(Too Easy) Asian Marinated Flank Steak with Stir Fried Brown Rice

What I love about cooking - pretty dang easy but tastes like it took forever. The hardest part of this was steaming the brown rice. It always takes twice as long as I think. And I think it takes forever. But in the end this was the "best dinner in a long time." Complaint or compliment?" Doesn't matter. I've got to capture it before I forget. (Cooks tip - buy sushi grade rice every time you use a steamer. Maybe it's a rip off, but I notice the difference. For real.)

Asian Marinated Flank Steak with Stir Fried Brown Rice

Serves "about" 4

Marinated Skirt Steak

¼ cup Worcester sauce

¼ cup soy sauce

3 Tablespoons honey

3 Tablespoons hot/sweet Thai chili sauce

3 Tablespoons pineapple juice

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 ½ pound flank steak (or sub skirt steak)

Add the ingredients except the steak to a bowl and whisk until thoroughly blended. Place in a resealable plastic bag with the steak and marinate overnight.  Prior to cooking, set aside ½ of the marinade for the rice.

As you are preparing the rice, cook the steak until medium rare. I use a two burner cast iron griddle, but you can use the broiler or a grill. On the cast iron griddle over medium to medium high heat, cook for about 5 minutes on side, and 4 minutes on the other. Let rest for at least 10 minutes. Slice thinly (AGAINST the grain) and serve with the rice.

Fried Brown Rice

2 cups steamed brown sushi rice (still warm and moist)

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon + teaspoon coconut oil

½ large yellow onion, finely diced

1 medium carrot, shredded

1 cup thawed green peas

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

S & P to taste

Break the eggs into a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper, and give a slight stir with a fork to break and slightly blend the yolk. This allows for a mix of cooked yolk and whites. Place 1 teaspoon coconut oil in a preheated wok (or deep saute pan) over medium heat. Flip once and cooked until it is just firm. Chop to medium and set aside to cool.

Add the onion, carrot, and peas, and a touch of salt and pepper in the wok and cook until the onions are soft and slightly translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil and one-half of the marinade from steak. Cooked until thoroughly heated and just starting to bubble. Add the rice and another touch of salt and pepper,  and cook until hot, about 5 minutes. 

Reduce the heat to low, add the chopped up egg stir well, let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir every few minutes, but let cook untouched for the last 5 minutes or so. I like a little bit of brown crisp to the rice. Not too much, but just enough to add some texture.

Place ¾ cup of rice on a plate and top with 4 oz of the sliced steak. Serve steaming hot.

Not So Ancient Chinese Secret

An easy family pleaser is almost always something out of the wok. I’ve tinkered with a standard Asian-Hawaiian stir-fry that I’ve got just about the way I like it. It works for us. But I also love PF Changs Spicy Chicken. It’s very much like General Tso’s from most Chinese restaurants. (For the record, they don’t serve General Tso’s in China, and will laugh at you if you ask about it.) Last night I took my first shot at it, and the family gave it a thumbs up. I’ll likely keep tinkering with it.

T-Dawg’s Spicy Chicken

Serves 4

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, diced in bite size pieces

1 egg

½ cup flour

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Green Onions (trimmed and cut in 2” lengths) – Optional

1 cup broccoli florets (optional)

2 cups + 2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

½ teaspoon ginger (minced)

Sauce

1 ½ cup chicken stock

3 Tablespoons Hoisin sauce

1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon corn starch

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil (or substitute 2 teaspoons of sesame oil)

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat wok (or skillet) over medium high heat and add 2 cups oil. In a large bowl beat the egg and add chicken. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken pieces to  flour and toss until well coated. Place the chicken in the hot oil, cooking until golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel covered plate to reserve.

Combine all of the ingredients for the sauce, stirring well until sugar and corn starch is dissolved.

Remove the oil, carefully wipe out the wok, and heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the onions and broccoli (if desired) and cook for 2 minutes, tossing frequently. Add the sauce and heat through, until it starts to bubble and thickens. Add the chicken pieces and stir until well coated.

Serve with steamed white or brown rice.

Hawaiian Chicken Stir-Fry

Serves 4

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, diced in bite size pieces

3 Tablespoons cooking oil (divided)

1 clove minced garlic

1 (8 oz.) can pineapple chunks, in juice (reserved)

1 (8 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

½ cup chicken stock

1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon honey

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon corn starch

To make the sauce, combine the chicken stock, rice vinegar, soy sauce and honey and stir well. Add corn starch and stir until dissolved.

Preheat wok (or skillet) over medium high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Push away from center of the wok and add water chestnuts to the center. Cook for additional 2 minutes. Add the sauce and heat through, until it starts to bubble and thickens. Add pineapple and cook for 2 minutes.

Serve with steamed white or brown rice.

Light Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ever looking to “healthy up” our lifestyle in a typical New Year’s fashion, I’ve been seeking creative ways to change up the menu. Here’s one I did this week that seemed to be a hit. It starts with Kraft Light Asian Toasted Sesame reduced fat salad dressing. I have used this as a marinade for grilled chicken before, and it seemed to go over well. The nice thing about this is that you can top it on rice, serve it as a lettuce wrap, or in my case, a little bit of both. Abbey had it with white rice, Peggy liked it with brown rice, and I had it with brown rice, and wrapped in lettuce. It’ll come back to the table again soon.

Asian Chicken and Rice Lettuce Wraps

Serves 4

1 lb boneless chicken breasts (finely diced)

4 tablespoons Kraft Light Asian Toasted Sesame reduced fat salad dressing

¼ cup finely diced onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

½ cup finely diced water chestnuts

¼ cup slivered almonds

1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Lettuce leaves (Butter or Boston Bibb)

4 cups prepared rice (optional)

Heat a wok, if available, or saute pan to medium high heat and coat with non-stick spray, or use optional olive oil. Cook onion for approximately 5 mins, or until it just starts to turn translucent. Mix in garlic and cook 2 more minutes.

Push onions to outer edge, and put chicken, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in the center. Cook until it just starts to brown. Mix in water chestnuts, slivered almonds, and salad dressing. Cook for additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Serve on top of prepared rice, or with lettuce leaves. Or both!