Teriyaki Beef and Rice Bowls {Matt’s Favorite}

Matt is my oldest child and is pretty much a carnivore through and through.  Sometimes he will eat a little lettuce with his ranch dressing so that he can get his vegetables for the week.

One of my fondest memories is of Matt and his friend, Bryan, sitting in our driveway with a hibachi, grilling teriyaki steaks and eating Butterfingers.  They were about 13 or 14 when they started this ritual and it was really funny to watch them preparing for their meal.  A steak, a bottle of teriyaki sauce, a couple dozen butterfingers, and they were good to go.  The steaks were marinated for a few hours in the teriyaki sauce then grilled on the hibachi.

One of my nephews was over at my house one day when Matt was doing his teriyaki steak ritual. I remember the longing look on his face to be old enough to do the same thing. The following year, on his birthday, I gave him a steak, a bottle of teriyaki sauce, and some Butterfingers.  It was a great moment to watch his face when he realized why I had given him that strange little gift.

We always know that Matt is going to ask for steak for his birthday dinner.  I don’t think that he has ever asked for anything other than steak except that in the last few years he has added crab legs to his request.  Sometimes I oblige and sometimes I don’t when it comes to that pricey little addition.  And yes, he still loves teriyaki.  As a matter of fact, he has come to love Asian flavors more than any other flavor and thinks sushi is nectar of the gods.

Matt has also come to enjoy teriyaki steak bowls over the past few years, which makes it really convenient for this post! In this recipe for teriyaki steak, I chose to use a premade teriyaki sauce; not my own recipe.  The more I looked around for a good recipe, the more territorial I found teriyaki recipes to be.  It seems that people are VERY opinionated and protective about their teriyaki preferences.  Sheesh.  They can get down right mean in their comments about the ‘authenticity’ of a particular recipe. One of poor Paula Deen’s recipes pretty much got eviscerated by the commentors, or maybe I should say the commentors eviscerated each other in their verbal assaults over naming rights.  Call me a chicken, but for now I am not “putting myself out there” beyond saying that the sauce I chose to use is Soy Vay, a collaborative commercial sauce from a married couple of mixed heritage — the husband is Jewish and the wife is Chinese. Top that.

The steak can be marinated whole and cooked on a grill, as Matt used to eat it, or it can be sliced thin, marinated, and stir fried or cooked on skewers and used in your favorite Asian-style teriyaki meal.  I used a somewhat lazy approach to cooking, which was a cross between using a grill pan and a wok. I was short on time and energy, so I cooked the steak inside on a grill pan, sliced it, then added it to some stir-fried vegetables and cooked for 2-3 more minutes with a little more teriyaki sauce.

Choose your favorite teriyaki sauce; store-bought or homemade.  I bow in humble apology to the teriyaki gods because the teriyaki sauce I chose does not use mirin and sake in its sauce, therefore, it is not truly authentic. But, I’m a white girl from America…

Print Recipe

Teriyaki Beef and Rice Bowls {Matt’s Favorite}

Use your preferred teriyaki sauce for this healthy, flavorful dish. Substitute brown rice for the white rice to up the nutritional value.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Marinating Meat1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 470kcal

Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

• 1 pound sirloin steak or flank steak
• 1 onion, cut in half then sliced a scant 1/4-inch thick into half rings
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1-2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced crosswise on a diagonal
• 2 cups teriyaki sauce of preference, divided
• Hot cooked brown rice 1 cup of cooked rice per serving

Instructions

Choose one of the following methods for preparing the meat:

If slicing into beef strips for marinating:

• Slice partially frozen steak in very thin slices across the grain (It is easiest to cut beef into srips when it is partially frozen). Place beef in zip-style plastic bag and pour 1 cup teriyaki sauce over it. Seal and place in refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

If marinating whole steak:

• Pierce beef with a fork all over one side. Turn to opposite side and pierce all over with fork. Place steak, whole, in a zip-style plastic bag. Pour 1 cup teriyaki sauce over meat in bag, seal bag. Through the outside of the close bag, massage the sauce into the meat a little, then place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
• Remove beef from marinade; discard marinade.
• Heat a large skillet or a wok over high heat until very hot. Add oil and swirl skillet or wok to coat with oil.
• Add the broccoli and carrots to the pan. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes.
• Add the onions and peppers to the broccoli and carrots and continue to stir-fry just until barely crisp tender. Remove pan from heat and set aside. There is no need to add salt or other seasonings to the vegetables because the teriyaki sauce will have all of the flavors that are needed.

If Using Beef Strips

• Remove vegetables from pan or wok and set the vegetables aside. Add a little more oil to the pan/wok and stir-fry the beef just until it loses it's pink color. 
• Return the vegetables to the pan/wok with the beef, add approximately 3/4-1 cup of teriyaki sauce (or to taste--it can be really strong, so use it judiciously) and stir-fry for a couple of minutes just until the sauce barely reduces and gets a little glossy on the food.

If Using Whole Beef Steak

• Heat a little oil in a grill pan or a frying pan. Remove steak from marinade (discard marinade).  
• Place the steak in the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes on each side, depending on the desired degree of doneness (145-degrees = medium-rare; 160-degrees = medium). I cooked my steak to medium rare because it cooked a little more when I returned it to the vegetables. 
• Remove steak from pan and put on a cutting board to rest for about 10 minutes. Slice into thin strips at an angle against the grain.
  
• Add the beef strips to the vegetables. Add 3/4-1 cup teriyaki sauce (depending on taste preference); stir-fry over medium high heat for a couple of minutes just until the sauce barely reduces and gets a little glossy on the food.
• Serve over hot, cooked rice.

Notes

Nutrition Calculations:

• One cup of cooked brown rice per serving was used in the nutrition calculations for this recipe.
• The sodium content varies with the brand of teriyaki sauce used.

Nutrition

Calories: 470kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 3793mg | Potassium: 1077mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 8046IU | Vitamin C: 119mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 5mg

 I chose to use a flank steak.  Sirloin steak is often used for teriyaki, also.

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If leaving the steak whole rather than slicing into strips at this time, pierce the meat with a fork numerous times on both sides.  This allows the sauce/marinade to penetrate the steak.

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This is the brand of teriyaki sauce that I used.  It is quite salty.  Different brands will vary in their saltiness and also their sweetness.  This sauce is not sweet, but I would have preferred a touch of sweetness in it…probably not authentic at all, but like I said, I’m a white girl from America.  It’s a cultural preference.

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Put the whole steak or steak strips into a plastic zip-style bag or a covered bowl to marinate.

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Press the air out and zip the bag closed.  Place on a plate and put in refrigerator to marinate 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

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Prepare the vegetables.  For the peppers, onions, and carrots I cut them a scant 1/4-inch thick–probably closer to 3/16-inch.  Sounds technical, but…oh well.

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Heat a deep skillet or wok over high heat.  Add about a tablespoon of vegetable or peanut oil  and the carrots and broccoli.  Stir-fry for about 2 minutes.

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Add the onions and bell pepper.

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Stir-fry just until crisp-tender.  Remove from heat; set aside.

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Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium high heat.  Add a little oil to the pan for cooking the steak.

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Cook the steak about 5-8 minutes per side.  I used a meat thermometer and cooked the steak to 145-degrees, which is medium rare.  The steak will cook some more as it sits and also when it is sliced and returned to cook with the vegetables.

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Remove the cooked steak from the pan and place it on a cutting board or plate to rest for about 10 minutes.

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Slice the steak into thin strips.  Cut across the grain at an angle.  Because this steak was so wide, I cut it in half lengthwise and then into strips.

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The edges look pretty dark in this picture.  They were not quite as dark as they appear here, but I did let them brown nicely with a little char.

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Add the beef and 3/4-1 cup teriyaki sauce to the vegetables.  Cook for a couple of minutes until the sauce has reduced a little bit and is giving a nice shine to the meat and vegetables.  Serve over cooked rice.

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