Grilled Steak with Portobellos and Sesame-Ginger Sauce
This combination turned out well, so I thought I'd post it on the blog for future reference. I took the flavors that I saw in a recipe in the Cooking Light cookbook (it was a Vietnamese stir-fry done on the stove top) and reworked it to suit us for summer grilling.
The cookbook used these ingredients as a mojo to serve with the dish, but I used them as a marinade for the meat. It is a very bright, lemony marinade that would work well on its own, for meat or chicken. Do this a couple of hours before your meal or overnight.
cilantro leaves
mint leaves
a little water
olive oil
fresh lemon juice -- I used a whole lemon
garlic
Next I snapped the greens and washed them. Tom put them in an aluminum foil packet, with a little salt and butter, to grill them.
To prepare the portobellos, just remove any grit and dirt with a dry paper towel, and cut off the tough part of the stem. Oil them lightly so they won't stick to the grill.
To make the sesame-ginger sauce, you will need lots of green onions(scallions), fresh ginger, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil (light or dark), soy sauce, nutmeg(yum!), and garlic.
Clean and slice the bunch of scallions into small rounds.
Then mix together the remaining ingredients: 1/4 c. soy sauce, 1.5 T. freshly grated ginger, 1 T. brown sugar, 1 T. sesame oil, 1/8 t. nutmeg, and 1 minced garlic clove. You could also put it into a processor if you would prefer a smoother sauce.
Tom grilled everything beautifully. I liked the fact that it was all done on the grill, especially on a hot day, so I don't have to heat up the kitchen.
We used an expensive cut of meat, a round steak, because the cookbook recommended it, and thinking the marinade would break it down, but it was a little too chewy for us, plus I had to remove a bunch of streaks of fat before we cooked it. Flank steak will be better next time.
The portobellos' earthiness goes very well with the bright lemony marinade of the meat, and the nutty sesame sauce is slightly sweet, but has a little kick due to the ginger, and is very aromatic. Loved the hint of nutmeg. The green beans added a nice crunch and some color to the meal.
