Today : An Asian twist on a classic peppercorn steak, or as we call it in France “un steak au poivre”.

A creamy and spicy sauce over a medium rare beauty.

 

Ingredients :

– 2 sirloin steaks (thick)

– 3 tsp sichuan peppercorns

– 1 tsp black peppercorn

– 1tsp green peppercorn

– 1 cup cream

– salt

– Raw greens like lettuce or cucumbers

– Coriander

– 1/3 cup of a Strong alcohol ( baijiu, brandy, cognac, whisky everything’s good)

 

 

MEAT FIRST :

Get the meat out of the fridge at least half an hour before cooking.

It should not be stone cold when we throw it in the pan.

I am using sirloin because it’s my favorite cut of meat for a good steak.

Feel free to use yours.

Just remember that a thick piece of steak is the only way to achieve a nice brown crust and a pink juicy center.

 

PEPPERCORN SAUCE :

A Peppercorn is actually a fruit. The differents colors of the peppercorns correspond to different states of this fruit :

The Black one is actually cooked and dried, the Green one is only dried, and the White one is the seed of it.

I’m using chinese sichuan peppercorns, They actually look like flowers And their perfume is outstanding.

If you can’t find these, you can also use green, pink or jamaica pepper.

 

Directly on the board :

3 tsp sichuan peppercorns

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp green peppercorns

Crush them with a rolling pin or with a frying pan

We are looking for crushed peppercorns

Not powdered, not whole, just crushed.

 

STEAK (PAN FRYING)

Usually a steak au poivre is done by breading the steak in crushed black or white peppercorn.We won’t do it.

I find it much more convenient to cook speratly the meat and the peppercorn sauce

This way the meat will be cooked properly, and you won’t burn the peppercorns.

Coat the meat with oil and season lightly with salt.

Take the beef steak and lay it in a very hot pan.

Turn it over every minute or so, but in between, don’t touch it.

The cooking time here really depends on the thickness of the steak you have chosen.

For this one, it’s about 4 minutes in the pan.

When it’s done, set it aside and cover with foil.

 

The boozy peppery and creamy sauce !

Just lower the heat and drop the peppercorns in.

Dry fry them a few seconds, just for the smell to intensify.

Add half a beef stock cube diluted in a bit of water.

Gently Grate the bottom of the pan.

To amplify the taste of the sauce, it could be nice to add a bit of spirits.

In the classic recipe, we use brandy but not this time.

We use a third of a cup of a chinese alcohol.

I recommend to turn off the heat before adding any liquor to the pan.

Pour the liquid in, and to avoid setting your place on fire,

Let it boil first for 10 seconds.

Then blaze it. Much more manageable this way.

When the flames stop, add a cup of cream.

The idea is to reduce it, and to get about the color of a latte.

When you have it, simply pour it over the steak.

 

FINAL TOUCH

The final touch is adding a few raw greens on the side,

Lettuce, Cucumber whatever you have in the fridge

and some coriander leaves on top for the freshness.

 

There you have it : the boozy peppercorn steak with a chinese twist.

Hope you like it !

Bye Bye !