A cosy Japanese steak dinner for two
what we ate to celebrate valentine's day
Welcome to Singapore Noodles, a newsletter that shares about Asia’s culinary traditions with you every week. It’s great to have you here!
Valentine’s Day passed last week and, to be frank, Wex and I are not big Valentine’s Day people — the day can sometimes feel like a contrived occasion that pressures people to spend money on overpriced meals and bouquets to express their love. But, having been together for 13 years and married for 7, it can be so easy to take each other or the marriage for granted, so we’ve decided to be intentional about Valentine’s Day this year.
We spent the afternoon at Hanos, a food wholesaler for local entrepreneurs, picking up ingredients for dinner while doing some shopping. Wex bought a bottle of 15-year-old whiskey, and I treated myself to a Benriner Japanese mandoline. Upon returning home, Wex gifted me flowers and I prepared dinner. He had requested steak in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day because it is a rarity for us; we can’t even remember the last time we had some.
When cooking for those you love, especially those you live with, simpler is often better. A simple meal allows you to focus on conveying your love and care wholeheartedly, rather than on impressing the other with culinary acrobatics. For date-night cooking, I also keep a few other things in mind: nothing too heavy, greasy, or garlicky, which was what led me to prepare a Japanese-inspired steak dinner with little goblets of chocolate budino to finish. Wex was delighted with the meal and raved about the black pepper sauce that went with the steak, saying that was the star of dinner for him and that it reminded him of black pepper crab. Sharing that meal was a sincere and honest way for us to celebrate our love for each other and our marriage, and it was the sort of simply perfect meal that I would want to enjoy again and again. I hope this inspires you to cook a meal and share a special moment with someone you love.
Enjoy,
Pamelia
ROMANCING YOUR VALENTINE
This menu evokes pure cosy winter vibes — it’s an Japanese-inspired steak dinner with warm soup, freshly steamed rice, and a few thoughtful sides. To finish, some boozy little chocolate pots. I typically stay away from alcohol, but umeshu mixed with sparkling water was surprisingly easy to drink and paired brilliantly with everything we had. Wex had red wine, which complemented both the steak and the chocolate dessert. Everything was served family-style:
Wafu salad
Pan-seared brussels sprouts
Mustardy potato mash
Miso egg drop soup
Steak and black pepper sauce
Steamed rice
Chocolate budino with crème fraîche
Even though this sounds like a lot, it all came together within an hour. The chocolate budino can even be made a day in advance if you prefer.
WAFU SALAD
We Singaporeans love Japanese food; there are countless fast-casual sushi joints all over the island, and when I was growing up, my family often had lunch or dinner at Sakae Sushi. My mom always ordered the wafu salad, which consisted of an assortment of fresh raw greens, fat strips of salmon sashimi, and a soy-based dressing. I actually prefer this dressing for salads compared to French vinaigrettes made with mustard, vinegar, and olive oil. It pairs wonderfully with any fresh vegetables — we tossed a combination of julienned carrot, tricolour frilly lettuce, and cherry tomatoes for our Valentine’s Day dinner — and I even used the leftover dressing in my yu sheng (the Lunar New Year prosperity toss). The key ingredient in this dressing might raise some eyebrows: finely grated red onion. Just a little bit completely transforms the dressing and enhances its savouriness.
Wafu dressing; Makes about 1 cup (240 ml)
1 teaspoon finely grated red onion
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup (or honey)
1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil or grapeseed oil
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (90 ml) light soy sauce
1/4 cup (60 ml) Japanese rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
In a medium bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until emulsified.
PAN-SEARED BRUSSELS SPROUTS /
MUSTARDY POTATO MASH /
MISO EGG DROP SOUP
I absolutely loathe boiled brussels sprouts. Brussels sprouts, in my opinion, must be charred from edge to edge. What I do is heat up a skillet or my wok while slicing each brussels sprout lengthwise in half. Drizzle some oil into the pan and arrange the brussels sprouts in a single layer, cut side down. Fry on high heat until the undersides become well-seared or charred, then flip the brussels sprouts and continue frying until you’re able to pierce them with the tip of a knife.
For the mustardy potato mash, boil as many floury potatoes as you want to eat. For two people, two potatoes are plenty (remember, you still have the rice!). There is no need to peel them. Once the potatoes are tender, drain them and slice them in half. While they are still hot, push them through a sieve set over a medium bowl, discarding the skins left behind in the sieve. While the mashed potatoes are still warm, incorporate a healthy knob of butter, about a third of the potato’s volume. I used some kombu butter that I had on hand, but some cultured butter would be equally lovely. The butter should melt in the warmth of the potatoes and incorporate easily. Stir in a dollop of wholegrain mustard and salt to taste.
With the miso soup, all you need is dashi (I use instant granules) and miso paste. For two servings, add roughly two large soup bowls of water to a small pot and dissolve the instant dashi and miso to taste. The most efficient way to dissolve the miso is to place it in a small sieve, dip the sieve into the dashi, and stir the miso around with a spoon or chopsticks to help it dissolve. You could simmer vegetables like daikon, cubes of silken tofu, or wakame in the soup, but I used the egg whites left over from the dessert. Stream the egg whites into the pot while stirring gently. Turn the heat off the moment the egg sets; you want the curds to be gentle, soft, and flowing.
STEAK AND BLACK PEPPER SAUCE
