Meaty bento #3 - Texan steak

 This week’s lunches are looking pretty carb-free: would you believe it’s simply because I am TOO LAZY to cook rice? But honestly, folks, that is the long and the short of it. I simply haven’t the time or commitment required to cook rice! Appalling, I know. Another factor keeping me away from the rice is the heat: it has been pretty hot here, which makes me crave lots of fruit, protein and veggies and less starch/carbs. 

The most labour-intensive part of the bento was the green bean stew. I get organic food boxes delivered fortnightly and to make sure the vegetables don’t rot before I have time to eat them, I cook them up and freeze them. This recipe took about an hour, but since I was doing it anyway I thought it would make a great addition to my bento.  

And now, a confession: I really have no idea what makes this steak Texan, but I think it is the marinade. I bought it pre-seasoned from Abel & Cole and I'm guessing it has some species of bbq sauce on it. So, if you want to replicate this, I suggest you marinate your steak in bbq sauce. But teriyaki would also be nice.

 The advantage of the steak is that it is thin-sliced, so it took less than five minutes to cook. I heated up the frying pan and dry-fried it for about two minutes on each side and it was cooked through, so you could probably even cook it for a little less if you want your steak rare (I did, but I got distracted!).

To go with the steak, I made a tamagoyaki – something I am getting so much more adept at these days – and a salad of grated carrot with a little tahini, soy sauce and honey. The green stuff is chopped cucumber grown in a colleague’s garden – so nice on a hot day!