Drive By Steak Post

I'm going to apologize in advance for the short post.  I do have another one in the works but I need to try all the recipe first so it will likely be  LATE Super Bowl post.  But hey, you can use the recipes for next year!

I recently tried this steak recipe after my friends Wendy and Bill turned me back on to London broil.  I have NOT made it as a salad.  I just use all the marinade for the steak and serve it with roasted potatoes and a veggie.  I imagine this marinade would work great for flank steak too.

Grilled Thai Beef Salad

 

1 pound top-round London broil or flank steak, about 1 to 1 1/2-inches thick

3 tablespoons lime juice, divided (I don't divide it...I throw it in all at once.  I don't get why she says to divide it)

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger

1 1/4 teaspoons red curry paste or chili-garlic sauce (I use chili garlic sauce.  Sriracha would also work)

1/2 head red-leaf lettuce, torn (about 6 cups)

3 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup), divided, for garnish

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, rinsed and dried

1 cup basil leaves, sliced into ribbons

Rinse and pat the meat dry. Place in a sealable plastic bag or small glass dish. In a medium bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red curry paste. Pour half the mixture into the bag with the meat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice to the bag. Seal tightly, and marinate meat in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Reserve the rest of the mixture refrigerated, to dress the salad.

Spray grill or grill pan with cooking spray and preheat. Grill steak until medium-rare, about 5 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness. Let rest until room temperature then slice thinly against the grain.

Combine lettuce, sliced shallot, cilantro, basil and beef in a salad bowl, reserving a few shallots for garnish. Add the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad among 4 plates and garnish with reserved sliced shallots.

One of these days I will make it as a salad.  This marinade is SO good and the longer you leave the steak in, the better.

 

I PROMISE you a post next week with the Super Bowl recipes I tried...well, unless they suck but I doubt they will!  GO GIANTS!!!!

Asian Inspired

I love Asian food of all kinds…Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai…you name it and I like it and for me, spicier is better. So, here are some of my favorite recipes for when I feel like just staying in but have a hankering for Asian inspired cuisine.

The first recipe is actually a combination of 2 separate recipes. The marinade comes from a recipe that I cut out of the July 2005 issue of Cooking Light. I have never made the sauce that accompanied that recipe but I am sure it’s delicious. The sauce recipe came from the Weight Watchers recipe forum on the Weight Watchers site. I got it years ago and I have no idea where it originally came from. First I’ll post the recipes as they are and then I will add my note at the end.

Chicken Sate with Peanut Sauce

Sate:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 8 strips
1 tbs. light brown sugar
2 ½ tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. bottled fresh ground ginger (such as Spice World)
1 tsp. grated lime zest
2 garlic cloves, minced.

Combine the chicken with the marinade ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes. Thread chicken onto skewers and grill or broil until cooked through.

Peanut Sauce:

¾ C fat free sour cream
1 tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbs. reduced fat peanut butter
2 tsp. dark sesame oil

Whisk ingredients together and serve with sates for dipping.

Notes: Now first off I will say I use chicken tenderloins for this (I buy them at Costco). The only things I did differently with the marinade was I used fresh ginger and I let it sit more than 10 minutes. For the sauce, I do not use fat free sour cream. I used reduced fat and I also use a smaller amount, probably closer to ½ cup or maybe a little less. If you use the full amount, you lose the peanut flavor. But this is a favorite of the whole family. Even my kids love it. If you want the full recipe from Cooking Light, you can find it here.

The next recipe is a flank steak marinade I got from my next door neighbor back in CT but I have no idea where she got it. It seems to be Korean in origin but that do I know! Again, I’ll post the recipe as is then add my notes.

Flank Steak Marinade

3 1/2 tbs. brown sugar
1 tbs. maple syrup
1/2 C light soy sauce
1 ½ tbs. mushroom soy
6 tbs. roasted sesame seeds, ground
4-5 tbs. sesame oil (I use 5...I love the stuff)
2 cloves garlic,minced
2 scallions, finely chopped

Pour all ingredients into a Ziploc bag with a flank steak and marinate for AT LEAST 2 hours but preferably overnight…the longer the better.

Notes: I have never used mushroom soy. I just leave it out. I know it can be found in Asian markets but in CT I didn’t have access to them and here in FL, I just haven’t gone to one yet. Sometimes I grind the sesame seeds, sometimes I don’t. I also usually just crack the garlic and thrown it in so I can pick it out before I grill it. I use scallion when I have them but I’ve also used chives, regular onion and dried onion. No one has complained.

I also wanted to share links to 2 recipes by Tyler Florence. I’ve made them both and while they take a little effort, it is SO worth it. The first are his Shrimp and Pork Siu Mai Dumplings. The second is his Shrimp and Egg Fried Rice. I have made both for guests and got RAVE reviews.

So the next time you feel like Asian food but don’t feel like going out, try these. I hope you like them.