In the North of Vietnam I found a lot of dishes which were fragrant with the reedy scent of lemongrass. When we were in Halong Bay every meal was 6-7 courses of seafood, and every second course seemed to have lemongrass in it. I knew that on my return to Vancouver lemongrass would need to be a more regular staple in my pantry, here is the first – a grilled lemongrass steak recipe.
The marinade for this grilled flank steak is very much inspired by Bun Thit Noung, or Vietnamese grilled pork. However, usually with this recipe you use a strong and very sweet dark soy sauce to create a thick caramelization on the meat which I decided might over power the flavour of the steak.
Grilled Lemongrass Beef Recipe
(2-4 servings)
Combine the lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, sesame oil scallions, pepper, sugar and chili in a blender or large mortar and pestle. Pulverize until well combined but still chunky. Place the steak and marinade in a ziploc or marinating container. Seal and allow to marinate at room temperature for an hour or in the fridge for 4-8 hours.
Before grilling allow to meat to come to room temperature first. Preheat you grill to high and remove from marinade. Grill over high heat flipping regularly until medium rare - about 5 minutes. Allow to rest for 5-8 minutes before slicing and eating.
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