Filet, Scallion Purée, Crispy Shrooms

Thai food has one of my favorite flavor profiles out of any kind of cuisine. The combination of spice, funk, salt, and acid that can be found is so unique. I wanted to take these flavors and create something completely new while still resembling and respecting Thai cuisine. From this idea was the charred scallion purée for the dish born. The sweetness and complexity offered by the charred scallions pair amazingly with rice vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, and cilantro–ingredients often found in Thai food.

Recipe

Serves 1

Scallion Puree

• 8 scallions, cut into thirds
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1-inch. knob of ginger
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp miso
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

1. Char scallions, garlic, ginger for 2-3 minutes per side. Add 1 c water, cook uncovered on high until almost all the water has evaporated.
2. Add charred aromatics to a blender with rest of specified ingredients. Blend until fully smooth.

Crispy Enoki Mushrooms

• 1 bunch enoki mushrooms
• 1 c corn starch
• Oil for frying
• Salt to taste

1. Coat and dust off mushrooms in corn starch (flour works fine too). Heat oil on medium high to 350ºF.
2. Fry, ensuring the mushrooms are too clumped, until golden brown and crispy.
3. Drain on a wire rack or paper towels, salting immediate to ensure the salt sticks to the mushrooms.

Steak

If you don’t know how to cook a steak, that’s totally fine. It makes more sense for you to check out a couple videos on YouTube or TikTok to learn rather than read some recipe.

Here are some tips for a better steak:

• Add more salt than you think it needs. Even better, salt it 1-24 hours in advance before cooking it and let it sit uncovered in the fridge.
• Use fresh-ground black pepper, it makes a big difference.
• For a better crust, pat the steak dry with paper towels before cooking. If searing, wait until the oil starts to smoke before adding the steak in.
• Rest the steak for the same amount of time you cooked it. This way the juices won’t run out once you slice into it.