheated oven for roughly 10 minutes. i actually had powdered wasabi for this too. i would STRONGLY suggest using powdered wasabi as opposed to the tube variety. it's so much better.
if you like the flavors you experience by going out for sushi, this is definitely something you should try. also, if you are a little shy about trying sushi, you may want to give this recipe a whirl and familiarize yourself with the flavors you'll experience by eating a somewhat pacific oriented cuisine.
