Seared Ribeye w Chili Crisp Butter & Soy Sauce Noodles

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A ribeye steak is hard to improve upon. It doesn’t need bells and whistles, it doesn’t even require that much time. But it does require attention and instinct. I have overcooked many a steak. And having dealt with that level of disappointment more often than I care to remember, I can confidently say, I know when my steak is cooked to my preferred doneness. Now, this unfortunately is a difficult skill to teach via the Internet but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try. So without further ado, let’s tackle this Seared Ribeye with Chili Crisp Butter and Soy Sauce Noodles.

As I mentioned above, if you have a ribeye you don’t need much else. We’re dealing with the Cadillac of beef here. But you know I can’t leave well enough alone, so allow me to introduce you to my uncalled-for bell and whistle. A chili crisp compound butter, and a tangle of soy sauce noodles. Now, neither of these accouterments is particularly overwhelming to make or eat. They aren’t showstoppers, they’re foils. They quietly play a supporting role and, in the end, enhance the ribeye without dwarfing it.

First up, let’s talk about the Chili Crisp Butter. If you’ve never made compound butter before, I’m here to tell you they are the simplest things to put together and they impress the crap out of people. I love menu items like this. All you have to do is soften some butter, which admittedly is irritating. My butter is never soft when I want it to be. But once you remember to take the butter out of the fridge and wait the necessary eternity for it to soften, it’s smooth sailing from there.

Essentially all you need to do is place the butter in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of Lao Ga Ma chili crisp and cream it into the butter. Roll the whole mess into a log and chill until solid. And if I lost you at “Lao Ga Ma” don’t worry, it’s simply a jarred sauce that has achieved legendary status. You can find it easily in pretty much any Asian grocery store. We always have a jar of it in the fridge and panic the second we hit the halfway mark. I promise if this is your first outing with Lao Ga Ma, it will not be your last. It’s so good! I particularly love stirring it into black vinegar and dipping my dumplings into it. And no, this is not a sponsored post, I’m just a nerd about condiments.

Next up soy sauce noodles. These are a nod to a particular noodle I used to buy at the weekend farmer’s market in my hometown of Halifax. We affectionately called them “Saturday Noodles” but they were essentially stir-fried noodles simply dressed in soy sauce. I found out recently that the stand that sold them did not survive the pandemic, which sent my already potent homesickness through the roof. So, it only seemed natural to create a side that captured the spirit of the noodles I loved so much in my youth.

I stayed true to the Saturday Noodle playbook and kept the veg to a minimum. Aside from some garlic, shallots, and a few Thai basil leaves, my soy sauce noodles are essentially just that. But true to my condiment nerd status, I did add oyster sauce and dark soy sauce for a little extra depth. I just gotta be me and I seem to struggle with simplicity.

Now, let’s talk about the Seared Ribeye itself. I really don’t do much to my steaks. I season them with salt and pepper about half an hour before I cook them. And when I cook them, I use either a screaming hot grill or a screaming hot cast-iron skillet. With this recipe, I opted for the latter. I wanted a skillet so I could baste my steaks in the chili crisp butter. But if you’re keen to put your steak on the grill, you could simply grill the steak to your desired doneness and then serve it with a medallion of butter on top. I did both the basting and the medallion because I have no self-control.

Since I gave veg a miss when it came to the noodles, it only seemed sensible to add broccolini to the plate. Naturally, I had to cook it up in the skillet I cooked the steak in. But if that seems like a bit much on top of all the decadence on this plate. You could simply steam the broccolini and restore a little of your lost virtue.

That’s everything you need to know about this Seared Ribeye with Chili Crisp Butter. This meal tastes high-end but asks very little of you. Basically, this is a dream meal.

Enjoy!