Use these Asian techniques to make your grilling season a healthy one
I eat a lot of barbecue—it's part of my job. The taping of my PBS television show
Primal Grill involves preparing 50 dishes in less than a week, and I sample each one on-air. As you can imagine, I approach my annual physical exam with great trepidation, especially considering that my doc is a cardiologist. Lipitor can do only so much. How do I keep my cholesterol levels, calorie intake, and waistline in check?
When I'm grilling at home for my family, my answer is often a twist on the old pioneer's mantra: "Go East." In America, barbecue is big and beautiful, centering on huge hunks of animal protein, such as one of my specialties, Texas brisket. In Asia, the small-is-beautiful approach prevails: Singaporean
satay, Japanese
yakitori, and Hong Kong–style rotisserie chicken wings, to name a few.
Then there's the way Asians eat barbecue. In the United States, barbecue typically consists of a meat swabbed with sugary sauce and served with white bread or deep-fried hush puppies. Vegetables are often an afterthought. In many Asian countries, barbecue features all the major food groups, and grilled meat is used more as an accent.
The ultimate example of the healthy Asian approach to barbecue is Korea's national dish,
kalbi kui, which is made by grilling beef short ribs, wrapping them in lettuce leaves, and piling the dish high with vegetables. In America, this fatty but delectable rib is smoked and then gnawed right off the bone in supersize portions. But if you were to diagram the Korean version from a nutritional point of view, you'd wind up with something that looks like the USDA's food pyramid, with meat in moderation and plant foods in abundance. I'd put it up for a taste test next to any artery-clogging American-style ribs in a heartbeat.
Korean-Style Short Ribs
2 ½ to 3 lbs. beef short ribs
15 cloves garlic, peeled (mince 3 of the cloves)
½ cup sugar, divided
1 cup soy sauce, divided
3 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
½ cup sake
1 small Asian pear, cored and finely chopped
2 bunches of scallions
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
4 jalapeno peppers
2 heads romaine lettuce
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
2 cups kimchi (Korean pickled cabbage)
½ cup Korean hot bean paste
2 cups cooked Asian-style rice
1. Preheat the grill and its grate to high. Run a knife along the top of the bones to remove meat. Cut the resulting rectangular-shaped slab diagonally. Slices should measure 2 inches wide, 3 inches long, and an eighth of an inch thick. Reserve the bones.
2. To make marinade, place minced garlic and ¼ cup sugar in a mixing bowl and mash with a wooden spoon. Stir in ½ cup soy sauce, sesame oil, and black pepper. Add sliced meat and bones. Marinate in the fridge for 2 hours. For dipping sauce, whisk ¼ cup sugar, ½ cup soy sauce, and sake in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Stir in the pear, 1 bunch of scallions (chopped), and sesame seeds.
3. Skewer whole garlic cloves with toothpicks. Trim the other bunch of scallions, stem the jalapenos, and arrange on a plate next to the lettuce. Place cucumbers, kimchi, hot bean paste, and Asian-style rice in four separate bowls.
4. Brush and oil the grate. Grill garlic kebabs, scallions, and jalapenos until golden brown. Thinly slice these ingredients, then transfer to serving bowls. Discard bones and arrange beef slices on grate. Grill until cooked to taste. (Koreans like their beef ribs rather well done.)
5. Spread bean paste and rice on a lettuce leaf. Top with grilled short ribs, cucumbers, kimchi, grilled garlic, scallions, and jalapenos. Roll it into a taco shape and use the dipping sauce sparingly.
Spicy Thai Grilled Beef Salad
For beef and marinade:
1 flank steak, 1¼ to 1½ lbs.
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Asian fish sauce
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
For dressing:
3 cloves garlic
1 to 6 Thai or jalapeño chilis, minced (seed the chilis for a milder dressing)
4½ tsp. sugar
1½ Tbsp. Asian fish sauce
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
To finish the salad:
1 head Boston or Bibb lettuce, separated into leaves, rinsed, and spun dry
1 hothouse or English cucumber, very thinly sliced
1 small sweet onion, very thinly sliced
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
12 fresh mint leaves (optional)
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
¼ cup coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
1. Lightly score the flank steak in a crosshatch pattern, making the cuts ¼-inch deep. Place the meat in a glass baking dish. Combine soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, and ginger in a mixing bowl; whisk until sugar dissolves. Pour mixture over steak and let marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for at least two hours or as long as eight hours, turning several times.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high.
3. To make dressing, grind the garlic, chilis, and sugar to a paste using a mortar and pestle. Add fish sauce and lemon juice. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can puree in a blender or a small food processor.)
4. To prepare the salad, cover a platter with the lettuce leaves and arrange cucumber, onion, cherry tomatoes, and mint leaves (if using) on top.
5. When steak is marinated, oil the grill grate, then place steak on the hot grate and grill until cooked to taste (four to six minutes per side for medium-rare), using tongs to turn. Transfer steak to a cutting board and let cool.
6. This salad can be served warm or at room temperature. Thinly slice the steak across the grain on the diagonal. Spoon dressing over the salad and arrange beef slices on top. Sprinkle with cilantro and roasted peanuts, then serve.
Silver Paper Chicken
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1½ pounds)
4 large scallions
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
1. Rinse the chicken under cold running water, then drain and blot dry with paper towels. Trim scallions and cut each into four two-inch sections.
2. Combine soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, garlic, and five-spice powder in a heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue boiling until thick and syrupy, about five minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool to room temperature. Add chicken pieces, toss to coat, cover, and let marinate in the refrigerator for two to four hours.
3. Preheat grill to high.
4. Cut 16 six-inch squares of aluminum foil. Place a piece of foil, shiny side down, on your work surface. Drain chicken, reserving marinade, and place one piece, along with a piece of scallion, in the center of each foil square. Spoon a little marinade on top of each chicken breast, then wrap by crinkling the foil together rather than folding it neatly.
5. When ready to cook, arrange bundles on hot grate and grill, turning with tongs, until chicken is cooked through, four to eight minutes. To test for doneness, unwrap one bundle. The chicken should feel firm and hot to the touch. Much of the fun of eating this dish is the surprise that comes with unwrapping the foil, but warn your guests to open their bundles carefully; the chicken will be very steamy and hot.
Vietnamese Beef Jerky
1 lb. lean beef sirloin or bottom round in a single piece
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, trimmed (or 2 strips lemon zest, each 2 inches by ½ inch,
removed with a vegetable peeler)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 or 2 hot red chilis, stemmed and seeded (for spicier jerky, leave seeds in)
5 Tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. Asian fish sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
Nonstick vegetable-oil spray
1 to 2 Tbsp. oil, for brushing
1. Cut beef as thinly as possible into crosswise slices (this is easier if the meat is partially frozen) and place in a baking dish. (You can also use a ziplock plastic bag.) Set aside while you prepare marinade.
2. Combine lemongrass, garlic, chilis, sugar, salt, and pepper in a mortar and grind to a smooth paste with the pestle, then work in the fish sauce and soy sauce. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, combine all these ingredients in a blender or a small food processor and process to a smooth puree.) Pour mixture over meat and toss to coat. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for two hours.
3. Cover the bottom of a shallow roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay a wire rack on top and coat with nonstick vegetable-oil spray. Remove beef from marinade and spread slices out in a single layer on the wire rack. Refrigerate until the beef is dry, one to two days.
4. Preheat grill to high. When ready to cook, oil the grill grate. Arrange beef slices on the hot grate and grill, turning with tongs, until sizzling, brown, and crisp, two to three minutes per side, brushing once or twice with oil as the beef cooks. Serve immediately.
Steven Raichlen, 55, is the author of 28 books, including the award-winning best seller The Barbecue Bible. He also hosts two PBS television shows, Barbecue University and the new Primal Grill.
