Cajun steak tips and rice
Spicy seared steak tips on a skillet of Cajun rice cooked with peppers, onion and celery, all in one pan.
- 45 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $3.48 a serving
- 450 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 lb sirloin steak tips
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning, divided
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 450 calories, 29 g protein, 46 g carbs and 16 g fat, and costs about $3.48 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the steak tips dry, cut any big ones into 1-inch pieces, and with 2 tsp of the Cajun seasoning.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Heat the oil in a large deep over high until it .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
High heat
the steak in one layer 2 minutes a side, until browned and the middle reads 145°F.
Sear. Searing means cooking the outside of meat or fish in a hot pan, without moving it, until a deep brown crust forms. The crust is packed with flavor, and it only forms on a dry surface.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the moment it goes in, and it lets go of the pan on its own when the crust is ready.
High heatTimer: 4 min
Food safety: Steak, pork chops and other whole cuts are safe at 145°F in the middle, then let them rest for 3 minutes before cutting.
Move it to a plate.
Turn the heat to medium, add the butter, onion, pepper and celery, and cook 5 minutes, stirring, until soft.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: Onion, pepper and celery together are the holy trinity of Cajun cooking.Stir in the garlic, the rice and the rest of the Cajun seasoning and cook 1 minute, until the rice smells toasty.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Pour in the broth, , and bring it .
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook 18 minutes, until the rice is tender and the broth is absorbed.
Low heatTimer: 18 min
Dolly’s tip: Leave the lid on the whole time. The trapped steam is what cooks the rice.Scatter the steak and its juices over the rice, cover, and let it sit off the heat 3 minutes to .
Heat through. Heating through means warming food that’s already cooked until it’s hot all the way to the center. You’re not cooking it more, just making sure no part is still cold.
How you’ll know: It’s steaming, and a piece from the middle is hot, not lukewarm.
Timer: 3 min
Fluff the rice around the steak and serve with the green onions on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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