Shaved steaks, also called “sandwich steaks,” are extremely thin slices of meat that your butcher cuts from the top, bottom and eye round with a rotary meat slicer. They are often used for Philly cheese steak sandwiches, but here they take a fabulous Asian twist that is one of my kids’ favorite dishes. Once marinated, they are very quick to cook up. I serve them with stir-fried vegetables and kimchi, a fermented cabbage pickle popular in Eastern Asia.
Serves 6
½ cup tamari
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
4 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
2 tablespoons diced shallot, chives, leeks or green onion
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons Mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine) or sherry
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (reduce this amount or eliminate it completely if you are serving spice-averse children)
2 pounds shaved steak (thinly sliced round steak)
2 tablespoons peanut oil

Add the tamari, ginger, sesame oil, honey, shallot, garlic, mirin and crushed red pepper to the small bowl of a food processor. Puree. Place the marinade in a glass bowl and add the beef. Turn to coat. Marinate for 1–2 hours or overnight (covered) in the refrigerator.
When you are ready to cook the steaks, remove them from the marinade and blot dry. Heat a skillet over a medium flame. Add just enough oil to lubricate the pan, then add the steaks, laying them flat. Take care to cook only a few at a time so that there is ample space around each piece of meat, otherwise it will not brown. Fry 30 seconds per side, or until browned. Repeat with remaining steak, using additional fat if needed. Serve immediately.