Steaking out the competition

IT'S not often that I cook large chunks of meat, mostly because I don't believe we really have many great butchers here in Brunei. I could be wrong and if anyone has one to recommend outside of Supasave, please, please, email me!

I really like the process that most butchers use in other countries, which is to hang and age the meat, letting the fibres break down and become more tender. Obviously for religious reasons, this isn't practised here, but that's another story for another time. Anyway, I was quite at a loss as to what to cook for dinner one night and decided a steak would be probably the simplest thing to attempt.

I have discovered , in the process, that the cut of meat you buy is incredibly important (Some cuts are better boiled down in a stew, while others are perfect for grilling). As is perhaps asking the man behind the counter, what it's best used for, because he might know better than you (and I).

Cooking in sequence i.e. garlic first, tomatoes last, is also pretty handy for getting different results. Nonetheless, here's my sort-of recipe for an "Asian" steak topped with a sauté of tomatoes, Thai basil and chili!

This serves one, but of course, if you want to make this for more just increase the number of steaks and multiply the ingredients by how many people.

What you need

One good piece of steak (I used a bit of cheap rump, never again!)

Olive oil to cook with

Salt and pepper to taste

Handful of Thai Basil 2 large chillis diced finely

Two cloves garlic, chopped

A small knob of ginger, chopped

150 grams cherry tomatoes halved and lightly salted

What to do

Marinate the steak quickly in some good olive oil, salt and pepper, about five or ten minutes in the fridge if you're in a pinch for time.

Turn up the heat on your stove to medium and throw a good glug of oil in. Make sure the surface is nice and hot to quick sear the meat. You don't want to be burning though so keep a sharp eye on it! Once it's nice and browned, about 5 minutes on each side, you can cook it to however you like your meat. Personally, I think steak anywhere beyond medium-rare is just wasted meat but I know some of you get a bit squeamish!

While this is going on, get your sauteed veg going and throw into another oiled pan on medium heat, in this order and for about 3-5 minutes cooking time each ingredient; garlic, ginger, chili, tomatoes and then the Thai Basil. Cover for about a minute seconds to quickly steam it and get a nice sauce going. Serve over the steak and eat.

You can have this with some steamed brown rice like I did, to mop up all the lovely sauce, but you could equally have this with a big serving of steamed asparagus or potatoes. No butter this time!

The Brunei Times