grilled flank steak moo shu-jitas, gallo pinto, steamed broccoli and zucchini

***in which i learn that fusing mexican and asian cuisine can actually work, in certain circumstances, and that i have an unhealthy obsession with chili garlic sauce***


You know how certain people gravitate toward one ingredient and it shows up in all their cooking? Like, say, Paula Deen and butter, Sandra Lee and hot dogs, Bobby Flay and chipotle, Emeril and gaaaahlic (BAM!)? My ingredient is officially chili garlic sauce. I already sang it's praises yesterday, so we won't go into it again, except to say TRY IT TRY IT TRY IT TRY IT!!!

I'm done.

Yesterday I pulled a beautiful half flank steak out of the freezer, which I had marinated in my go-to Asian style marinade (recipe below). But I also had a mighty strong hankering for rice and black beans, or gallo pinto, as it's called in Costa Rica, where we ate it in the mornings with eggs and monkeys howling not twenty yards away. So I decided to devise my own Asiamex-style fusion dinner - I reasoned that moo shu is basically meat wrapped in a tortilla (okay, pancake), and my loverboy chili garlic sauce would make a good Asian-style salsa.

So I tossed the flank steak on the grill for about 15 minutes, giving it a nice sear on both sides before transferring it to a not-as-hot part of the grill. For the rice and black beans, my favorite lately has been Vigo, which is actually a Cuban-style rice and black beans dish but tastes identical to Costa Rican gallo pinto. It takes about 25 minutes in a pot of boiling water and voila! Authentic Latin flavah.

Flank Steak Moo Shu-jitas for Two

1 half flank steak, marinated in Go-To Asian-Style Marinade (recipe below)
Two large fajita-style flour tortillas
Vietnamese chili garlic sauce
Red Onion
Red Pepper

Suggested toppings: sliced scallions, pickled ginger, cheddar cheese, sour cream, lime wedges

For marinade:
1/2 cup Kikkoman Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
1/4 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
3 garlic cloves, finely minced (or two spoonfuls of minced garlic in olive oil)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3 drops sesame oil
1/4 cup mirin (sweet sake)
Dash sriracha (or other hot sauce, if desired)

I've also added a squeeze of lime juice, some chili-garlic sauce and a tablespoon of chopped cilantro to this in the past. This should make enough to marinate a whole flank steak, and it's delicious on chicken, pork, filet mignon, and rack of lamb as well.

1. Marinate the steak overnight, or freeze in the marinade and thaw when ready to use. Heat one side of the grill to high, one side to medium low. Sear the steak quickly on the high side, and transfer to the other side to lock in flavor.

2. Cut thick slices of red onion and red pepper and place on the grill.

3. When steak is finished to your liking, pull it off the heat and let rest for about 5 minutes. Then, slice it as thinly as possible with the grain.

4. Serve sliced steak and grilled veggies over the rice and beans, and top with a generous dollop of chili garlic sauce. Serve with tortilla and various toppings on the side. You can roll it all up in the tortilla, roll some of it up and eat the rest mixed with the rice, throw the rice in there too, whatever tickles your ivories.


I served this with a simple side of steamed broccoli and zucchini, which I quickly tossed in some Garlic Expressions and sea salt.

---------------------------------------------------------

Another discovery from Costa Rica is this amazing stuff called Salsa Lizano. It's like a mild green salsa-sauce, which tastes amazing on everything from eggs and beans to fajitas to taco salad. I'm cherishing my one tiny bottle and must try to find some more online when it's expended.