How Do You Like My “Meat Tie?”
It looked like a bold red tie to me, and even though I had a T-shirt on, it made for quite the outfit!
Why am I holding this up for you? Because Chef Ming Tsai’s brilliant “Blue Ginger” Restaurant and Cookbook has “east meets west” cooking – and a recipe using this piece of beef!
I know Ming personally, and he is a terrific, passionate Chef – so I couldn’t wait to take this massively sliced piece of beef and give it that “Chef Ming touch, thanks to his great “Blue Ginger” cookbook – based on recipes from his acclaimed restaurant, which close a few years ago after a twenty year run near Boston!
Time To Make Gingered Beef With Asparagus And Leek!
This dish is fairly easy to make, it’s all about some specific preparation ahead of time.
Here’s everything you need for the dish:
1 pound flank steak
1 pound asparagus
4 medium leeks
2 garlic cloves
1 tbl sesame oil
1/4 cup canola or olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 bulb fresh ginger
salt and pepper to taste
First, let’s begin by getting that flank steak marinated!
In a dish big enough to hold the steak, add 6 thin slices of fresh ginger with the soy sauce, olive oil, sesame oil, pepper and dry sherry.
Now…do you remember this shot?
Well, the recipe called for a single pound of beef but when I got home from the store, this is what was in the package – 2 full pounds of flank steak, packaged up in one long strip!
So, I doubled the marinate recipe and massaged it into the meat, making sure to completely coat all of it, then I covered it and stored it in the refrigerator – you can do this an hour or more before cooking the dish.
While the beef marinates, it’s time to prep our asparagus!
Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil, trim the ends off of the asparagus and then slice them into two piece chunks…once boiling, put the asparagus in for 4-5 minutes…take it out sooner if you want it with more of a bite…
Put the cooked asparagus into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process, drain and set aside….now, on to the leeks!
Remove the green ends and the then julienne the leeks. Heat the wok, add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Then add the leeks, garlic and ginger and cook for 3 minutes…
As you can see, I decided to zest the ginger for extra flavor and I’m glad I did! Now it’s time for the meat!
Take the beef out of the marinade and slice against the grain into 1/8″ slices…
Add the meat to the leeks and wok for 3-4 minutes…it’s fun and smells great as well!
Now, add the asparagus back in and keep the wok sizzling:
It literally only takes a few minutes to combine all of the flavors…I snuck in just a bit more of the marinade and it added even more richness to the dish!
I made a side of fried rice to go with the dish, and I added the remaining marinade, and the rice absorbed all of the flavor!
That’s it, the dish is done!
I have to say that this dish is absolutely delicious! I have become a huge fan of meat dishes that use beef or chicken as a small part of the dish, and with the leeks and asparagus, this feels healthy and fresh.
Our close friends Nicole and Bill came over to sample it as well, and they happily posed behind the dish because they loved it!
I will say one more time that the fried rice is a great side dish to have with it!
I love Asian flavors, and I decided once to make homemade Dumplings!
I made these as part of my “52 In 22” cooking challenge and the recipe is here!
I am also a fan of Japanese Pub food like this:
Yes, I had a number of different pub items, like grilled Octopus and fish cakes – see all of the recipes here:
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Categories: 52 In 22!, Alcohol And Bars, Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Food, Food Pictures, Recipes, Travel, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Hi John, a large and unusual necktie, indeed! This recipe sounds really delicious 💝
I have that book! Not sure I’ve ever used it. What a tie indeed! Great recipe.
I am the same way: lots of cookbooks that I have to remember to dig into! Thanks for the comment!
that looks so good, not really as a tie, but as a dish )
HA! Agree!
Flank is a lovely cut of meat quite underused I think…Love the alternative necktie 👌
Yes, we never cook with it so it was a fun change of pace…had friends over because otherwise that was far too much beef! Thanks for the comment!
That’s one huge piece of meat. Just as well you had company to enjoy the delicious result.
Best wishes, Pete.
Yes, the good thing about flank steak is you slice it thin…and not much is needed at all!