We grill a lot of chicken, partly because it is easy and healthy but I also genuinely enjoy chicken breasts if they are well seasoned, cooked to be tender and juicy – and of course marinated in some delicious concoction. This honey and ginger chicken recipe is very straightforward and goes well with brown rice and sesame broccoli, but my favorite way to eat it is on a salad of mixed greens with grilled zucchini, toasted walnuts and feta cheese.

Making this meal at home is very easy and is a great candidate for a quick weeknight meal since it takes less than 30 minutes. The key to success is to find ground pork which isn’t super lean. As with any great burger or meatball fat is a key to juiciness. Unfortunately I don’t always have open flame available in my kitchen but even a stove top grill produces a delicious Bun Cha.

Haven’t had a chance to read about my travels in Vietnam, Hong Kong & Cambodia? Read all about it here:
Foodie Travel Diary Pt1: Hong Kong – Shiny Meats and Chicken’s Feet
Foodie Travel Diary Pt2: Vietnam – Noodle Soup for Breakfast
Foodie Travel Diary Pt3: Vietnam – A Country of Foodies
Foodie Travel Diary Pt4: Vietnam – How to Navigate Street Food

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.

Now this recipe is spicy. No, I mean S-P-I-C-Y, don’t underestimate me here please. If you don’t like spicy food than I highly suggest you reduce the quantity of sambal oelek in the recipe as that is what produces the heat.

This particular tenderloin I butterflied before marinating it. I find I can get a crisper texture on the outside because there is more surface area against the grill. Incidentally, after much debate on the wine, we selected a gewürztraminer. It paired very well with the fiery pork.

Besides briefly setting this chicken on fire, I must say that my first attempt at using the rotisserie attachment for our barbecue was quite successful. The key was to heat up the barbecue, and then once it was hot, to turn off the main burners and only use the back burner to cook the chicken.

What made the chicken great was the crispy and flavourful skin with a moist and juicy flesh. I recommend serving this as a meal with a few easy salads which can be prepare ahead of time like the cold asparagus salad and grilled corn salad.

This combination of the charred beef and the grilled soft eggplant has wonderful contrasting textures and flavours when wrapped into pita bread. Not a fan of pita? Try serving some of those amazing Greek potatoes alongside instead. You can prepare most of this ahead of time and just leave the meat grilling until you are ready to eat. Perfect for a party, or trying to time your dinner between periods of hockey.

This tuna recipe is a variation with a more citrusy twist. The raw onions are soaked in water briefly to take the edge off (a great trick for Greek salad by the way). The only complaint I received was that there wasn’t enough — even though this was only the appetizer.

Rather than doing it in a pan, this tuna recipe can also be done on the grill and served immediately. By doing it in a pan and freezing it briefly before slicing it is simply easier to get a clean cut. Feel free to do it a few hours ahead of time, store it in the fridge, then slice and served cold when you are ready for it.

Consider this recipe a twofer. First, it makes an excellent appetizer as grilled chicken satay is always a crowd pleaser. Secondly, you can turn it into a full meal by using the grilled chicken to top a salad or serve alongside some steamed rice and vegetables.

As a room temperature dinner salad this worked very well. You can toss the extra coconut peanut sauce with some cooked asian noodles and blanched mixed vegetables like broccoli. A nice touch is to also toss in some fresh raw vegetables like cucumber, green onions, peppers or snow peas. If you plate the noodles on a bed of lettuce you get that nice fresh crunch as well.

However, this pork ribs recipe is a little different. The sesame and soy based braising (and ultimately glazing) liquid is inspired by the quite famous Korean short rib dish – Kalbi. The flavours of the sesame really come through the final product and are a nutty contrast to the sweet meat. Got kimchi? Serve it alongside. Got leftovers? Shred the meat and serve like a lettuce wrap along with a pinch of rice inside.

Just in case you don’t have a grill, or it is still drizzly and grey where you are, you can always check out these Crockpot Korean Ribs from the archives.

Tostadas are like little Mexican pizzas, messy, fun to eat, and endlessly adaptable. This beef tostada recipe is all about the marinade on the flank steak. To celebrate the season of citrus, mix together this spicy orange and chipotle sauce — would be great on chicken too.

If you actually look at the calorie count of this recipe you will be pleasantly surprised, compared to pizza this is actually quite healthy — especially if you avoid frying the tortillas. Plus, if you have leftovers you can make a killer taco salad.