I love fall… but I wish the it didn’t hate me. With all the pollen floating about (I’m looking at you ragweed) I’m lucky if I can wake up on any given day and breathe through my nose. I know part of it’s my own fault. I should shutter my house and rely on the HEPA filtration built into our furnace. But I don’t. I can’t. I love, love the breeze coming through our windows. I love snuggling under our down comforter at night. And I won’t let a silly thing like not being able to breathe get in my way…
So what does this have to do with Thai Beef Tacos (because I’m guessing you’re here to hear about that and not my sinuses)? Open window season = Thai Beef Taco season. I love this meal. It’s simple, fast and full of flavor. But a few years ago, after once again filling the house with smoke from the broiler, Hubster and I agreed that this dish can’t be in year-round rotation.
Now, maybe you have an awesome range hood that actually vents outdoors. We don’t. Or maybe you’re not so concerned about a little food related smoke in your house. Generally, we’ll tolerate some food smells and smoke, but at the time we were meeting with photography clients in our house. We didn’t want one of the first greetings they received to be dinner smells. “Hi, welcome to our home. Please ignore the smoke. We would like to shoot your wedding.”
So maybe you want to add this as a constant in your recipe file. From my end, even though we’ve now separated work and home, I’m still hesitant to fill our condo with broiler fumes… but if the windows are open it’s fair game. And the windows are definitely open…
Thai beef tacos
Modified from Cooking Light’s Thai Beef Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Slaw
2 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp bottled minced ginger
1 ½ tsp soy sauce
½ tsp chili garlic sauce
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 pound top sirloin steak
1 package coleslaw
2 green onions
½ cup fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves
¼ cup lime juice
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 ½ tsp bottled minced fresh ginger
1 ½ tsp soy sauce
½ tsp chili garlic sauce
4 flour tortillas
Mince garlic and combine with sugar, ginger, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce and black pepper in a large zip-top bag. Add the beef, turning to coat. Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat broiler and place beef on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Cook for 7 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile empty the coleslaw into a large bowl. Chop green onions and cilantro, and add to bowl. Mince garlic and combine with sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and chili garlic sauce in a small bowl, stirring to combine. Add dressing to coleslaw mixture, tossing to combine.
Thinly slice steak and place a few strips on each tortilla. Top with coleslaw and serve.
Notes: Alternately you can grill the beef instead of broiling.
Serve with: an Asian rice or noodle side dish. The rice you see above is a recipe in progress :)
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