This recipe is fantastic. We all loved the taste and the fun twist of having dinner rolled and tied together with a skewer aka swords if you are 2 or 4 years old. You know that line you heard growing up “Don’t play with your food!” I respectfully disagree. I think that playing with your food, in moderation, is necessary for kids to figure out what they like, what they don’t like and experimenting with textures and tastes. We have table manners that we all need to abide by, but then again, it is a loud table. An abundance of laughter and talking. And in this case, sword fighting. Skirt steak is relatively inexpensive cut of meat. It is thin and long with a rich beefy flavor. The recipe suggests you call ahead to make sure your butcher has one that is 12 x 4 inches but I am unable to be that organized. In turn, they didn’t have one for me. What I found instead was thin cut rib steaks. It is not just one big piece of meat, but individually portioned meat. Still thin and I feel that is what is the most important aspect as you have to cut the beef anyways.
This would have been nice to grill on the charcoal barbecue but again, I didn’t think that much ahead to start the coals. I did this on my handy-dandy grill pan and it turned out great. The trick to get those cool grill marks is to lay the beef down on a really hot grill and not touch it until it’s ready to turn. Turn just once. This is a great meal for a dinner party. Especially if you were fancy enough to individual plate everyone’s dinner and present it to them all purdy. This recipe is very easy to double and even triple. I made some sticky white rice to go with this dish (trick to getting it sticky is to rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer with cold water for several minutes). Read through the recipe, you’ll be surprised at how fast this meal comes together. And then once you make it you will see how flavorful it is, healthy and fun.
Happy cooking friends.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), trimmed
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and halved crosswise
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 pounds skirt steak, trimmed
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Preparation
- Preheat one side of the grill to medium-high (or build a medium-high-heat fire on one side of a charcoal grill); leave the other side unheated.
- Mix hoisin, water, tomato paste, vinegar, sesame oil and crushed red pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a small bowl. Set the rest aside.
- Toss asparagus, scallions, canola oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Cut steak in half lengthwise, then cut each long strip in half crosswise to make four 2-by-6-inch pieces. Pound any uneven pieces to a 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness. Brush the top side of the steak pieces with the 2 tablespoons of sauce. Divide asparagus and scallions among the steak pieces, placing the bundles across the middle. Fold and roll the steak over the bundles and thread a skewer through the overlapping ends of the steak and through the bundle to hold the rolls together.
- Place the rolls seam-side down on the hot side of the grill for 5 minutes. Turn and grill until the second side is beginning to char, about 5 minutes more. Move the rolls to the unheated side, cover and cook for about 5 minutes more for medium steak.
- Remove from the grill. Brush the steak with some of the reserved sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with the remaining sauce for dipping.
High Altitude Adjustment
- None
Compost
- Asparagus and scallion trimmings
Recycle
- Any used container such as the hoisin jar/lid, tomato paste can/lid, rice vinegar bottle/lid, etc.
Reuse
- Plastic bags vegetables came in.
Naturally Green Cooking 