Getting Ready for Grilling

Greetings! I have been so busy with baby but promise to post more frequently. In anticipation for warmer weather (its coming, right??), I have been making double or triple batches of my favorite marinade. I portion out the marinade in zippered freezer storage bags. Then I add the meat of our choice to the bags in serving sizes we like. So in a bag I may have two chicken breasts and 1/2 cup of marinade. The bag then goes into the freezer. When we are ready to grill, we remove a bag. The meat will marinate as it defrosts (remember to use safe defrost techniques).

Right now in the freezer, we have jerk chicken breasts, jerk pork tenderloin and lime chicken with black bean sauce in the freezer. Next will be doing Thai marinated chicken.

This is one of my favorite time savings tips. Especially when I'm already making a marinade. It only takes a few extra minutes to make a larger batch and portion if out.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Today is the Chinese or Lunar New Year, marking the beginning of the Year of the Ox. Unfortunately I don't have any ox recipes to share. Perhaps a beef recipe instead? (And Thai not Chinese - I am really stretching today!)

Thai Curry Beef
2 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons curry paste, or less depending on your spicy preference (panang curry paste is preferred)
1 cup coconut milk, or more if you prefer a soupier dish
2 cups sliced beef sirloin steak, sliced into around 1" slices
1 cup sliced red bell pepper, sliced into around 1/2" to 3/4" slices
1 – 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
1 – 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons roasted peanuts
3 – 4 kaffir lime leaves, slivered for garnish (optional)
3 – 4 fresh Thai chilies, slivered for garnish (optional)
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Heat the oil over medium heat in a wok of high sided skillet. Add the curry paste and sauté until it becomes aromatic.
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Stir in the coconut milk and increase heat to medium-high. Heat until coconut milk just begins to boil.
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Add the meat and cook until it is nearly done, about 5 minutes for medium rare.
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Add bell peppers, 1 Tablespoon of fish sauce and 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes.
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Taste and add more fish sauce and brown sugar if necessary.
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Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with kaffir leaves and chilies.
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NOTE: Fresh basil leaves can be substituted for kaffir leaves. Although the taste is not the same, it will add flavor. Chose Thai basil if it is available.
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For my Lansing area readers, I have been able to pick up fresh kaffir lime leaves and panang curry at Oriental Mart (2800 E Grand River Ave, East Lansing #517/337-2519 – near Coral Gables restaurant between Hagadorn and Park Lake Roads).