Harissa Soy Rub Steak by Rachel

Now that the weather is getting chillier, I find myself wanting hearty meals, which is what brought me to the harissa spice.  I had picked up the harissa when I was visiting Turkey in the spring and I'm glad that I bought it.  Harissa is really a versatile spice and can be used on a variety of meats and root vegetables. Harissa rub steak isn't a new concept, but mine has a little bit of an asian twist.

Ingredients

2 hanger steaks, 1/2 lb each
1tbsp harissa
1 tbsp red chili flakes
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp roasted glutinous rice powder

- Rinse the steaks and pat them dry.  Put them in a bowl and add the soy sauce and red chili flakes.  Roll the steaks around to make sure that they are evenly coated all over.

- Sprinkle harissa spice on each side of the steak then let rest for 30 minutes.

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Heat a large, all metal, sauté pan on high heat and add the olive oil to the pan.  Let the oil get hot.

- Remove the steaks from the liquid and place into the hot pan with oil.  It should sizzle the steaks.  Reduce the heat to medium high and don't flip the steaks for about 7 minutes.

- Flip the steaks over and let the other side brown for about 7 minutes as well.

- Add 1/2 of the steak marinade into the sauté pan and sprinkle the top of the steak with the toasted rice powder.  For the rest of the marinade, add the water and set it to the side.

This can be found at Thai/Asian Grocery stores

- Place the pan with the steaks into the oven.  Steaks should spend at least 15 minutes in the oven, but this is dependent more on how thick your steaks are and how done you want them.  I tend to want a medium rare steak, especially with hanger steak.  My steaks were a little thicker so they were in the oven for about 20 minutes.

- After about 10 minutes in the oven, open the oven and add the remaining sauce with water into the pan with the steaks, but not on top of the steaks.  This is to prevent the steaks from drying up in the oven.

- Steaks are medium rare when you push on them gently and they spring back.  Remove the pan from the oven and take the steaks out of the pan.  Let the steaks sit for about 15 minutes before cutting into them.  This helps the juices get sealed in.

Yum!  Time to eat!

Money shot!  I didn't eat my steak with any other sauces because the harissa spice is really flavorfully and after the steak has rested, it's really juicy.  Pair this steak with simple veggies.  I'll post what I paired mine with in the next couple posts!  Stay tuned! :)