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Home Collections 15 Minute Meals

Asian Steak

By:Nagi
Published:13 Mar '17Updated:20 Jan '21
68 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

This Asian Steak is outrageously good yet ridiculously simple. A magical 5 ingredient Asian Steak sauce inspired by the great Tetsuya that will have you doing the happy dance and licking the plate – possibly both at the same time!

This is the sort of dish that posh modern Asian restaurants charge a small fortune for. And it’s on the table in 15 minutes!

Simple yet stunning Asian Steak with a sauce inspired by the great Tetsuya! All you need is 15 minutes, soy sauce, mirin, sake or sherry, butter, garlic and ginger. Amazing! www.recipetineats.com

If you haven’t tried an Asian steak before, you’re missing out! Here in Australia, Asian steaks are often a signature dish at modern Asian restaurants. A small piece of high quality, juicy, super tasty Aussie beef steak served with a sauce loaded with umami*, Asian style steak sauces have become all the rage in the culinary world – with good reason. Because, quite simply, they are so darn good (and so darn easy to make). ☺️

Just like with Western steak sauces, you can get real fancy with Asian Steak sauces, using gourmet ingredients. But you can also make unbelievably fancy tasting Asian Steak sauces using just a handful of simple ingredients that you probably already have in the pantry if you regularly make Asian food. It’s just about knowing which ones to use and how to use them. When done right, the sauce is the perfect partner to the delicious flavours of steak – yumm!!

And today I have for you an Asian Steak served with a Japanese butter sauce which is inspired by Tetsuya, a famous Japanese-Australian Chef and a personal idol.☺️

*Food nerd alert: Umami is the 5th taste sensation along with sweet, salty, sour and bitterness, it means savouriness. So, for example, a stir fry sauce made with just soy sauce tastes flat and bland. Add oyster sauce, sugar and cooking wine and voila! We have a simple stir fry sauce that tastes fab with plenty of umami!

Simple yet stunning Asian Steak with a sauce inspired by the great Tetsuya! All you need is 15 minutes, soy sauce, mirin, sake or sherry, butter, garlic and ginger. Amazing! www.recipetineats.com

For me, weekends are about foods cooked loooong and sloooow, like Guinness Stew and Ragu. But during the week, I dig into my arsenal of fast recipes. And regular readers know that just because something is quick to cook, it doesn’t mean compromising on flavour and quality. You can make incredible meals in 15 minutes just by being clever with the cuts you pick – quick-cook cuts of beef (such as tenderloin, rump or sirloin) that benefit from just a few minutes on a hot pan are ideal!

And honestly, let’s face it. Steaks make people happy.

Certainly makes me happy. ❤️

Simple yet stunning Asian Steak with a sauce inspired by the great Tetsuya! All you need is 15 minutes, soy sauce, mirin, sake or sherry, butter, garlic and ginger. Amazing! www.recipetineats.com

Today’s recipe is all about the way both the sauce, served with a small but high quality piece of beef steak, perfectly compliment each other – that’s the Asian way! 🙂 I used a beautiful tenderloin from my local butcher. <– Smaller piece of a better steak!

And don’t forget great value secondary cuts like flank, skirt, bavette / sirloin tip (read more about that in my Steak Sandwich recipe, I’m obsessed!). These cuts are “all the rage” at the moment, prized for their flavour. For better value cuts like these, serve them in slices, cut across the grain, so every mouthful is incredibly tender.

Simple yet stunning Asian Steak with a sauce inspired by the great Tetsuya! All you need is 15 minutes, soy sauce, mirin, sake or sherry, butter, garlic and ginger. Amazing! www.recipetineats.com

I rang my mother earlier today to tell her about this recipe, and when I told her what was in the sauce, she immediately said “that’s a classic Japanese combination”. Soy sauce, Mirin and Japanese sake is the flavour base of this sauce which is like the holy trinity of Japanese cooking.

Just combine these with butter and watch in amazement as it transforms in less than 1 minute into a glossy thickened sauce. Add a touch of garlic and/or ginger, a bit of shallots or chives if you have it, pour it over the steak and be prepared to swoon at your first bite.

15 minutes.

5 ingredients.

Food so good, you’ll want to do the jiggy. <– Though you do not want to see me do that!!??????

I really hope you try this one day! – Nagi x

PS To serve a larger group, make this with a beef tenderloin instead of individual steaks and serve the sauce on the side. Just ensure you make the sauce using the same skillet the tenderloin is browned in and make it while it is resting. Full directions in the recipe!

PPS My mother “owns” the Japanese recipe space now that she has her blog RecipeTin Japan, but I’m still “permitted” to do modern Japanese recipes like this one!!

Simple yet stunning Asian Steak with a sauce inspired by the great Tetsuya! All you need is 15 minutes, soy sauce, mirin, sake or sherry, butter, garlic and ginger. Amazing! www.recipetineats.com

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Simple yet stunning Asian Steak with a sauce inspired by the great Tetsuya! All you need is 15 minutes, soy sauce, mirin, sake or sherry, butter, garlic and ginger. Amazing! www.recipetineats.com

Asian Steak

Author: Nagi@RecipeTinEats
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 15 mins
Main
Asian
5 from 20 votes
Servings2
Tap or hover to scale
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An incredible Asian Steak recipe, with a simple yet stunning sauce inspired by the great Tetsuya, a highly regarded Japanese-Australian chef.  Make this with small pieces of high quality beef steak! See notes for my tips on FREEZING rice - so handy to have on standby for quick meals!

Ingredients

  • 2 beef tenderloin steaks, around 150g/5oz each (Note 1)
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil (or other neutral cooking oil)

Sauce

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce, all purpose (Note 2)
  • 2 tbsp Mirin (Note 3)
  • 3 tbsp cooking sake (Note 3)
  • 45g/3tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 tsp ginger, minced (can exclude)
  • 3 tsp shallots/scallions (green part) or chives, finely chopped

Instructions

  • Take the steak out of the fridge 20 minutes prior to cooking (or 10 minutes if it's a stinking hot summer day).
  • Combine soy sauce, Mirin and sake in a small bowl.
  • Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat until smoking. Add steak and cook to your liking. Mine were 150g/5oz each and 3cm/1.25" thick and I cooked it 3 minutes on the 1st side and 2 minutes on the second side for medium rare.
  • Transfer steak onto a plate and cover loosely with foil. Rest for 5 minutes.
  • Let the skillet cool down a bit then return to the stove over medium high heat. Add Sauce and bring to simmer, then add butter. When the butter melts and is incorporated into the sauce, immediately remove it from the stove.
  • Stir through garlic, ginger and 2 tsp of shallots (reserve rest for garnish), the sauce should be slightly thickened (if not, keep stirring, thickens more as it cools).
  • Place steak on plates and spoon over sauce. I served the steaks with finely shredded cabbage without dressing (very typical Japanese side) and white rice, plus some edamame on the side.

Recipe Notes:

1. This recipe is intended to be made with a small piece of good quality steak because that's the way "it's done" at contemporary Asian restaurants! 
I used 2 tenderloin steaks that were about 3cm/1.25" thick. Any quality beef steak will be ideal for this - though the sauce is so good, it will go with any cut of steak suitable for grilling. For example, you could use flank/skirt/bavette/flat iron or any quick grilling cut, slice it against the grain then drizzle this sauce over it. 
I don't use wagyu because it's so rich as it is, it really doesn't need a sauce!
2. This recipe requires an all purpose soy sauce, so not light or dark soy sauce. I use Kikkoman. If you only have light soy sauce, decrease to 2 1/2 teaspoons. I don't recommend dark soy sauce, the flavour is too strong and will dominate the sauce too much. 
Low sodium soy sauce is also fine.
3. Mirin is a Japanese rice wine that is sweet. It's key ingredient in Japanese cooking. Japanese sake is a rice wine that is also an essential in Japanese cooking. In Australia, both are readily available nowadays, sold at all major supermarkets like Woolies and Coles. I do not know of a suitable substitution for Mirin for this recipe. Sake  can be substituted with a dry sherry or even Chinese cooking wine.
4. If you are unable to consume alcohol, unfortunately I can't offer non alcoholic substitutions for Mirin and Sake, they are both essential ingredients in this recipe. 🙁
5. To make this for a crowd, I would use a piece of beef tenderloin (i.e. a long one, not individual steaks). Brown all over in a skillet then transfer to baking tray and roast to your taste (please use a meat thermometer!) at 180C/350F. Then rest for at least 8 minutes, loosely covered in foil. Make the sauce in the skillet you used to brown the tenderloin while it is resting.  Slice tenderloin then serve with sauce. 
6. Freezing rice - yes you can! I keep single serve bags and containers in my freezer that I can just pop into the microwave. Medium and short grain rice works best because they are stickier than long grain rice (frozen long grain is perfect for fried rice). Just add a tiny sprinkle of water and reheat in the microwave from frozen, it only takes about 2 minutes from frozen for a single serving size.
7. Asian steak nutrition per serving, assuming all the sauce is consumed (and it's so good, you will lick the plate!).

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 212gCalories: 506cal (25%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT 

Asian Steak recipe video!


LIFE OF DOZER

Can you just imagine the thoughts running through that furry head seeing those juicy beef steaks…..???

Simple yet stunning Asian Steak with a sauce inspired by the great Tetsuya! All you need is 15 minutes, soy sauce, mirin, sake or sherry, butter, garlic and ginger. Amazing! www.recipetineats.com


IF YOU LIKED THIS RECIPE, TRY THIS!

15 Minute Japanese Beef and Soba Bowls with Green Beans

Beef Soba Noodle Bowl - Super quick to make and tastes absolutely incredible. The dressing is so tasty! www.recipetineats.com

Today’s recipe is brought to you in partnership with You’re Better on Beef, celebrating Australian beef. Because Aussie beef rocks, it’s perfect for super quick dinners and we should eat more of it!!

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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68 Comments

  1. Mary Ward says

    February 24, 2023 at 10:11 am

    Sauce was excellent. My husband said he could use it on just about anything.

    Reply
  2. Gai Forrest says

    September 10, 2022 at 6:29 pm

    5 stars
    Oh my… what’s not to love ❤️
    This was a fabulous romantic dinner for 2 recipe ….
    Hubby thinks I’m amazing but the real superstar is you Nagi….
    Love love love your recipes 😍

    Reply
  3. Owen says

    April 19, 2021 at 8:41 am

    All my wife & I can say is “Yum Yum”. Simple & quick to prepare; this is now in our favourite recipe cycle.

    Reply
  4. Carol J says

    April 15, 2021 at 2:18 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe is so good, I fixed it twice in one week! I’ve never done that before! Everyone loved getting to have it again!
    I’ll fix this for company as well!

    Reply
  5. Irene says

    February 5, 2021 at 11:39 am

    5 stars
    This was absolutely delicious! I cook East Asian dishes on a regular basis and to be honest, I wasn’t too excited about the soy sauce-mirin-sake (or Chinese cooking wine, in my case) mix, as it’s a typical combination in East Asian cuisine and I already knew what that would taste like. But the butter! It’s not something I usually encounter in Asian recipes, and it definitely adds a different kind of flavor. One of the best fusion recipes I’ve tried — and very easy to make too!

    Reply
  6. Kate says

    January 20, 2021 at 9:24 pm

    Rave reviews from family, even the non-communicative son! Thanks for another great recipe!!

    Reply
  7. Richard says

    December 23, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    I wanted to cook something differant for Christmas day, I made the sauce today as a trial with a small T Bone steak.
    Yep you were right, I did lick the remaining sauce off the plate. Because I seem to need heat in everything I eat (i put paprika on my cornflakes) I added a light sprinke of hot paprika into the sauce.
    I will be serving this on Rump medallions Christmas day, my critics (kids) will be blown away. Thankyou and have a merry xmas.

    Reply
  8. Linda yee says

    December 19, 2020 at 3:48 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe was excellent! It was simple to make but looks so elegant!

    Reply
  9. Tracy says

    December 10, 2020 at 7:06 pm

    Hi Nagi. You are absolutely incredible with your knowledge of flavours and amazing recipes. With your Asian steak recipe, what sides would you recommend other then rice? I love rice, but my family doesn’t. Thank you

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 10, 2020 at 8:11 pm

      Try my asian side salad or some steamed greens! N x

      Reply
      • Tracy says

        December 10, 2020 at 8:19 pm

        Thank you for the quick reply! Steamed greens for sure! Do you think mash potatoes would work to some up the dressing as alternative for rice for the kids?

        Reply
  10. karissa says

    June 2, 2020 at 3:59 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi! I just discovered your blog and it is AMAZING!!! I love how detailed your instructions are, plus the videos! I made this Asian Steak recipe yesterday and it received RAVE reviews. Absolutely delicious. I am so excited to try out more of your creations!! 🙂

    Reply
  11. Sarah says

    January 6, 2020 at 7:22 pm

    5 stars
    This steak was fantastic! We sliced it into strips, spooned over the sauce and served it in your banh mi in place of the pate/cold cuts. Ridiculously good.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 7, 2020 at 1:55 pm

      YUUM!!!

      Reply
  12. Kris says

    August 26, 2018 at 12:48 pm

    5 stars
    Sauce was AMAZING! My filets were rare with 3 minutes per side, but they were pretty thick. I threw them back into sauce after it was sauce was done to cook to med rare, I, think that added to flavor. I did salt and pepper steaks before cooking. Definitely double sauce if making rice because it is that good and you will want it to spoon over!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      August 27, 2018 at 7:58 pm

      Glad to hear you enjoyed this Kris!! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x ❤️

      Reply
  13. Renai says

    July 30, 2018 at 10:35 pm

    5 stars
    WOW. This was ridiculously good. Tasted exactly like the steak at our local teppanyaki restaurant.
    The key is really good steak. All the condiments purchased from my local Woolies.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      August 1, 2018 at 9:36 pm

      So glad you enjoyed this Renai!!

      Reply
  14. Brooke says

    April 10, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    5 stars
    We made this tonight and it was FANTASTIC .. another great recipe. Thank you so much, NAGI!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 10, 2018 at 7:49 pm

      Awesome! Love hearing that Brooke! N xx

      Reply
  15. Leah Ann Zogg says

    April 1, 2018 at 6:32 pm

    5 stars
    OMG – This was absolutely AMAZING! The sauce was so decadent. I tripled the sauce and used it as an extra dressing to the Asian Salad I served it with. I wish I had made rice with it as well – but was cutting back on carbs. Thank you sooo much for this recipe. I KNOW it will become a regular sauce when I have filets!

    Reply
  16. Kat says

    December 30, 2017 at 7:06 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi, made this one tonight. We had rump on hand but it was so delicious. Also paired with your Asian vermicelli salad. It was declared a big hit by all the family. Thanks 😀

    Reply
  17. Robert Erman says

    November 13, 2017 at 9:46 am

    5 stars
    Asian steak is very delicious. Thanks for sharing about it. This recipes is very easy to understand.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 15, 2017 at 5:56 pm

      I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Robert!! Thanks for letting me know – N x

      Reply
      • Robert Erman says

        November 15, 2017 at 9:58 pm

        5 stars
        Yes thanks so much Nagi. I am very enjoy read this site.

        Reply
  18. Graham Stratford says

    September 26, 2017 at 12:44 am

    Made this last night, but for pan roasted duck breasts rather than steak: drained off most of the fat, but left the lovely juices in the pan – so simple and so tasty – absolute favourite now, will use it often. Our dog looked every bit as pained as Dozer when we finished every bite!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 27, 2017 at 6:32 pm

      😂 The visions of your dog gagging for the steak he never got!

      Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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