3.086
31 (Sat) March 2012
Pan-Seared Ribeye with Wild Porcini Salt
4.0
by YI
at Susan Academy
-Namyangju, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-
with CJH + KKH, CSW, LHS, YI
Happy birthday, YYH!
The steak was cooked by YI, a semi-regular of the crew who’s been with us since last fall. Apparently, he makes a lot of money as a director of television commercials and enjoys a lifestyle of conspicuous consumption. He likes to talk about the fancy cooking classes that he’s attended, as well as private lessons from famous chefs. For this trip, he’d shopped for groceries at Dean & Deluca – however expensive Dean & Deluca may be elsewhere in the world, it’s double here in Korea. Among other items, he’d bought a jar of wild porcini salt, which was the primary seasoning that he used for the steak. Earlier, he’d made a big fuss about marinating the ultra-pricey cut of hanwoo in some ultra-pricey Bordeaux.
The steak came late, well past midnight, after most of the others had drifted off to their tents, as if YI had been waiting to see who was worthy. He heated the pan to smoking hot, drizzled some extra virgin olive oil, seared the steak for a couple minutes on each side, then finished it off by adding a splash of wine to the pan, which had the dramatic effect of bursting into flames and eliciting oohs and aahs from everyone. Done. He didn’t even let it rest but immediately carved it into thin slices and served it on the cutting board with the salt.
It was a perfect steak, one of the best in my life. Perfectly crispy on the outside. Perfectly rare inside. The wine marinade balanced perfectly with the marbled beef. The mushroom salt provided a perfect touch of woodsy/earthy flavor, a bit like truffle, that paired perfectly with the smoky aroma imparted by that flaming technique at the end. I wasn’t drunk and/or hungry and/or in a good mood, any of which might’ve amplified my impressions. Upon taking a bite, I started jumping up and down, like Tom Cruise on Oprah’s couch, an idiot unable to contain himself, overcome with intense emotion.
(See also FOODS)
(See also PLACES)
(See also CAMPING)
