Kris Yenbamroong’s Rib-Eye Fried Rice

RECIPE BY

Kris Yenbamroong

Los Angeles chef Kris Yenbamroong grew up in his family’s Thai restaurant in West Hollywood, then he took it over and turned it into party-hard non-traditional Night+Market, which now has another location in Los Angeles and one in Las Vegas. “Tradition is grounding,” he says. “It informs what I do but at the same time I’m never beholden to orthodoxies. All I really care about is that it’s delicious.”

What do you get when you combine premium Australian wagyu with an American-Thai chef known for rollicking restaurants and high-intensity food? You get the flavour explosion of this Ribeye Fried Rice.

“Fried rice is a quintessential dish for me,” says Kris Yenbamroong of Night + Market in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. “Everyone loves it, it’s really simple and it can be a vehicle for a bunch of different things, including this beautiful wagyu. I’m also obsessed with the crossover of Thai and Italian food: my dad used to tell me there was a lot of umami in Italian food and I never really listened to him until a few years ago. But we have it all here: the Calabrian hot pepper and fish condiment is a hack, taking care of the chilli and umami in one jar. And we also have other shelf-stable basic items like rice, soy sauce and sugar – these are foundations, things I’m used to cooking with and creating meals from.”

At Night + Market, the food is avowedly unpretentious, designed for eating in a lively space where people are sipping heartily on natural wine. “I love cooking like this,” says Kris. “In essence, we are taking things that are quite standard – microwave rice, say – and putting it with something that’s elevated, like Westholme ribeye. Together, they create something magical. It’s simple and urgent, with a lot of flavour coming from the natural umami of the wagyu. The rice is what it is. The wagyu has to do the heavy lifting and it does it so well.”

1 Westholme ribeye
1/2 cup Golden Mountain seasoning sauce
1/4 cup black (dark) soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
2 packs Vee Tee microwave instant jasmine rice
1/2 cup Tutto Calabria Rose Marina (‘little fish with hot peppers’ condiment)
2 tbsp raw sugar
1/2 cup canned cherry tomatoes, rinsed and drained
Handful dried holy basil leaves

Rib-eye Fried Rice

Let ribeye sit out at room temperature for 1 hour.
Combine half the Golden Mountain sauce and all of the black soy sauce and coat the ribeye steak completely.
Grill on high heat on a grill or cast iron pan with a little oil, approx. 1 minute each side, just to get the surface charred. The inside should still be raw.
Set aside and allow to rest for a few minutes, then slice steak in 1/2 inch strips.
Heat rice according to packet instructions. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in wok on medium heat. Add Tutto Calabria paste. Cook for 15 seconds for chilli aromas to activate.
Add sliced steak and cook with chilli paste for about 20 seconds.
Add rice, sugar and remaining Golden Mountain sauce.
Work all the ingredients around in the wok until rice is coated and ribeye is cooked just less than medium.
Turn off heat. Add cherry tomatoes and holy basil leaves. Stir to incorporate but not to cook the tomatoes too much. Plate

"In essence, we are taking things that are quite standard – microwave rice, say – and putting it with something that’s elevated, like Westholme ribeye."

– Kris Yenbamroong