Sloppy Ronan Sandwich - Add Bok Choy and Steak to Sloppy Joe's Classic

You've heard of a Sloppy Joe so here is my son's version of the classic sandwich. In this sandwich, Ronan has chopped meat sandwiched between a soft bun like the classic, but he adds thin sliced steak for an even meatier flavor and sauteed bok choy for a surprising crunch. The combination of the four textures and flavors makes for a new classic!

Ronan did most of the prep, cooking, and cleaning so this is a recipe that works great with older chef kids. One touch I added was to show Ronan how to reuse his frying pan to get more flavor and reduce the cleanup.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs lean chopped meat (I used 90%)
• Onion, diced
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder, oil
• Vegetable or olive oil
• 2-2.5 lb London Broil steak
• Bok Choy sliced up
• Whole wheat hamburger buns
• Your favorite BBQ sauce (Ronan like Guy Fieri's Burbon Brown Sugar)
• Indoor grill pan
• Oven safe frying pan

Directions

Heat indoor grill pan and set the oven at 350F.

Heat oil in a small frying pan. Add onion and saute for a few minutes. Add chopped meat, garlic powder and salt and saute meat until brown. Season a second time with salt and pepper and scoop out into a small bowl.

Salt and pepper the steak. Add about a table spoon of oil to the indoor grill pan. It should smoke up, then place the steak on the grill and sear for two minutes on each side. Remove the steak, add it to the frying pan, and place in the oven. Six minutes on a 2.5lb steak will get you a medium-well steak. Remove the frying pan and allow the steak to cool at least ten minutes before slicing very thin.

Leave the steak juices in the pan and heat up on the stove. Add the bok choy and saute for about five minutes.

To make the sandwich, open the bun. Add a layer of steak followed by a layer of bok choy followed by a spoonful of chopped meat. Drizzle with a bit of the BBQ sauce. Enjoy!

For Technologists

Ronan is learning to cook because he enjoys being creative and making new things. It's important for kids to follow their passion and for parents to lead them in their exploration. I provided engineering undergraduate students similar advice in my post, My Advice to Engineering Undergraduate Students.