Spicy peppers can be found all throughout the kingdom of Hyrule, though they are most abundant in the western regions of the Gerudo Desert, the Tabantha Frontier, and the Ridgelands. They are used to add a bit of heat and accentuate the flavor of a number of dishes, particularly in the colder regions of Hyrule. One popular dish is the Spicy Pepper Steak. The spicy peppers are crushed down and used to marinate various steak cuts. This imparts a nice chile flavor to the meat along with a mild tinge of spice. The slight spice imparts a warming sensation that helps make the cold more bearable in the more wintry regions of the kingdom.
"A dish made my cooking meat in crushed peppers, suppressing the gamy taste while accentuating its flavor."
This is a great recipe for 2. As the dish includes a marinated ribeye steak and a marinated chicken breast, two people can share one plate. Just add a bowl of rice for each of you to enjoy while splitting the two steaks and the salad. Additionally, the recipe calls for ½ tbsp of crushed chili peppers for each portion of the marinade. This will impart some nice chile flavor to the meat as it marinates along with just a little tingle of spice. If you want far spicier steaks, double the amount of chili flakes that you whisk into each portion of marinade (1 tbsp per portion).
Ingredients
1 ribeye steak
1 chicken breast, boneless
½ cup low sodium soy sauce, divided
6 tbsp sake, divided
4 cloves of garlic, minced, divided
2 tsp ginger, grated, divided
1 tbsp crushed chili pepper flakes, divided
2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided, plus more for cooking
Salt and pepper
2 small roasted red peppers (hot or sweet), for garnish
Basil leaves, for garnish
Dressed salad greens
First we need to prepare the meat for marinating. Score the steak diagonally down the full length of the top, making the score marks about ¾ of an inch apart. Turn the steak and repeat in the other direction to make a cross cross pattern. Flip the steak over and do the same on the other side. Repeat this on both sides of the chicken breast. This will help get the marinade into the meat a bit more. Season both the ribeye steak and the chicken breast with salt and pepper on both sides.
Now we will prepare the marinade. We will make two portions, each with half of the ingredients. Add ¼ cup of low sodium soy sauce, 3 tbsp sake, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp grated ginger, ½ tbsp chili pepper flakes, and 1 tbsp vegetable oil to a bowl and whisk well to combine. Place the steak in a Ziploc bag and add the marinade. Seal the bag and shake to coat the steak. Combine the other half of the marinade ingredients in the bowl and whisk. Place the chicken breast in a Ziploc bag, add the marinade, seal the bag, and shake to coat.
Place both bags in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours, but I recommend marinating overnight for the best results.
When ready to cook, remove the meat from the refrigerator, remove the meat from the marinade, allow the excess marinade to drop off and then pat both sides of the meat dry. You want to get the meat as dry as possible. Set the meat on plates for 20 minutes to let it come to room temperature.
After this time, heat a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil to the pan, and add the chicken breast to the pan. Pan fry for 5 minutes, then flip and fry for 4-7 minutes more. The thickness of the meat will make the cooking time vary. A chicken breast is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 160-165 °F. The meat will continue to cook about five degrees more off the heat.
For the ribeye, again heat a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil to the pan, and then add the ribeye to the pan. To cook the ribeye to medium rare, pan fry for 3-4 minutes, then flip and fry for another 2-3 minutes more. A medium-rare steak is done when the internal temperature reaches 130-135°F. Again, the meat will continue to cook for an additional five degrees off heat.
The chicken breast and the ribeye can be cooked simultaneously on separate pans or the same pan of desired. Monitor temperature of both while cooking, and be sure not to burn or over char either side. If you cook individually, you can keep the first warm in a 200°F oven while the second cooks. Additionally, you can grill the steaks to the same internal temperature over high heat (about 450 °F). Grill the ribeye for 4-5 minutes on the first side and then flip and grill until done. For the chicken breast or pork steak, grill for 5-6 minutes on the first side, and then flip and grill until done. With either stove top or grilling, cook to temperature, not time. Additionally, if you are concerned about over charring the chicken breast in the pan, you can finish it in a 350 °F oven.
Allow both pieces of meat to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. To serve, place the steaks on a large plate, add a serving of dressed salad greens, and garnish with two roasted peppers and basil. I recommend two people sharing the meal and serving with bowls of Japanese rice. The rice can be seasoned with sushi vinegar and/or furikake. The steaks can be sliced before plating for easier sharing.
Learn more about the Spicy Pepper Steak dish from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at Zelda Dungeon.