thai ginger-honey beef salad

For dinner I wanted something fresh and colorful, and also something I could pair with steak. I've been craving a Thai-style beef, but also something healthy and light. So I found a recipe from Epicurious for a ginger-honey marinade for beef – one that has a little kick and uses lots of herbs and spices – that would be perfect for a salad.

Color: that's how the salad was built. Red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow pepper, green cucumber, earthy mushrooms, purple onion. The colors alone, not to mention all the fresh flavors, got me excited. Then we pulled the beef out of the marinade. Intoxicating and spicy, citrusy and sweet, it went on the grill until it was tender and made our mouths water.

Simple. Tasty. Colorful. Fresh. Healthy. Make this steak and serve it over salad or with other Thai-style side dishes (Ina's peanut noodles would be amazing). You won't be disappointed.

Thai Ginger-Honey Beef
Marinade & Steak

• 3/4 to 1 lb. of skirt or flank steak
• 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 6 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon cilantro
• 1 tablespoon mint leaves (home grown!)
• Juice from one lime, about 1 tbsp
• 1 small Thai (or serrano) chile or jalepeno
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced

1. Place all ingredients (soy sauce through ginger) in a food processor and puree. Place steak in a bag or shallow dish and pour the marinade over it. Tightly cover or seal and allow the steak to marinate in the refrigerate for at least two hours.
2. Preheat the grill to 350*. Grill, turning once, until the meat is the desired doneness. Remove the meat from the grill and wrap it tightly in foil; allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Slice it thinly against the grain. Serve immediately.

Note: I whipped up a homemade salad dressing of orange and lime juice, sesame oil and a little soy sauce. Refreshing and delicious with the citrus and sesame.

Before I go, let me just say that the advantages of marinating meats before grilling go beyond flavor boosting. Grilling meat at high heat produces carcinogenic compounds (heterocyclic amines [HCAs] and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs], just in case you were wondering). Marinating meat helps to prevent these compounds from being formed. In fact, rosemary, oregano and sage are credited in being some of the best to add to a marinade for just that purpose. All the more reason to pour on the flavor before you grill!