Dazz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Honey, ginger beef skewers

A pile of root ginger sat in the pantry for a week after I bought too much for a curry.
It had dried ever so slightly, but had not wrinkled with age.

There was also an ageing rump steak in the fridge that needed eating, so after a search of the pantry I found the basics of a marinade.

I have previously used this marinade for chicken and prawns and decided to change it slightly to use with beef for some tasty skewers.

There are some people who dislike ginger, but others who love it.

With this method of preparation, the ginger is sweetened and absorbed by the honey and lime. And even though a lot of ginger is used, the resulting flavour is not overpowering.

You can use nearly any cut of beef for this, as the lime in the marinade helps to tenderise the meat. Serve as a starter with rice, or as a something to snack on when you have guests.


Ingredients

1kg diced beef
100-200g root ginger (peeled and sliced into matchsticks)
3 cloves garlic
½ cup natural raw honey
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup soya sauce
1 Tbsp fennel seeds
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
2 dried chillies
Bamboo skewers (soaked in water)

Method

Bring the honey up to the boil in a small stainless pot. Add the ginger and simmer, then add the garlic. Bring back up to the boil and add the lime juice, and reduce heat to a simmer. Crush the seeds and chilli well and add to the mixture with soya sauce. Cool slightly and pour over the diced beef. Cover and refrigerate for two-three hours.

Skewer the beef up with pre-soaked bamboo skewers and on a baking tray bake under a hot oven grill.

Depending on the size of the diced beef they should only take five-six minutes to cook.
The beef skewers are nice as is, or you could serve with a dead-simple peanut sauce, of peanut butter, sweet chilli sauce, and coconut cream blended and heated, with some coriander.