Spicy Teriyaki Tacos
I am a huge fan of teriyaki! I can’t imagine a veggie or protein that would not “sing” after taking a bath in a glorious, sweet and salty teriyaki marinade.
So, I must warn you, this is the first of many teriyaki recipes I will be sharing with you. Teriyaki is a heart recipe for me. It is our family’s traditional lake food and we all dream and drool for it all year. We literally count down to the Fourth of July like everyone else counts down to December 25th. We have always made our own marinade…actually, David’s grandma makes the marinade in a large mason jar – ooh-la-la it smells so good.
The other day when I decided to marinate some flat iron steaks in all of the things that make teriyaki, teriyaki…I new it was going to be a happy meal kind of night. Well, not THAT kind of happy meal – the kind of meal when all eaters are happy to be eating it. As I was mixing it up, I had visions of telling the boys what was for dinner and them skipping with glee. I could envision them being so happy that they couldn’t help but treat each other with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness (well, that one is hard to picture) and SELF-Control (Okay, that one is a stretch…haha).
But, guess what?? They were so thrilled when I opened the container of marinating steak- they did respond in the way I had hoped, really! They were kind both in their words and their actions, joyful in anticipating what was to come & the same memories that make this food special for me drew out feelings of love in them too. You see, this stuff is in our blood, it’s part of our heart, the taste takes each of us back to where we all long to stay. A time we all have wished a thousand times would last forever. And with that first bite, just for a moment, we are on the deck, looking out at the lake, with our clan, laughing, eating too much and swatting flies.
As I mixed those classic ingredients up, I got a wild idea and added thick slices of jalapeños. Oh wow! It was a great addition to the classic. As David said, while we were eating, “it is a subtle warmth – nothing too in your face”. Exactly right, it was like the heat should have been there and was there all along. The jalapeños completed the teriyaki. And as I closed my eyes, I could see it – our lake, our bridge – our little place with our loves.
This time I turned the spicy teriyaki into tacos. As part of the taco, I added the grilled asparagus which I wrote about here. The combination was absolute perfection. The heat, the crunch, the sweet and brininess…so utterly perfect. I will be making this this week – tomorrow. I wish I had it in my hands now!!
- 3 lbs flat-iron steak sliced (1/2" thick) & trimmed of all fat and tendon
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 3-5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 5-1/4" slices of fresh ginger
- 2 T fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 2 jalapeños, thickly sliced
- 1 c soy sauce
- 1/2 c red wine (good quality)
- tacos + garnishes
- 10 refrigerated flour tortillas
- grilled asparagus
- 1 avocado, sliced
- diced tomatoes
- salsa
- 1 c sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 c lt. sour cream
- Combine marinade ingredients with sliced steak in a shallow glass dish (the dish I use is 7"x 9" is is 3" deep), cover with a lid or plastic wrap and marinate from 30 minutes to overnight. Stir the steak & marinade a couple of times to make sure the marinade is getting all up in the steak's business.
- Prepare garnishes & cook tortillas.
- Prepare grill, over a medium fire, place steak on a heated and greased cast-iron (pizza-type pan) and cook 7-10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time.
- Assemble & enjoy.
- *I chose to marinate my teriyaki for 4 hours.
- **The amounts of soy sauce and red wine are approximate but I usually try to keep the soy sauce and wine ratio 2:1. The marinade doesn't need to totally cover the steak - it will works it's way into into the steak...trust me.