The recipe side of comfort with posture.
Prep 15 mins · Cook 8 to 10 mins · Total 1 hr (incl. dry brine) · Servings 3 to 4 · Difficulty Moderate
For 1 1/2 lb ribeye
Beef and onions
1 1/2 lb USDA Prime ribeye, cap on, cut into 1-inch cubes against the grain
1 medium red onion (about 8 oz), half cut into 1/4-inch wedges for searing, half shaved paper-thin for the salad
2 tbsp beef tallow, divided into two rounds
Dry brine
1 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 3/4 tsp Morton)
Marinade
2 tbsp finely minced garlic
1 tbsp fish sauce, Red Boat 40°N or Megachef premium
1 tbsp Megachef premium oyster sauce
2 tsp Maggi seasoning (the European-import version, glass bottle)
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp coarsely cracked black pepper
1 tsp Marukan rice vinegar
Finishing glaze
1 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 tsp Maggi seasoning
1 tsp Megachef premium oyster sauce
1 tsp water
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Vinaigrette
3 tbsp Marukan rice vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
Salad bed
2 bunches watercress, long stems trimmed
2 medium Campari or vine-ripened tomatoes, thinly sliced
Reserved shaved red onion
Freshly cracked black pepper, to finish
Dipping sauce, muối tiêu chanh
1 lime, halved
1/2 tsp Maldon flakes
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Optional garnish
2 tbsp fried garlic chips, golden not browned
Salt the beef
Pat the cubes bone-dry with paper towel. Toss with salt evenly. Rest uncovered on a wire rack set over a sheet pan, 40 minutes minimum, up to 2 hours. The dry brine pulls moisture out, which then reabsorbs as seasoned brine and lets the surface dry. Both moves matter for the sear.
Marinate
Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Toss with the beef. Rest 15 minutes at room temperature while the pan heats. Longer reads pickled. The beef should look glossed, not soaked.
Dress the bed
Whisk the vinaigrette until the sugar dissolves.
Toss the watercress, tomato, and shaved onion lightly. Plate immediately on a chilled platter and crack pepper over.
Dress at the last possible moment. Watercress wilts within 5 minutes of acid contact.
Heat the pan
12-inch carbon steel or cast iron over the highest flame your burner gives you, until the surface smokes and a drop of water vaporizes within a second. Crack the kitchen window. The whole dish lives or dies on this heat.
Sear, round one
1 tbsp tallow in, swirl until it shimmers and ripples fast.
Half the beef in a single layer, leaving room between cubes. Crowding steams.
Do not move it for 45 seconds. Toss, sear another 30 seconds.
Transfer to a warm holding plate. The interior should still be raw at the center.
Reheat the pan
Wipe with a paper towel held in tongs. Add the second tbsp tallow, bring back to ripping smoke.
Sear, round two
Repeat with the remaining beef.
In the final 30 seconds, add the wedged red onion and toss.
The onion should char at the edges and stay alive, not collapse to translucent.
Glaze
Return all the beef to the pan with any resting juices.
Add the cold butter, Maggi, oyster, and water. Toss 15 seconds until the sauce melts into a lacquer that coats every face. The cold butter is what gives the glaze its shine.
Crack pepper.
Plate
Crown the dressed salad with the beef and onions immediately. Pour any glaze left in the pan along the rim of the plate.
Garnish with fried garlic chips if using.
Serve with lime halves and the muối tiêu chanh dish on the side.
Notes
The shake
Lúc lắc means to shake. The motion is the seasoning, two hard tosses in a screaming pan. Stirring is the wrong verb. Tossing is the right one.
Dry surface, hot pan, single layer
The three rules that matter more than any extra sauce. Skip any one and the beef grays.
Pull while pink
The cubes keep cooking off the heat. Pull at deep sear with a raw center, plate while the salad still has crunch.
Cold butter for the lacquer
Room-temperature butter splits. Cold butter emulsifies into the pan juices and gives the glossy finish that defines the dish.
Onion late
Adding the wedged onion in the final 30 seconds is what keeps it alive on the plate. Onion that goes in early sweats out and turns to garnish.
Watercress is the bed, not garnish
The peppery bite of the cress against the beef is half the dish. Arugula is the closest substitute. Mesclun is not.
Maggi specifically
The European-import Maggi (glass bottle, made in France or Switzerland) reads brighter and saltier than the US version. The dish is built around it.
