Where there's smoke, there's dinner...

It's going to be a very hot, humid summer if the the first few days of May are any indication! We had a passing thunderstorm, and it passed through pretty quickly, good thing, I had flank steaks marinating for the grill. Not for the grill pan, which causes so much smoke, that the smoke alarms upstairs start to go off as well! Haven't had to call the Fire Dept for excessive smoke yet, but we did call once years ago for the carbon monoxide alarm going off. Who knew lb meant low battery? I do now. Battery? The thing plugged into the wall. Electrical, I never gave battery backup a second thought. I couldn't find the manual in the ensuing panic. The firemen got a good laugh at that one! I swear it looked like a one and a six. I was prepared when the next one went off. I had saved the manual. The little chirps and the code meant the unit was older than seven years and needed replacing! That's my public service message for today, get a carbon monoxide alarm, use it, and save the manual in a place you'll remember!

The thunderstorm passed, so the Griller was able to grill! I love less work for me! The cabbage salad is tweaked a bit to try and copy one I regularly get at the Chinese restaurant we go to sometimes. Theirs has a red chile sauce on top and will clear your sinus passages for quite a while. This one from epicurious comes close, without the red chile sauce. So I added more than a few drops of Sriracha sauce to mine. and some Hot Chili Oil. I didn't remember a big ginger flavor so I reduced that a little. and added some sweet red peppers and a few slices of fresh jalapeno. Ah, this will definitely clear the sinuses. Serve with a box of tissues on the side! Very crunchy and refreshing! Grandma is already on her second box of tissues! No sinus issues for her tonight!

The flank steak is great, really flavorful, next time I won't be lazy and I'll grind the coriander! This one is a keeper! Had a little trouble with the Soba Noodle dish. It's delicious and not a difficult recipe when you pay attention. That's the tricky part for me :) This time I was concentrating so much on not overcooking the Soba, three minutes is perfect, not the six minutes it says on the package. But reducing the soy sauce suffered a bit...

Boy, does that smoke when you're beyond reducing it, way past a solid, sticky glob, it turned to ash! Talk about no visibility! Smokey! Had to start that again, and that's when I realized...

Those noodles? They'll never cook if you don't turn the stove on! Took me about ten minutes to figure that the water for the noodles weren't boiling!

Finally got myself in sync and in the end, when the smoke cleared, dinner was really very good! The new flank steak marinade was excellent! The cabbage salad was sweet-hot super good and the soba noodles were delicious! Much, much better than take-out!

Coriander Teriyaki Flank Steak
adapted
Source: Gourmet, December 2001
Printable Recipe

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, coarsely ground in an electric coffee/spice grinder (I used ground because I was lazy!)
1 lb flank steak
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
2 - 3 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (optional, to garnish)

Rub coriander onto both sides of steak and put the steak on a large plate, or place the steak in a large Ziploc freezer bag to marinate. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and oil and pour over steak, turning steak to coat. Marinate, turning occasionally, 10 minutes or more. I marinated it for about two hours! and grilled to medium. You can also broil or use a grill pan.

Hot-and-Sour Cabbage Salad
Source: Gourmet, December 2001
Printable Recipe

1 pound Napa cabbage (about 1/2 head), chopped in small pieces, but not too small
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes (to taste) - I used hot chili oil, very little, a few drops!
some thin slices of sweet red bell pepper
some thin slices of fresh jalapeno
Sriracha sauce (to taste!)

Put cabbage, peppers and scallion in a large bowl.

Bring vinegar, ginger, sugar, and red pepper flakes (or chili oil) to a boil in a small saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Let dressing cool, and then pour dressing over cabbage, tossing to combine.
 

Spicy Cold Soba Noodles
for the recipe click here!

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