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 the US is on a “protein” kick: protein bowls, protein ramen noodles – and so many protein drinks like bone broth aka “brodo” everywhere!
Embracing that trend, I wanted to make a “healthy” protein dish and used Chef Ming Tsai’s brilliant “Blue Ginger” Restaurant and Cookbook because he has “east meets west” cooking – and a recipe using this piece of beef in a healthy way!
I know Ming personally, and he is a terrific, passionate Chef – so I couldn’t wait to take that massive 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 closed a few years ago after a twenty year run near Boston!
Time To Make Healthy Gingered Beef With Asparagus And Leek!
My wife Alex and I don’t eat much meat, but when we do, we make sure to do so in a way that is nutricious and balanced, which I think this dish is!
Flank steak is a highly nutritious, lean beef cut offering a dense source of protein with relatively low fat compared to other cuts. It is packed with essential nutrients like Iron, Zinc, Selenium, and B-vitamins (𝐵6,𝐵12, Niacin) that support muscle growth, immune function, and energy metabolism.
This dish is fairly easy to make – if you handle the flank steak right, because 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! Here’s a look – and knowing that my wife Alex is a Producer and was filming me, listen for her direction at the end:
As she said:
“CUT!”
The final touch was to 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, but of course if you are “protein and only protein” then serve it over lettuce or cold sliced cucumber…for me, rice isn’t the enemy so 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 more integrated part of the dish, and with the leeks and asparagus, this feels healthy and fresh.
I will say one more time that the fried rice is a great side dish to have with it – mine is stuffed with carrots and peas!
There has been a major shift to “healthy protein” in the past year in the US, perhaps due in part to a backlash against veganism here in the US…here is that story:
I loved this recipe because I enjoy Asian flavors, and I decided once to make homemade Dumplings!
I made these as part of my “52 In 22” cooking challenge and the recipes for Siu Mai and Potstickers are here!
I am also a fan of Japanese Pub food, which has unique ingredients as well:
I tried to make grilled Octopus, beef skewers and fish cakes as well – see all of the recipes here:
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Writing, Recipes, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
I have that cookbook! I need to re-read it! Delicious meal.
Hi John, this looks like a really tasty meal. The red tie meat gave me a smile too.
This could not be more ‘me’ even if it specifically tried! East v West – ALWAYS even not knowing the particular chef. After having formally studied nutrition for over 30 years and still doing so, I do not agree with the current ‘protein craze’ – in the Western world – we get quite enough of the stuff without trying – the problem being we oft eat the wrong kinds. We do need good carbs and healthy fats – proportions count! Lecture over – love the leeks and asparagus and would add plain brown rice to mop up the juices – don’t know whether you realize fried rice in China is always a separate peasant dish not eaten with other foods 🙂 !