Thanks to John Papa, Microsoft senior technical evangelist, you can now master Hibachi Steak in your own kitchen! This relatively quick and healthy dish is sure to please everyone in your family. After you’ve mastered the cooking, just be careful when trying to replicate the customary entertaining chef showmanship that comes along with the preparation!

I recommend upgrading to the filet mignon instead of strip steak. This lean, flavorful meat is the most tender cut of beef and well worth it. And with the money you’re saving by eating at home, you can afford to splurge a bit on the choicest cut of beef.

Cooking tip: John mentions that you want to cook the steak over a high heat. You don’t want to stew the meat in its own juices, so be sure to dab any excess liquids so you get a nice sear on the steak. Feel free to add any vegetables to your liking…sliced zucchini makes a great addition. Enjoy!

Taking a Break with Hibachi Steak (Serves 2)
12” pan for the steak
12” pan for the vegetables
16 oz steak (filet mignon or strip)
¼ onion
1 green pepper
1 cup of mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp garlic spread
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 large, shallow pans or 1 large cookie sheet

Cooking the Vegetables (15 minutes)
• Heat a 12” pan on a medium flame
• Cut the onions and green peppers into small bite-sized pieces
• Toss the onions, peppers and mushrooms in the pan
• Add 1½ tbsp soy sauce to vegetables and mix
• Add 1 tbsp butter to vegetables and mix
• Cook for 15 minutes on low to medium

Searing the Steak (7 minutes)
• Heat a 12” pan on a medium flame
• Put 2 tbsp olive oil in the pan
• Cut everything into bite-sized chunks
• Once the pan is hot, put the steak on the pan (should sear)
• Turn the steak pieces to sear all sides
• After about 7 minutes (or when prepared the way you like), put 2 tsp of garlic spread into the pan
• Add 1½ tbsp of soy sauce and mix
• Add 1 tbsp of sesame seeds and serve

Keys:
• Stewing beef is easy… too easy. You can toss in a lot of great marinades and stew it all in the juices. If that is what you want, then great. But for this recipe, the key is to sear the steak, not stew it.
 
• Try not to overfill the pan with steak. If you make it for a family, try cooking it in waves based on the pan size. Make sure you have enough space for the meat to be seared.

• Keep the meat cut into bite-sized pieces (or slightly larger). Do not put overly large pieces in the pan. This worked well for me since I have to cut all of my daughters’ steak anyway.

Recipe compliments of: John Papa
Microsoft Sr. Technical Evangelist
John Papa is a Sr. Technical Evangelist for Microsoft (formerly a Microsoft Silverlight MVP, INETA speaker, and member of the WPF and Silverlight Insiders). John, author of 70+ articles and 10 books, specializes in professional application development with Microsoft technologies, including Silverlight, WPF, C#, .NET and SQL Server.
 
He can often be found speaking around the world at industry conferences such as MIX, PDC, TechEd, VSLive and DevConnections, and he hosts the popular show “Silverlight TV” on Channel 9.