Beef Negimaki

Have I mentioned I love Chinese and Japanese food?

Of course I have. How could I not?

I used to work in an office in a strip mall.  On the other end of the strip mall, there was a little Japanese / Teppanyaki place I used to frequent quite often.  It's been awhile since I've been there. Too long, in fact. They had fantastic Bento box lunches, sushi, and I remember this is where I tried Negimaki for the very first time.

Negimaki, also called negima, is simply strips of beef marinated in a teriyaki sauce and rolled with scallions. Traditionally, the beef is broiled, but you can certainly grill it or sear it in a frying pan just as easily.

I make these little bundles of happiness when I need a nice and easy dinner. Serve them with rice and a veggie and you'll have happy tummies all around.

Beef Negimaki

serves 4 portions

12 scallions with ends trimmed 1 pound boneless beef top round steaks 3/4 cup classic stir fry sauce 3 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons water

Place each steak between sheets of plastic wrap and gently pound until 1/8 inch thick.

Lay 3 scallions down the length of each piece of meat; tightly roll up from the long side. Cut alternately straight across and diagonally in 2" pieces. Secure with toothpick. Place in large zip-lock bag.

Stir sauce, sugar and water in bowl until sugar dissolves. Add 1/3 cup of this mixture to Ziploc bag; refrigerate 30 minutes to one hour.

Heat skillet over medium high heat. Add negimaki for about 4-5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Discard marinade.

Microwave remaining sauce to use for dipping.

Tilapia with Turmeric & Dill - Bok Choy with Mushrooms and Scallions

I am always looking for something new and different to do with tilapia, much like someone might do with chicken. I call it 'The Low Fish' because it's low in mercury, fat, calories, saturated fats, sodium and carbs. It's also low in price to boot! I can certainly get behind that.

Of course all the low factors change depending on how you prepare it.  There is one tried and true go-to tilapia recipe that I know will get scarfed up by everyone it gets put in front of, which I will inevitably make soon and post about. But that particular dish is not low anything...

This recipe, however, is a most refreshing change. It's light and tasty. I usually serve it with jasmine rice and steamed sugar snaps or a bok choy and mushroom stir fry that's really complimentary to the dish.

Combine sugar and lime juice and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Add the fish sauce and minced jalepeno.

Chop a few scallions.

Season fish with ginger, tumeric, salt and pepper.

Fry 2-3 minutes per side in a few tablespoons of hot oil.

Remove fish and add scallions, dill and the sauce with jalepenos you made earlier.

Spoon sauce over fish to serve.

Tilapia with Tumeric & Dill

serves 6

4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp lime juice
4 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 jalapeno, minced
3-4 scallions
1 small bunch of fresh dill, chopped
6 tilapia fillets
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground tumeric
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp oil


In a small bowl or glass, combine the sugar and lime juice and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the fish sauce and jalapeno. Set aside.

Trim the scallions and cut them into 1/2-inch-long pieces.

Pat the fish dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle the ginger, turmeric, salt, and a few grinds of black pepper all over the fillets on both sides. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tilapia and cook, flipping once, until just firm and opaque in the center of the thickest part, about 4 minutes total. Transfer the tilapia to serving plates.

Add the scallions to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until they just start to wilt, about 45 seconds. Add the dill and continue to cook until it has wilted slightly, about 15 seconds more. Pour the sauce into the pan and stir to heat through. Drizzle the scallion-dill sauce over the tilapia and serve.

This is the bok choy and mushroom stir fry - with recipe below!

Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Mushrooms and Scallions

1-1/4 lb bok choy (1 large/6 baby)
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp chicken broth
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp oil
Salt
8-10 scallions cut into 1 inch lengths
2 cloves minced garlic
1 pint of mushrooms, any kind (I had button mushrooms on hand that I washed & halved)
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

To prep mature bok choy, separate the leaves from the stems by slicing the bok choy head crosswise at about the point where the leaves begin to spread out. Cut the leaves into lengthwise strips 1 to 1-1/2 inches wide. Quarter the stem end lengthwise and remove any inner leaves, putting them with the leafy tops. Slice the stem quarters crosswise into pieces about 3/4 inch thick. Rinse and dry the stems and leaves separately. (If using baby bok choy, simply cut the heads lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide pieces or wedges.)

In a small bowl, combine the oyster sauce, chicken broth, cornstarch, and sesame oil. Whisk well to dissolve the cornstarch.

In a 12-inch nonstick stir-fry pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the bok choy stems and mushrooms, and season with 1/8 tsp. kosher salt. (If using baby bok choy, add all the pieces now and skip the step of adding the leaves later.) Cook, tossing frequently with tongs, until the stems are pliable and lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the scallions, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, until the aromatics are tender, fragrant, and starting to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the bok choy leaves and 1/8 tsp. salt. Using tongs, toss until the leaves are completely wilted and integrated with the stems, 1 to 2 more minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir the sauce and quickly mix it with the vegetables in the pan. As soon as the sauce thickens and has coated most of the vegetables (a few seconds), transfer to a platter and serve.

Pinwheel-O-Beef

My Mom makes a similar dish, one with flank steak stuffed with mozzarella, and it is very yummy indeed.  It's quick and easy to make, which appeals to my inner lazy cook in me. You know what I'm talking about, right?  Those nights where you want something tasty, that will fill you up and that has minimal ingredients and effort involved. Yeah, those... I knew you knew what I was referring to.

But today the 'lazy cook' portion of my brain was viciously attacked by the 'can't leave well enough alone so I have to play around with it' portion (which, sadly, is a much larger chunk than any other part of my brain) and...well...I came up with this little beauty:

Pinwheel-O-Beef

2 cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
8 ounces fontina cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 flank steak (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), trimmed of excess fat and butterflied
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400.

In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, scallions, parsley, fontina, parmesan, and bread crumbs and mix well. Add 1/4 cup of the olive oil and mix well. Set aside.

Open up the butterflied flank steak and arrange it so the grain of the meat is parallel to you, and season exposed side with salt and pepper. Spread the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the beef, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the side furthest from you; press and gently pack the stuffing mixture onto the beef to keep it in place. Starting from the side nearest to you, roll up the meat like a jelly roll, pressing any stuffing that falls out of the ends back into the roll. Place the rolled beef seam side down on a jelly roll pan. Brush the outside of the roll with remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Cook the beef in a 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.