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Sesame Steaks with Asian Pear Salad is a meal elegant enough to serve for a special occasion but easy enough to make on a week night. The whole meal can be made in about a half hour and it’s absolutely delicious. The steak is marinated in a sesame soy marinade, and it’s accompanied by an arugula, Asian pear, and radish salad. This salad is tossed with a vinaigrette of lime zest and juice plus olive and sesame oil.
The Equipment You’ll Need
A Cast Iron Skillet- I feel this is the best skillet for cooking steak, but if you don’t have one, you can just use any skillet you do have.
A Meat Thermometer- An instant read meat thermometer is essential for checking the doneness of your steak.
A Salad Spinner- You’ll need this to get your arugula nice and dry. If it’s not dry, the dressing won’t adhere to it.
A Large Salad Bowl- This is for mixing the salad with the dressing. Tossing your salad in a large bowl will insure that every leaf is perfectly dressed with the vinaigrette.
The Ingredients You’ll Need for Sesame Steaks with Asian Pear Salad
Filet Mignon Steaks or Petite Sirloin Steaks- Once, I accidentally bought petite sirloin steaks instead of filet mignon, and I was really surprised how tender and flavorful they were. However, if you want to cook your steaks until they’re well done, I recommend using the filet mignon steaks.
Asian Pears- Asian Pears are delicious, but you can use any pears that you like.
Sesame Oil- This gives the dressing a wonderful nutty taste. You can find it in the oil section or Asian section of your supermarket.
How I Made my Steak and Salad
First, I mixed up the marinade ingredients. I made sure to measure all the ingredients very carefully. I placed that all in a small baking dish, and then put the steaks in there and turned them all over and around to get the marinade all over the steak.
While the steak marinated, I tossed together the arugula, pears, and radishes. I also made the dressing ingredients.
Finally, I cooked my steaks. We like our steaks well done, so after searing them into the oven they went!
This is a really great, easy meal. As much as I love cooking, I do appreciate those nights when dinner doesn’t take that much time or attention. So, if you like steak, and want an easy dinner idea, I hope you’ll try my Sesame Steaks with Asian Pear Salad.
Sesame Steaks with Asian Pear Salad
Filet Mignon or Petite Sirloin marinated in a soy sesame marinade, and served with an arugula and Asian pear salad.
In a small bowl mix together the marinade ingredients: the soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, sesame seeds, scallions, and garlic. Marinate the steaks for one hour, covered, in the refrigerator.
While the steak is marinating, toss together the arugula, pears, and radishes in a large bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small jar. Dress the salad right before serving.
When the steak is done marinating, heat a cast iron skillet on high heat.
Cook the steaks, for about 5 minutes per side, until it reaches 145 degrees for medium rare. If you like your steaks more well done, you may want to sear both sides, and then put the skillet in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.
Let the steak sit for about five minutes on a cutting board, and then cut it into thin slices. Sprinkle it with extra sesame seeds and serve it with the salad.