Beef Kushiyaki

Hi Everyone!

Kushiyaki refers to all foods that are skewered and grilled.
Tonight I made Beef Kushiyaki, Caroline style.
Terrible picture I know, but I'm opting for the non photo-shopped look.
I swear it's not burnt! Just horrible horrible lighting! I was not going to spend an hour photographing my dinner for the perfect shot....darn it I was gonna eat that piping hot!

This recipe is versatile and can be done with Chicken, Pork, Beef, Shrimp, the marinade is basically homemade Teriyaki sauce with garlic and ginger added to it so the sky's the limit on what you can cook it with.

The things you'll need:
1. 1 TBS sugar
2. 2 TBS Mirin (sweetened rice wine)
3. 2 TBS Shoyu (soy sauce, please try your best for a Japanese soy sauce, taste varies by country)
4. 2 TBS Sake (if you can't find sake, Sherry will work just fine)
5. 1 TSP ginger paste
6. 1 TSP garlic paste
7. 1/2 pound beef cubed
8. 1 Ziploc bag or 1 container with a lid
9. bamboo skewers, soak in water for about 1 hour, this will prevent them from burning
10. a grill or griddle, heck if desperate use a frying pan

Cut the beef into bite sized cubes, the goal is to be able to eat one right off the stick and avoiding choking hazards.

In a Ziploc bag put all the ingredients except for the beef together.
Today I was out of sake and sherry (a truly rare day) so I used some white cooking wine.

Use your hand and massage the Ziploc bag until the garlic and ginger paste incorporate into the mixture.
Add the beef and let it marinate for at least 1 hour. The one I made today I had put it to marinate at about 11 AM and cooked it at 8 PM.
Put the meat on the skewers.

With a paper towel blot the excess marinade off the beef.

I used a indoor electric grill to cook these, you can use your outdoor grill or as I said before if desperate a frying pan or griddle will work well too.
I sprayed the grill with some Pam and cooked the beef on medium-low heat, it took about 15 minutes, I rotated the skewers 3 times and left them on each side for about 5 minutes to cook and the meat stayed moist. You can also do this on high heat to get a better sear.

If you do not have access to Pam, dipping a paper towel that's been folded into a little square in some vegetable oil and gently coating the grill or pan will work well too.

This recipe can be done with cubed beef or thin sliced of beef skewered, I've done both and both turn out really well.

I had this with a touch of wasabi and served it with miso soup and white rice.

I hope you give this a try.
P.S. what do you think of my Sailor Moon hashi (chopsticks)?

Mini Web Mistress Sasha patiently waiting for a sample of tasty tasty beef