Asian Skirt Steak with Firecracker Noodles

I became motivated to cook some Asian food yesterday when my mom, who loves to cook like me,asked me if I wanted to go to the Asian Market with her.  I love learning about different cultures and their cooking so I gladly packed my daughter Lilly and my cousin Lauren with me in the car and we headed down to the market.  As soon as we entered the market I immediately became enthralled with the sights, smells, and all of the new products I was about to experience.  I had picked out a pretty basic recipe beforehand so I had my list of ingredients ready to purchase.  While pushing Lilly in the cart we ran across all sorts of new spices, noodles, produce, and children's snacks. My wheels immediately started turning and I began to envision a dinner that I was going to prepare.  I left the market with a sense of accomplishment and as if I had visited a whole other country.  I decided to pair this evening's meal with a glass of champange as I have heard that with Asian food a lighter, sweeter pairing would go great with it.  Tony decided to have a Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat Ale which as I tasted a sip of it I realized that that too also pairs well.

Appetizer:  I prepared a Pork and Leek Dumpling (from the freezer section)  I didn't have an Asian steamer like the directions recommended so my mom told me to use the largest stockpot that I had and add about half of cup of water to the bottom of it.  I then took a bowl and turned it upside down into the water and placed a small plate on top of that that was sprayed with Pam and placed the frozen dumplings on top of that.  I covered the stock pot and turned the heat on high and steamed the dumplings for 10 minutes.

Marinade for Skirt Steak:

1 tablespoon chili oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon minced lemongrass ( my new favorite ingredient)

2 tablespoons chopped green onions, plus more for garnish

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 skirt steaks

 (recipe from Emeril Lagasse)

In a large zip-top bag, combine all ingredients. Squeeze out the excess air and seal. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

Preheat grill.
Remove the steak from the marinade. Grill on both sides for 4 minutes

Firecracker Noodles

8 oz. rice noodles
2 tbsp of low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of rice vinegar
1/3 cup of shredded carrot ( I used carrot and brocolli slaw because that's what I had)
2 tbsp of cilantro

Recipe from John Mitzewich

So I have 8 oz of rice noodles, those are the thin ones. We're going to boil those for 10 minutes, they cook fast, and then we're going to rinse them in very cold water and drain them very well. We don't want a wet salad.

Add 2 tsp of soy sauce.. We're going to add 2 tbsp of olive oil, we're going to add 2 tbsp of rice vinegar, 1/3 cup of shredded carrot ( or slaw). Mix it up and refrigerate until needed.  It definetly tastes better cold.

Once I had the noodles prepared I placed them on the plate and added the cooked skirt steak to the top.  As a vegetable we had Edamame (Lilly's favorite) and had the dumplings as the appetizer.  Again, pair with a glass of champagne, reisling, or the Ale that I recommended. I also added Chile Sauce as a side to make it spicy as I didn't want Lilly to not like the dish as the sauce can be spicy. I hope that you enjoy!  Tony and I feel motivated to watch The Last Samurai to accompany this amazing Summer Asian dish!