Cilantro-Lime Steak Bowls with Corn

Fifteen ingredients and forty-five minutes, from one pot of rice and one skillet.

Three things happen here: rice cooks, a green sauce is blended, and a thick steak is seared. The same skillet then chars the corn in the steak's leftover heat.

Why This Recipe Works

• Patting the steak dry lets it brown rather than steam when it hits the pan.
• A steak an inch or more thick develops a dark crust while the middle stays pink.
• Resting three minutes lets the juices settle before the steak is sliced.
• Slicing across the grain shortens the fibres, so each slice is tender.
• Water in the blended sauce makes it loose enough to pour over the meat.

How to Make It

1. Rice cooked with half the salt and kept warm

   Cook the rice with the water and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt until fluffy, then keep it warm.

2. Cilantro, garlic, lime, oil, water and cumin blended green

   Blend the cilantro, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, water, cumin and a pinch of salt into a bright green, pourable sauce.

3. Steak seared to at least 145°F, then rested 3 minutes

   Pat the steak dry, season with the remaining salt and the pepper, and sear in a hot oiled skillet 4 to 6 minutes per side, as needed for its thickness. Cook to at least 145°F, then rest 3 minutes.

4. Corn charred in the same pan; steak sliced across the grain

   Char the corn briefly in the same skillet. Slice the rested steak across the grain.

5. Rice, corn and steak, sauced heavily, chile and lime on top

   Divide the rice among bowls, add the corn and sliced steak, spoon the cilantro-lime sauce heavily over the steak, and finish with red chile and lime wedges.

Ingredient Notes

Sirloin steak, 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick

One and a quarter pounds. The thickness is what lets it reach 145°F with a pink centre still showing.

Cilantro, lime juice and olive oil

Half a cup of leaves, two tablespoons of juice and three of oil, blended with water and cumin into the green sauce.

Corn kernels

One cup, charred in the steak skillet. The title doesn't name it, but it is in every bowl.

Red Fresno or jalapeño chile

One, thinly sliced into rings for the top.

Success Tips

• Let the skillet heat fully before the steak goes in; a cool pan greys the outside.
• Use a thermometer in the thickest part rather than judging by the colour of the crust.
• Blend the sauce while the rice cooks, so it is ready the moment the steak has rested.

Serving Ideas

Four bowls of white rice with charred corn and sliced seared steak, the steak covered in bright green cilantro-lime sauce and topped with red chile rings, a lime wedge on the side.