Southeast Asian Grilled Flank Steak

tonight's meal comes to us courtesy of Cooking Light. i love Cooking Light! it was super simple (hm, common theme?) and totally tasty! i was completely convinced that my girls would not eat it. i knew they would eat the rice and the broccoli, but the flank steak marinade was pretty spicy! kaia loved it? toddlers are SO unpredictable. layla ate one bite of the steak and started screaming. i guess it WAS too spicy for her. but this is the girl who ate a mango habanero hot wing when she was 9 months old. she may be traumatizzed :).

a couple of things to keep in mind with this recipe: flank steak is not the best cut of meat, so a few things are critical:
1. marinade at LEAST 24 hours. mine marinated more like 36 hours and it was super tender.
2. do not overcook
3. cut it against the grain

Southeast Asian Grilled Flank Steak
Cooking Light July 2008

1 T sugar
3 T fresh lime juice
1 T fish sauce
2 tsp Sriracha (hot chili sauce)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound flank steak, trimmed
cooking spray
1/4 tsp salt

1. Combine first six ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add steak; seal and marinate in refrigerator 24 hours, turning occasionally.
2. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
3. Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade.
4. Place steak on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steak from grill; sprinkle with salt. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut across grain into thin slices.

Yeild: 4 servings

served with: brown rice with sauteed zucchini and green onions and also steamed broccoli

my notes:
*i did not have enough limes, so i used half lemon juice, it was still good!
*i didn't grill the steak on the outside grill, but used my grill pan on the stove
*i did not use the salt it calls for at the end. the meat has so much flavor! i can't really see why this would be necessary?

anyway, i'd totally make it again.