Broiled Asian-Style Flat Iron Steak
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Tender flat iron steak broiled and topped with a rich Asian-style brown sauce.
Flat iron steak is one of my favorite cuts of beef for home cooking. It’s similar to flank or skirt steak, only much more tender — in fact, after the tenderloin, it’s the second most tender cut. Plus, it’s cheap. Here, I’ve broiled it and topped it with a rich Asian-style brown sauce. With buttered rice and a steamed vegetable, it’s an easy and elegant dinner that you can have on the table in under 30 minutes.
What you’ll need to make Asian-Style Flat Iron Steak
The recipe calls for a 2-pound flat iron steak; if you can’t find a large one, it’s fine to use two smaller steaks. (Note: it is sometimes called a petite tender or top blade steak.) As you can see, it’s uniform in thickness and rectangular in shape, which makes it perfect for grilling or broiling. Feel free to grill it, if you like.
How to make Asian-Style Flat Iron Steak
Begin by prepping the ginger. Simply peel off the skin, then slice thin. Cut the slices into strips, gather the strips together and then slice again in the other direction to finely chop.
Start the sauce by sautéing the ginger in a sauce pan with a bit of oil.
Add the garlic — I use a garlic press to mince it right into the pan — and cook a minute more. Do not brown.
Add the dry Sherry, soy sauce, brown sugar, tomato paste and water and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until just slightly thickened.
Stir the sesame oil and butter, then set aside.
Place the steak on a broiler pan or rack over a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.
Broil to desired doneness — about 5 minutes per side for medium rare — then cover with foil and let stand for about ten minutes. It’s very important to let the meat rest; if you cut it immediately, all the juices will gush out of the steak.
Cut the steak into thin slices across the grain. Serve with the brown sauce and enjoy!
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Broiled Asian-Style Flat Iron Steak
Tender flat iron steak broiled and topped with a rich Asian-style brown sauce.
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (see note)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup dry Sherry
- ⅓ cup soy sauce (use gluten-free if needed)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon Asian/toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For the Steak
- 1 (1.75-2 pound) Flat Iron Steak
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler and set an oven rack in the top position.
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and cook until softened and fragrant, a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Do not brown. Add the dry Sherry, soy sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar and water; bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer gently until just slightly thickened, 8-10 minutes. Add the sesame oil and butter and stir until the butter is melted. Set aside.
- Season the steak on both sides with salt and pepper and place on a broiler pan (or rack on top of a baking sheet). Broil the steak to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Using tongs, transfer the steak to a cutting board; cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes to let the juices settle (don't rush this step or the juices will gush out of the steak when you cut it). Cut the steak into thin slices across the grain and serve with the sauce.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 483
- Fat: 24g
- Saturated fat: 10g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Sugar: 15g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 45g
- Sodium: 2019mg
- Cholesterol: 152mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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This looks delicious, I am eager to try it. I’m cooking for someone whose diet requires that they avoid sugar. Do you think I could substitute honey for the brown sugar? Any advice on the portion?
I love your website and have recommended it to so many people. I have never considered myself a confident chef, but these recipes are always winners and make me want to try more!
Hi Heather, thanks for your nice words about the blog, and for spreading the word about it! Yes, you can use honey in place of the sugar, but because honey tastes sweeter than sugar, I’d cut it back to 3 tablespoons. Hope you enjoy!
REALLY delicious! I’m not sure I’ve ever added a comment to a recipe before, but this was the absolute best marinade/steak I have ever made at home. I sadly couldn’t use the sesame oil because mine looked cloudy 🙁 but will defo try it with sesame oil next time. And I didn’t have sherry, but used some marsala, not sure what kind of difference that made, but it was REALLY amazing, and easy, and most importantly my fiance was super pleased and ate every bite.
Made this (again!) last night and it was great! It’s an easy weeknight dish that would be great for dinner guests too. The sauce took longer than 8-10 minutes to thicken, but I started it first as written in the recipe and let it cook while the steak broiled and rested and everything was ready at the same time. Great recipe, Jenn!
Make sure the meat is evenly thick. Sauce is delicious!
This recipe was delicious! I’ve always been intimidated by cooking steak but this was a breeze to make and tasted like it came from a restaurant. I broiled it for 5 minutes on each side and it came out perfect. I’d love to pair it with a nice red wine next time. Do you have any recommendations?
So glad you enjoyed the steak! This would pair nicely with Gamay (Beaujolais).
I’m looking for something to serve at lunch that I can make ahead. Would this be good sliced and served at room temperature over one of your Asian salads? I’m thinking it would be great. Thoughts?
Sure, Kat, that should work nicely!
I have made this recipe quite a few times. Flat iron is a great cut, and the sauce is phenomenal. Occasionally I don’t have exactly the right ingredients, but it is easy to sub things in.
Could we use Top Sirloin Steak?
Hi Scott, That should work well but the steak won’t be quite as tender.
I haven’t had a bad meal from you yet, Jenn! This was delicious! I never had this cut of steak and really enjoyed it. The sauce was – as my son puts it – bussin’ … the best compliment I could get. Thanks for all of your delicious recipes!
My family really enjoys this steak recipe! We especially like to make it in the colder months when craving steak but don’t want to fire up the grill.
This steak and sauce are great. If you have a Kroger in your area they sell Flat Iron Steaks. Since I discovered Flat Iron’s years ago I have never gone back to Flank Steak.
Excellent – the sauce was perfect. I’m not huge on sherry, ginger, or sesame oil, in general, but since I’ve had so much success with your recipes, I gave it a go and was so happy I did! Perfectly balanced.
This was good. I would make it again. It was great because I had everything in my home. No unusual food items. I followed the directions exactly. I served it with noodles but it would be much better with rice.
Can I substitute dried ginger for fresh?
Sure, Chris, you can get away with it, but you’ll need significantly less. I’d recommend 1/4 teaspoon. Please LMK how it turns out!
I don’t have sherry. Could I substitute mirin (sweet cooking rice wine)? If so, should I reduce or eliminate the sugar? Thanks!
Hi Denise, I wouldn’t recommend mirin here but if you can get your hands on some white vermouth or Shaoxing rice wine, either of those would work. Hope that helps!
Great recipe! My family loved this. The only issue I had with it was the sauce was kinda watery because it wouldn’t thicken despite simmering for at least 10 minutes. Tips on how to get it to reduce more?
Hi Alice, the sauce in this really doesn’t thicken up that much so you may not have done anything wrong. If you want it to be a bit thicker, I’d mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 1 teaspoon of cold water together. After the cornstarch is dissolved, add the mixture to the sauce and stir until the sauce has thickened a bit. Hope that helps!
Made this tonight exactly as written. My husband and I both loved it. Will make it again. Thank you.
Hi Jen! In all your recipes that call for sesame oil, is there an alternative? I’m allergic to sesame and know that it is prevalent in Asian foods.
Thanks!
Hi Melissa, No other oil has quite the same flavor as sesame oil, but you can use either olive or peanut oil in place of sesame oil. Hope that helps!
Hi Jen,
I love your recipes and books! I jumped in too fast here and threw all of these ingredients into a bag to marinate skirt steak. Will this work?
Mindy
Glad you like the recipes! 🙂
Yes, I think it should be fine. I’d drain the marinade into a saucepan before broiling the steak and while the steak is cooking, boil the marinade to rid it of bacteria and use it as the sauce. Hope you enjoy!
Just made this tonight. It was so good. Thanks for everything, Jenn. You are definitely my go to! Question. My oven has a high and lo broil? Which should I use in the future?
Glad you enjoyed, Paula! I would use the high setting on your broiler.
Hi Jenn! I always have a crowd to feed and this recipe says it only serves four! How many pounds of Flat Iron Steak will I need to feed 8-10 people?
Thanks!
Hi Jeanine, I think 4 to 4.5 pounds should be sufficient. Hope you enjoy!
I found the meat tough, it should have been marinated. The sauce was very good.
So good! The meat turned out perfect – I used 2 smaller steaks that totaled a pound. Loved the zing of the ginger in the sauce. Definitely going to be saving this one!
Also, using the extra sauce to put on burgers later this week :p
Great sauce!
Delicious! No leftovers at all. I doubled the recipe and now have quite a bit of sauce. Can it be frozen? Thank you!
Glad you liked it! I’ve never frozen the sauce, but I suspect it should freeze nicely.
Delicious and so fast & easy! The sauce was amazing. I think this is a sauce that I would make and marinate some tofu in, then roast or stir-fry & serve with extra sauce, for meatless meals.
Delicious! I cooked the meat for an additional 2 mins per side and it was a nice medium well (warm pink center). The sauce was delicious.
The sauce is excellent! My wife and I enjoyed the dish as printed, but we’ll be using the sauce for other purposes too. Thanks!
Hi Jenn – just wondering if there’s anything I can sub for ginger? For some reason, it tastes like soap to me. Any suggestions? Thanks. Susan
Hi Susan, you could replace the ginger with a pinch of Chinese 5 spice powder or just omit it. Hope that helps!
I added some shallot, which I love with beef, to the wine before reducing slightly. I sprinkled some freshly minced chives on top before serving. Fabulous!
This recipe was a hit for our family get together which included people from 4 to 71, a notable feat! When I make it again(without young children here) I will add hot red peppers for a little zing.
I made this steak for company last night and it was a huge hit!! It cooks so fast and is so tender and flavorful with the sauce. My husband even commented this morning how he couldn’t get over how tender the steak was at dinner.
I have now made about a dozen recipes of yours, Jenn and they have all been such a success!! Thank you for turning my kitchen into a 5 star restaurant! I am a huge fan. 🙂
😊