Sesame Beef Skewers With Cucumber Salad Food

SESAME BEEF SKEWERS

Steps:

• In a bowl, toss beef with 3 tablespoons dressing and soy sauce; let stand 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine pineapple, apples, chili sauce, lime juice and pepper; toss to combine., Thread beef onto four metal or soaked wooden skewers; discard remaining marinade. Grill kabobs, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from heat until desired doneness, 7-9 minutes, turning occasionally; brush generously with remaining dressing during the last 3 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with pineapple mixture.

THAI BEEF SKEWERS WITH PICKLED CUCUMBERS

Steps:

• Pickle the cucumbers: In a small saucepan, heat the sugar, salt, vinegar and 1/4 cup water over medium-high heat until the sugar and salt dissolve; remove from the heat. Put the cucumber, chile and red onion in a medium bowl and pour the hot brine over them. Let cool, then add the cilantro. Chill.
• Make the beef skewers: In a medium bowl, mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, fish sauce, mirin, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes. Pour half of the mixture into a serving bowl, add the lime juice and reserve as a dipping sauce. Put the beef cubes in a zip-top bag and pour in the remaining marinade. Seal the bag and massage the marinade into the meat. Put in a bowl and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours. Preheat a grill to high. Drain the meat, discarding the marinade. Thread the cubes onto skewers (1 to 4 per skewer), separating each cube with a piece of scallion. Grill directly over the coals, turning once, until nicely charred, about 3 minutes per side. Sprinkle with sliced scallions. Serve warm or cold with the reserved marinade for dipping and the pickled cucumber and chiles on the side. Soak wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes to keep them from burning on the grill. Photograph by Antonis Achilleos

BEEF SKEWERS ON CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• For the skewers, rinse beef, pat dry, cut lengthwise into thin strips and thread onto 8 wooden skewers. Mix 2 tbsp. sesame oil with soy sauce, pepper, chili powder and 1 tsp. honey. Turn the skewers in the marinade and let them marinate for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, for the salad, peel cucumber, quarter lengthwise and cut into pieces. Clean, wash, quarter, core and finely dice the apple. Clean spring onions, wash and cut diagonally into rings. Wash mint, shake dry and pluck off leaves. Coarsely chop the nuts.
• Whisk lime juice with salt, pepper, remaining honey and olive oil and mix with prepared salad ingredients.
• Heat remaining sesame oil in a grill pan. Drain skewers and fry in batches for 2-3 minutes on each side over medium heat. Then drizzle remaining marinade over and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve salad with the skewers.