Have you ever played that game with friends where you ask, “What would you choose for your last meal?” Well, steak frites is my pick. While this traditional dish of steak and fries is often served in European brasseries, I love Asian flavors, so I came up with this unexpected — but entirely tasty — pairing of seasonings that will blow your mind! I legitimately believe that this is the best steak frites recipe on the Internet.
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There are three components to the dish: the steak (and its marinade), the fry (and its seasoning), and a dipping sauce. But don’t worry, it comes together quickly for a weeknight or weekend meal that looks way more impressive than it should for the short amount of time you spend making these steak frites.
Oh and a tip on how to pronounce frites: it sounds like “freet” with a soft t. (I know about as much French as my dog, but I do know food so I’m saving you some time Googling it if it’s new to you.)
To start, you’ll want to get a couple of tender steaks like a rib eye or hanger steak. For my marinade, I do a play on the Thai dish called Tiger’s Tear, Weeping Tiger, or Crying Tiger. I gather up a menagerie of spices that we’ll add to a pan to toast: chipotle chili flakes, white (or black) peppercorns, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds. When you toast spices, you really help bloom the aromatics. Starting with a dry pan helps bring out the natural oils. Once the coriander seeds begin to pop you’re ready to grind the spices in a mortar & pestle or automatic grinder. Once it’s more finely ground, I add some porcini mushroom powder, coarse salt, fine sea salt, olive oil, fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and honey to complete the marinade. Rub the sauce onto the steak and marinate it for 10 minutes while you get to work on the fries.
Dinner Plate | Lidded Glass Jar | Spice Jars
To make my five-spice seasoned fries, we need to cook the potatoes twice. First I’ll boil them to soften them on the inside and create the texture needed to crisp up the outside. For every quart of water I bring to a boil, I like to add a capful or a couple of teaspoons of white vinegar. The vinegar helps the potato stay together after it’s boiled. I’m using russet potatoes, and I peel the outside edge and leave the tops on for that “artisanal” look.
If you have a french fry cutter, grab that now or get out a sharp knife. I’m using the 1/4″ blade distance on my fry slicer, but you can also slice them in the same size as batons. Next I’ll rinse off the fries to get rid of any excess starch. These go in the boiling water for about 5 minutes, and then I drain them, and place them on a sheet pan lined with paper towels. They need to cool down for a little bit, so I’ll just get the oil going next so it’s up to temperature when I’m done cooking the steaks. If you have a fryer, feel free to use that. I use my cast iron pot, and fill it with 1.5 parts peanut oil to 1 part beef tallow for a little extra flavor. That gets heated to around 375 degrees (that’s around medium heat on my range).
Now I’m going to cook the steaks, heat the grill on medium-high and add the steaks to cook until they reach 130-135 degrees for medium rare. While those are cooking, I made a quick seasoning salt for the fries composed of 2 tea fine sea salt, one tea five spice, and the tiniest pinch of cardamom. It adds a great burst of spiced flavor. Take the steak off the heat, and let it rest with some tented foil overtop.
Cutting Board | Chef’s Knife
Back to the fries! Always fry them in batches so the oil maintains its temperature. I add two tiny drops of water to the top of the oil. (Yes I know, hot oil and water don’t usually mix, but it’s a helpful trick: as this comes to temperature, the water will crackle and pop at its boiling point. That tells me it’s almost ready.)
I usually drop in one fry to do a test to see if it’s at the right temperature. Then I’ll put in a small handful and fry until there’s some light browning and crispness on the sides — approximately 5 minutes. Add the frites to a bowl to toss with the spice rub, and lay them out on the wire-rack lined tray to cool without steaming themselves, avoiding a soggy fry (a catastrophe).
Dinner Plate | Chef’s Knife | Condiment Bowl
While those are cooling, you can make a quick dipping sauce for the fries that’s two parts ketchup, one part sweet chili sauce, and one part hoisin sauce.
To serve, slice the steak against the grain and serve with a big pile of perfectly seasoned fries. And that’s it! So treat yourself to this twist on steak frites — you’ll love this nontraditional take on a classic.
Your turn! How do you like your steak frites?
