We wanted to deliver all the savory-sweet appeal of a hibachi steakhouse dinner at home. To mimic the powerful heat of the flattop, we chose to cook in a large cast-iron skillet; we avoided overcrowding by cooking the steak and vegetables separately. To give the vegetables a super-flavorful start, we added them to the steak drippings in the still-hot skillet. We finished the sliced steaks and perfectly browned shiitakes, onion, and zucchini with a rich, savory soy-garlic butter.
Notes
- Strip steaks can be substituted for the rib eyes, if desired.
- Mirin can be found in Japanese markets and your supermarket's Japanese foods section.
- We like to serve the steak and vegetables with Simple Hibachi-Style Fried Rice, Spicy Mayonnaise (Yum-Yum Sauce), White Mustard Sauce, and Sweet Ginger Sauce.
- If using a nonstick skillet, heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking before adding the steaks in step 2.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 1-pound boneless rib-eye steaks - 1½ to 1¾ inches thick, trimmed
- 1 ¼ teaspoons white pepper - divided
- 1 teaspoon table salt - divided
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 zucchini - 8 ounces each, halved lengthwise and sliced ¾ inch thick
- 2 onions - cut into ¾-inch pieces
- 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms - stemmed and halved if small or quartered if large
- 2 tablespoons mirin
Instructions
Make the soy-garlic butter:
- Combine melted butter, soy sauce, and garlic in bowl; set aside. Pat steaks dry with paper towels and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon white pepper and ¾ teaspoon salt.
Cook the steaks:
- Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
- Add oil to the skillet and swirl to coat.
- Add the steaks and cook, flipping the steaks every 2 minutes, until well browned and the meat registers 120 to 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 10 to 13 minutes.
- Transfer the steaks to a carving board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest.
Cook the vegetables:
- While the steaks rest, add the zucchini, onions, mushrooms, remaining ¼ teaspoon white pepper, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt to the fat left in the skillet and stir to combine.
- Pat the vegetables into even layer and cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.
- Stir and continue to cook 2 minutes longer.
- Add the mirin and 2 tablespoons of the soy-garlic butter to the skillet and continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are well browned, about 2 minutes longer.
Finish and serve:
- Transfer the vegetables to a serving platter.
- Slice the steaks ¼ inch thick and transfer to the platter with the vegetables.
- Drizzle the steaks with the remaining soy-garlic butter.
- Serve.