It Never Fails...

There's always rain during the Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade. I was hoping it would only rain in the morning so I could grill for dinner, but it has been sprinkling all day. Not a heavy rain, more of a drizzle, but enough to hinder any grilling plans (unless you have a gas grill, which I don't). However, beef skewers were on the menu tonight, and I was not to be deterred! I just cooked them under the broiler.

Marinated Beef Skewers

• 1 lbs flank steak, cut into 1 or 2 inch square chunks or 1/2 inch slices
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbs honey or brown sugar
• 1 tbs lemon or lime juice
• 2 tbs orange juice
• 1 tbs minced ginger
• 2-3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 3 tbs finely chopped cilantro
• bamboo skewers

I chose flank steak (also called London broil) because it's relatively mild in taste (compared to ribeye), so it does well with a little marinating. It can also be a bit tough if overcooked. One way to prevent this is to "marinate" in 7-up (approx 2/3 of a 12 oz can) for 3 or 4 hours before marinating in the soy mixture. This is a trick I learned from this recipe, and have used it a couple of times. It's absolutely not required, especially if you use a more marbled cut of meat like chuck steak.

Combine the soy sauce and all the marinade ingredients. Use half the mixture for marinating the meat, and the other half for a dipping sauce. Marinate for 1-4 hours in the fridge. Thread on pre-soaked skewers and let stand for at least 30 minutes to take the chill off before grilling. Serve with rice or lettuce and/or cabbage leaves to make wraps (great appetizer idea).

The dipping sauce can be used just the way it is, but we like it spicy so I add about 1/4 tsp of sambal oelek. Adjust the flavor by adding more of any ingredient.