Food Friday: Asian Steak Kabobs

Hey guys! As promised a guest post from the Mister today! Let us know if you try this out. We’d love to hear how it turns out or if you end up making any changes.

I’ve been putting this off for some time now, but am proud to finally have my first guest post on Post Grad.

I’m not nearly as handy as the Missus when it comes to projects for the home, but I do love to cook (and to eat) good food. There were a number of recipes to choose from, but in the end,I landed on some quick and easy Asian Steak Kabobs. We’ve made them a few times this summer, taking advantage of the nice weather, but grill season is sadly coming to an end soon (although Nicole knows I wouldn’t object if she proposed a frosty mid-winter barbeque).

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb flank steak
• 2 bell peppers, chopped into 1′ inch squares
• 2 onions, quartered
• 6 mushrooms, quartered
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar (palm sugar, if you have it)
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp five spice powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Start off with the marinade – minced garlic, soy sauce, olive oil, and lemon juice.  Mix in your spices, and – here’s the important part – taste and adjust. Maybe I’m biased – I’m not very good at following a recipe to the letter, tending instead to play it by ear. But in general, you’re going to be much more in control of the end product if you taste as you go. One of the great things about this dish is that, if you’re missing an ingredient or two, it’s very easy to adjust. Five spice, for example, is a ubiquitous spice in Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine, but you’re less likely to find it in most cabinets elsewhere. You can substitute a little cinnamon, cayenne, and a tiny dash of ground cloves or fennel seeds.

When you’re happy with your marinade, set it aside and turn to your steak. Chop the steak into strips, roughly 1′ by 3′. If you have a thicker steak, you can chop it into large cubes instead, but I prefer the larger surface area afforded by thin strips; more marinade, and more grill flavor.  Carefully pour the marinade into a gallon zip lock bag, add the meat, seal the bag, and mix it all up. Let it marinate for 30 minutes to an hour. In the meantime, you can chop your vegetables into easily kabob-ed chunks, if you haven’t already.

Now, it’s time to assemble your kabobs. Note: If you’re using wooden skewers, you’ll have wanted to soak them in water for at least 20 minutes prior to keep them from burning on the grill. Luckily, my missus got me steel Fire Wire skewers for my birthday this year, which make the whole job much easier.  Thread on your assorted meats and veggies in any way you wish – no rules!

Heat up the grill, making sure to oil down the grates first to minimize sticking. Grill your kebabs on medium for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Stay by the grill to minimize flare-ups, if you can; otherwise, this is a relatively quick and low-maintenance dish, with a ton of flexibility.

We served these with cilantro-lime rice and grilled naan, and sprinkled sesame seeds on top.  Hope you enjoy these as much as we did, happy eats!