Anticiplate

Erik, Cashew, and I have a frequent outing that we take most weekends. We walk from our house to Greenlake (1.5 miles), around Greenlake (3 miles), and back (1.5 miles) . The whole trip takes about two hours because we walk leisurely, but it is one of my most cherished times that I get to spend with my husband.

The first mile, or so, of our walk, we talk about what we are going to have for dinner, or maybe about our plans for an upcoming trip. But, as the time passes we get into topics of child rearing, what we want to be when we grow up, and what city to live in next. I find that walking is very therapeutic. I don’t think Erik and I would have enough patience to sit on the couch for two hours and have talks like these. 

I think that my next step after dancing will be something with food. I don’t want to cook in a restaurant, or even own one,  but I would love to be a personal chef. Of course my ultimate pipe dream is to be a celebrity chef on the Food Network. Dream big, right? 

We ate this meal after our long, therapeutic walk, and it hit the spot. I served the steak with sauteed bok choy and snow peas, and sticky rice.  

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

1 1/2 tbsp. five-spice powder

2 tsp. brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 hanger steak, about 2 lbs., center gristle removed

1/4 c. tamari soy sauce

1 tbsp. rice vinegar

1 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced

2 tsp. packed brown sugar

1 tsp. shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped

Preheat broiler to high. 

Combine the five-spice powder,brown sugar and salt in a small bowl. Pat the steak dry and sprinkle spice mixture evenly over the steak. Season with cracked black pepper. Broil steak 2-3 inches away from heat, turning once, about 10 minutes for medium-rare. Let steak rest on a plate. 

While steak rests, heat the remaining ingredients, except cilantro, with meat juices from plate in a small pan over low heat. Stir until warm. Add in cilantro. 

Slice steak against the grain and top with sauce.