Korean Blackened Steak with Kimchi Fried Rice

This is my take on a Korean classic. It's not a complicated dish but the timing is everything here. Don't rush this dish--but don't slow down either. Make it like you would a stir fry--bang, bang, bang. I could make a gratuitous joke here but we have a cow to cook.

Skirt(Flank) comes from a well-used part of the cow, so has quite a different texture from more premium steak cuts such as ribeye and sirloin. Since it has more connective tissue (and therefore more flavour), it needs to be cooked quickly over a high heat, as we do here, or braised much more slowly at a lower temperature. When slicing it, always remember to cut ACROSS the grain to maximise tenderness.

Ingredients

• 4 tbspn Hoisin Sauce
• 4 tbspn Soy Sauce or Tamari
• 1 kg Skirt(Flank) Steak (usually 2 large pieces)
• Coconut Oil, for frying
• 400g (3 cups) Kimchi, from a jar, roughly chopped
• 250g (4 cups) Jasmine or Basmati Rice, pre-cooked
• 6 Spring Onions, chopped, green and white parts separated
• 6 Eggs
• 1 tbspn Chilli, chopped
• Salt and Black Pepper, freshly ground

Method

1. Halve the steaks, cutting WITH the grain. Put the hoisin and soy sauce into a bowl and mix together. Add the steak and marinate (for a few hours or overnight if possible).
2. Place a large, non-stick deep pan over a medium heat and add a little Coconut oil. While the oil is heating, add the roughly chopped kimchi and stir for a few minutes.
3. Add the rice and spring onion (white parts) and combine. Reserving the green tops for serving.
4. Place a separate high-temp frying pan over a high heat for the steaks. When the pan is smoking hot, drizzle over a little oil and rapidly cook the steaks for few minutes each side, until they are blackened on the outside but rare inside. Cover and set aside pan.
5. Place another non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a little oil. When hot, crack in the eggs and fry for 2 minutes, until the whites are firm and beginning to crisp around the edges.
6. Divide the hot rice between serving bowls. Put a fried egg on top and sprinkle with the sesame seeds, followed by salt and pepper.
7. Finely slice the steaks 45deg and ACROSS the grain and place slices alongside the rice.
8. Sprinkle with chilli and reserved spring onion greens. Optionally, serve with a wasabi paste in soy sauce dip.