Asian Steak Kabobs with Sweet Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus

I just love Asian sauces! Any recipe with soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger- I'm in! And that's just what I did for dinner tonight!

This sirloin was marinated in a Chinese 5-spice sauce and seared on the grill until it was perfectly medium-rare. The sweet potatoes were par-boiled (mostly cooked) and slathered in the sweet finger-lickin' sauce as well.

Side note: I happen to love sweet potatoes AND believe that there is more than ONE way to cook them. Yes, of course I love them smothered in butter, cinnamon and brown sugar, but give me a break! Expand those horizons just a little, and you may find they are just as good in a sweet/savory dish! I've even left in the cinnamon (its one of the "5" spices) to help this one feel a little more like home.

The asparagus? It was marinated in a spicy garlic soy sauce and thrown on the hot grill to sizzle. Oh boy was my nose having a hay-day!

Then we rounded out the meal with Ree's Sesame Noodles. I could eat them all by themselves for a meal. Don't ask me to tell you how many times I've made a big batch of those comforting carbs and devoured the whole bowl....

I'm not not eating some right now ;)

Asian Steak Kabobs with Sweet Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus
Cube a nice sirloin tip steak, place in zip-lock bag with the following:
1/3 c. soy sauce
1 t. Chinese 5-spice
1 T. Mirin- this is a Japanese cooking wine found in the Asian section, not the booze section :) No mirin? You could use Sake, or any other alcohol. Meat + Booze = perfectly marinated

Store in the refrigerator for a couple hours, flipping over bag once or twice. Remove 30 min. before cooking to allow the meat to come to room temperature. Placing cold meat on a hot grill takes away the tenderness.

Take another zip-lock bag and add the following:
1/3 c. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. honey
1 t. toasted sesame oil
1 t. chili garlic sauce (this is the chunky version of rooster sauce, its made by the same company, but its in a smaller jar. You could just use rooster sauce if that's what you already have- just be gentle! A little goes a long way.)

And finally add 1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends removed. Don't kid yourself, you aren't going to eat that part anyway...

Now place the marinating asparagus in the fridge until we are ready to grill. (You could do all of this the day before, or while your baby is taking his afternoon nap. Sometimes that's the only way to get dinner on the table at my house.....and when we miss a nap? Oh boy, its not pretty....)

Next we're going to heat up the grill and put a big pot of water to boil. Rinse, peel and cube the sweet potatoes and throw-em in the water!

When they are almost fork-tender, pull them out and throw them into a bowl. I like to give them a little toss in their own sauce free of raw steak juices. Can you blame me? Just shake in some soy sauce, a plop of honey and add a pinch of the 5-spice powder.

Now we're ready to grill! Skewer them bad boys up and throw them on a hot grill. Follow that with the asparagus- reserve the juice for dipping! Baste the kabobs with the extra sauce you tossed the potatoes in.

Grill the steak until its medium or medium-rare, and the asparagus until its crisp-tender (whatever that means.....just make sure it has nice grill marks on it, and it's probably done)

You did it! You did it, you did it.....Horray! (wow, I need to lay off the Dora...)

No really, go ring that diner bell and enjoy some yummy Asian grub.