Food Friday- Yakitori Beef

Traditional Japanese Yakitori uses chicken, but this marinade is delicious on beef too!  This is my own version of this classic.  I tend to never have all the ingredients to make a recipe that I find online, so I almost always have to substitute or leave out ingredients (if you were expecting me to be a gourmet chef, you can turn away now). 

Ingredients:

Beef steak of some kind- doesn't matter the quality

Soy Sauce

White Sugar

Sesame Oil

Vegetable Oil

Garlic Powder (or real garlic)

Optional: Ground Ginger (if you actually have it- and don't use the pink kind you put on sushi)

First, you'll need to soak 4 bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.  This doesn't mean 15 minutes or 19.5 minutes.  Seriously, if you don't leave them in there for at least 30 minutes they'll catch on fire.  Not that I know that for any reason, I'm just saying...

 Next, put 1/2 cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil into a bowl and stir.  Set aside.

 Get out your beef and cut off any fat around the edges.  Next, slice into fairly thin strips, about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut the strips in half to make bit size pieces.

 After you make sure that those skewers have been soaking for at least 30 minutes, start sliding your beef pieces onto to skewers.  I had 2 steaks, which ended up being enough for 4 skewers.

 Once all the beef has been put on the skewers, put them in an 8x13 casserole dish or anything else comparable that they will fit in.  Pour the marinade on top and swirl the skewers around to make sure they are coated.  

Now, cover the dish up and stick it in the fridge for at least 4 hours.  Try to remember to turn them at least once so both sides get marinaded.

 After your beef has had time to soak in the goodness, you're ready to fire up the grill.  Spray or brush the grill with oil before placing skewers on.

 I cooked mine for about 5 minutes on each side and they came out about medium well.  You can cook them as little or as much depending on your tastes (am I obligated to state that eating undercooked meat can potentially be hazardous to your health?  Whatever, I like my sushi raw and my steaks rare).

Before plating, let the skewers sit for about 5 minutes to let them cool down and soak up the juices.  After waiting, just slide them off and enjoy!!!  If the flavor isn't strong enough for you, add a little soy sauce on top.  I like to serve this with plain white rice (Botan rice would be great too if you know how to prepare it.  That's a tutorial for another day).

I hope you enjoy this!