Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Asian Steak Wraps

I tackled the sweet recipe for Anise Hyssop, and now on to the savory: Asian Steak Wraps. I built this recipe from the “ground up” – I had an idea in mind and did my best to execute it. I started with the anise hyssop. I felt that the flavor would lend itself well to a marinade to contrast with a stronger flavor like steak. I started brainstorming ideas and developed a plan to create a marinade with an Asian flair that used the anise hyssop (leaves only), Chinese 5-spice powder and ginger. Since the anise hyssop has a slightly licorice taste, I decided to caramelize both onions and fennel, since fennel also has a licorice flavor. Next, I wanted a bright, fresh salsa or slaw to put in the wrap, so I put together carrots, red pepper, cabbage and cilantro and tossed it with a sweet & sour vinaigrette. The results were great – slightly sweet from the caramelized onion and fennel mixture as well as the natural caramelization that occurs when you grill meat. Pair that with a sweet & sour slaw to carry through the sweetness, but add a kick of acidity, and you’ve got yourself a really flavorful wrap.

I have to admit, it’s still a struggle to find uses for the anise hyssop, but I feel pretty good about what I’ve accomplished this week. At least it didn’t end up in the trash!

Note: if you’re carb-conscious, you could forgo the flour tortilla and wrap the ingredients in 2 to 3 layers of large lettuce leaves instead.

Click here to download and print a pdf of this recipe:

Asian Steak Wraps

17 comments:

Unknown said...

Yum! I am gonna try this in Forest Park when I am finally settled :)>

David Wolske said...

I'm impressed, you sound like a real chef!

Tiffany Ervin said...

Wow! That looks delicious! Beautiful layout and staging on the plate.

J.R. said...

I just ran into your blog today for the first time. It's really, really good. You write really well, and for not being a professional chef, you come up with some incredible ways to use those boxes. I'm impressed with the ideas of throwing a sweet-and-sour slaw in there, and with wrapping it in lettuce to reduce carbohydrates.

GABRIEL NAVIA said...

mmm que bueno se ve eso
yo quiero uno
:)

crisprcrops said...

yum! that sure looks tasty! wish i had one right now!

A said...

Your flavour analyses are amazing. Wish I could mix and match food that well!

Simon said...

Looks tasty! I like it.

Oridusartic said...

looks delicious!!! kinda like kebab or twister from KFC.. hehehe ^^

Rose said...

wow... that looks so good.....mmmmmm...is it lunchtime yet?

Dwacon said...

YUMMY !!!!

Izzie said...

I'm new to blogspot and as I was messing around with the keywords I found this blog!It's awesome!It's cool that u can do graphics as well as become a good cook!I'm gonna hang around here often!Thanks a lot!And the "facon" idea is awesome since I don't eat ham,pork,bacon or whatever u call it.

JWOW said...

awesome! I am deffinitly going to make these tonight! I am a large fan of mexican and asian food, so this is my perfect mixture.

SH2855 said...

Well as soon as I get my mouth fix this will be just what I want, I live in Korea for two year, man that look good.

Ammaro said...

ok, that looks GOOD

another day, another rant said...

Nice look (good styling -- obviously food magazine quality work) and it sounds yum-o.

Because I live in SoCal, there are these French/Vietnamese fusion sandwich shops nearby, and they dress their "banh mi" with curious mixes that work well. Imagine a crusty baguette, sliced and spread with a sesame mayo, topped with Vietnamese sausage, daikon, carrot, cilantro leaves, slivered jalapeno, sesame seeds, and sweet rice vinegar. What sounds like a train wreck actually tastes like an harmonious blending of disparate cultures and flavours.

That caramelised onion/fennel thing you've got going there reads like it's about to meet some daikon/carrot salad when it wraps in my kitchen.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Eveliina said...

Nam nam nam!