I love teriyaki. I don’t care if it’s chicken or beef, as long as the meat has lots of flavor and hasn’t been cooked to death. (Isn’t that a stupid statement. Anything you cook, be it meat or vegies, is already dead. But I digress.)

Anyway, I am currently on a mission to use up the meat in our freezer that Mr. C. has deemed “obviously abandoned”. And included in that category were two small packages of mystery meat. One contained a small piece of sirloin steak (as it turned out), and the other, half a flank steak.

So, while the meat was thawing, I went to work finding a new and exciting way to give this meat the respect it deserved. And I landed on this teriyaki marinade recipe from the heartnaptime.net site. (Great site BTW.)  

And OMG, what a wonderful teriyaki dinner we had last evening. Along with steamed brown rice, I prepared Teriyaki Salad Dressing over Romaine, Carrot, Celery, and Green Onions. (Recipe to be published in the next few days.) (But get a preview by scrolling down to find the recipe below.)

Now, this is not a wimpy marinade/sauce recipe. It is bold, brazen, and any other word you might think of to mean “holy moly powerful”! So, go slowly into that good sauce when it comes time to decorate the grilled meat before serving.

Well, that’s all I have to say today. Mr. C. has a gig in Anacortes at 3:00 this afternoon. So, I am going to keep this preface short and sweet. Which reminds me, this teriyaki marinade/sauce is not too sweet. A taste of honey, as the old song title goes, but not in the least bit overpoweringly sugary. Perfectly balanced.

So, next time you get a hankering for teriyaki, give this recipe a try. Easy, and relatively inexpensive to make. And better than most beef teriyaki you can find in restaurants.

Happy Saturday to all. And of course, peace and love from our home to yours.

½ c. low-sodium Tamari or soy sauce  

¼ c. water

2 T. toasted sesame oil

2 T. honey 

2 T.  Worcestershire sauce

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2-3 tsp. minced fresh ginger

1½ lbs. flank steak, fat and silver skin removed 

sliced green onions, garnish   

Combine the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, honey, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and ginger in a glass bowl. Whisk until combined. Pour 1/3rd of the marinade in a small pan. Set aside.

Add the flank steak to the remining marinade, cover, and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (Best when marinated for 4-6 hours.) Remove from fridge at least 30 minutes ahead of grilling.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.  

Place the steak on the hot grill and cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn the steak over and grill another 2-3 minutes. For medium-rare (135-degrees). 

Remove from grill and let rest for about 5 minutes before thinly slicing on the diagonal. Serve with remaining marinade (now teriyaki sauce) which has been brought to a boil, reduced to simmer, and cooked for about 5 minutes.

TERIYAKI SALAD DRESSING FOR ROMAINE, CARROT, CELERY, AND GREEN ONIONS

For the dressing:

½ c. mayonnaise  

1 T. rice vinegar  

2 tsp. granulated sugar  

1 tsp. soy sauce

tiny pinch granulated garlic  

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

freshly ground black pepper (not too much)

Whisk together the mayo, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, granulated garlic, sesame oil, and black pepper in a covered container. Refrigerate before serving.

For the salad:

3-4 c. chopped romaine or iceberg lettuce

½ c. shredded carrot

½ c. thinly sliced celery or cabbage

2 finely chopped green onions

Place in a bowl and toss lightly with salad dressing just before serving.