I got excited when I saw the vivid green of fresh baby bok choy at the market last week. It is such a cool little veggie. And it’s just fun to say “bok choy.” Unfortunately my imagination ran wild, only to find that the fish department had closed for the evening and my sesame crusted seared tuna steaks would have to be replaced by something a little less exotic.

Living on an island in Downeast Maine has it’s perks in summer, but winter brings a far less desirable set of circumstances, including but not limited to, a lack of fresh, edible produce, fish, and meat.

It might seem odd to think that in an age of shiny Whole Foods markets, and a push for sustainable harvests, a grocery store could even get away with showcasing half rotting peppers, “pucky” cucumbers ($1.00 each!!!), fish that looks dead, or pricey meat that has clearly been “prettied up” with a little help from red #47. But here, it is the norm, and what it forces those of us who know the difference to do is be a little more creative.

So you can see why I got very excited when I saw the baby bok choy. I just KNEW I needed to treat it with the respect it was commanding, there, amongst the rusty lettuce and sprouting carrots. Instead of tuna steaks, I shall use London Broil. Say what? Yup. Take a less expensive meat, marinate it in homemade teriyaki, throw it on the grill, steam up the bok choy and the rabi, drizzle it with a little sesame oil, whip up a wasabi cream for dipping, pile it all on top of some nice rice and TAH DAH. A delicious, inexpensive dinner for 4, with lots of flavor and not a lot of fat or calories – all in about 20 minutes.

Grilled Teriyaki Steak with Steamed Baby Bok Choy, Broccoli Rabi and Rice
Makes 4 Servings

The Teriyaki Steak
1.5 lb London Broil steak – 1″ thick if you can get it

Marinade
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 garlic
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground ginger

Combine marinade ingredients. Place steak in a glass baking dish and pour marinade over steak. I like to make sure that the steak have been coated on both sides. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in fridge for at least 2 hours. Better overnight. I also like to flip my steak a few times so it’s absorbing the marinade evenly.

At dinner time, grill to taste. I prefer mine medium rare. Make sure to let your steak rest, covered with foil for at least 10 minutes before slicing into thin slices.

The Veggies & Rice
2 heads of Baby Bok Choy
1 bunch of Broccoli Rabi
2 cups of rice
1 tsp Butter
S&P to taste
Sesame Oil

I have a really cool pot for steaming veggies. It’s an All-Clad Stainless-Steel 2.5-Quart Sauce Pan and Steamer Set. I know. A little extravagant, but I love it and I use it all the time. And if you look at the price of a compound miter saw, you’ll see that my “tool” costs less. Justified.

1. Steam the bok choy and the rabi together until bright green and slightly tender.
2. Cook rice to package specifications. For this dinner I’m using a basic white rice.

Wasabi Cream
I love this…
1/4 cup non-fat sour cream
Wasabi powder* or paste
1 tsp cold water
* if using wasabi powder, you will find that adding it to sour cream alone does not activate it’s HOT properties. Adding water to the mixture, produces a very, very different situation all together. Start with a little and add more to taste.

Mix sour cream and wasabi together to taste (I like it a little hot, but not too hot.)

TO SERVE
1. Portion rice in the center of the plate
2. Top with Rabi
3. Side with steak slices
3. Slice bok choy in half, position on the opposite side of steak and drizzle with a touch of sesame oil
4. Add wasabi cream right in the middle, or drizzle around the plate edge for a fancy restaurant look. The wasabi cream and the sesame oil add a great burst of flavor, and help to tone down the bitterness of the bok choy.

Get yourself some hot Saki and you gotta date! (Ben had Coal Porter from Atlantic Brewing Company in Bar Harbor and he said it went “swimmingly”.)

Enjoy!
Gal Foodie