Bone-In Garlicky Rib-eye

with ginger gyu dare dipping sauce

My last Seven Sauces for Summer post is a ginger gyu dare dipping sauce for grilled meats and veggies. Gyu dare (pronounced “guh-you-dareh”) means “beef sauce” in Japanese. It’s an all-purpose dipping sauce that mingles together fundamental Japanese flavors to add savoriness, acidity, body and a hint of sweetness to meat. It’s not your typical thick American sauce or dressing like ketchup or ranch. It’s thin and liquidly, designed to enhance the flavor of the meats, similar to how a touch of soy sauce can enhance the flavor of sushi. I love ginger and so my version layers in its distinctive flavor to give this gyu dare sauce a little extra zing. I use it not only for dipping my meat into, but for the grilled veggies as well.

The marinade for the steak is so simple (just 4 ingredients) and is AMAZING just by itself. Use it to enhance the taste of any grilled meat and fish.

This whole recipe is adapted from The Japanese Grill cookbook by Tadashi Ono & Harris Salat, a cookbook that a friend recommended to me and I’ve only just begun to discover all it’s wonderful recipes. If you love this recipe, I’m sure you’ll love this cookbook too. And shout out to my husband who actually grilled these steaks and veggies. He is the true grill master in our family.

Ingredients:

For the steak & marinade:

• 2-3 rib-eye steaks

• ½ cup soy sauce

• 8 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Suggested vegetables:

• kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin), de-seeded & sliced

• zucchini, sliced

• red bell pepper, quartered

• yellow onion, halved, layers pulled apart

• shitake mushrooms, stem removed

For the ginger gyu dare dipping sauce:

• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp soy sauce

• ¼ cup sake

• ¼ cup mirin

• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar

• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

Instructions:

For the most flavorful results, marinate the steak and make the gyu dare dipping sauce the night before:

1. Make the marinade by whisking together the soy sauce, garlic, olive oil, and black pepper in a small bowl. Pour over and coat all sides of the steaks (in a bowl or plastic bag). Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.

2. Make the ginger gyu dare dipping sauce: Add the soy sauce, sake, mirin, rice vinegar, and ginger to a sauce pan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute, remove from the heat, and let the liquid cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight to give the flavors time to mingle.

3. The next day, an hour before you want to grill the steaks, take them out of the fridge to bring up to room temperature. Prepare and slice the vegetables. Place them in a large mixing bowl. Add olive oil and salt and toss with your hands to coat.

4. Preheat a grill for a two-zone fire (medium and hot). Grill the steaks, covered, about 8 minutes total for medium-rare: start on hot heat for 1 minute, then shift the steaks to medium heat side for about 3 minutes. Turn and repeat the two-zone grilling on the other side. Let the steaks rest for about 3 minutes. Slice the steaks against the grain and transfer to a plate. Pour the juices released during slicing over the meat.

5. Grill veggies until desired tenderness, flipping once during cooking.

6. Serve the meat and veggies with the gyu dare dipping sauce. Enjoy!