Dietitians of Canada Cook! Beef Kebabs with Peanut Sauce

You can imagine my trepidation over making another recipe from Dietitians of Canada Cook! after making their broccoli cheese soup. As a result, I chose something that really appealed to me right away and how could you go wrong with beef on a stick dipped into a spicy peanut sauce?!

I made about half the recipe since I thought at the time I was only cooking for me but I will write it out as it appears in the cookbook. This recipe makes six servings.

In a large bowl combine 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp hot pepper flakes (or to taste), 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp ground ginger. Add 3 tbsp canola oil (I used safflower) and 2 tbsp rice vinegar.

Add 1 1/2 lb boneless top sirloin or strip loin grilling steak, cut into 1″ cubes. Stir and coat well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours. I marinated mine for six hours.

Thread some red onion, peppers and beef onto skewers. I prefer to be more environmentally conscious by using metal skewers but you could use the bamboo kind. I do not have a barbecue so I used my stovetop cast iron grill that I heated up over medium high heat.

To make the peanut sauce put into a medium sauce pan: 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter (I used smooth), 1/2 cup sodium-reduced chicken broth, 1 tbsp sodium-reduced soy sauce, 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 tsp garlic-chili sauce and 1/4 cup light coconut milk (I skipped the coconut milk). Bring everything except the coconut milk to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute until it thickens. Stir in coconut milk and cook, stirring until warmed through. Remove from heat. Remember, you can definitely make this without the coconut milk.

Cook food on skewers for 5 minutes per side for medium rare.

I loved this dinner. It was so easy to make and super flavourful. The only down side is my husband spontaneously came home from a trip that night (which actually rocked) and all I had to eat was this dinner. He loathes anything Thai-like when it comes to food and this dinner did not float his foodie boat. He did not say anything negative but I could tell by how slowly he ate it, this was not the dinner for him. And it was never meant to be!

It was my dinner and when he is away I make foods I like that he doesn’t. Oh well! I loved the heat of the sauce and the meat was so tender and juicy. If you like bold flavours and will not get overwhelmed with peanut flavour, you will probably like this as much as I did. I give this recipe four and a half out of five wooden spoons.