Recipes

Angel Cruz Beef Skewers

July 30, 2015

Named for a park in Central Valley, California—a popular meeting place for the large Cambodian community there—these kebabs are slathered in an aromatic and pungent paste of lemongrass, kaffir lime, and fish sauce before meeting the heat of a charcoal grill. The recipe comes from Nite Yun, whose pop-up restaurant Nyum Bai translates to "Let's Eat!" Don't mind if we do.

Featured in: Celebrating Cambodian Cooking in California

These beef kebabs are slathered in an aromatic and pungent paste of lemongrass, kaffir lime, and fish sauce before meeting the heat of a charcoal grill.

Yield: serves 2-4

Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients

6 stalks lemongrass, tough outer layers removed, soft inner cores thinly sliced
6 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp. ground turmeric
3 lb. beef chuck, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
¹⁄₂ cup plus 1 tbsp. honey
6 tbsp. vegetable oil
6 tbsp. fish sauce
6 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 ¹⁄₂ tbsp. sweet paprika
Wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes

Instructions

In a food processor, combine the lemongrass with the lime leaves, garlic, shallots, ginger, and turmeric, and pulse until a smooth paste forms. Scrape the paste into a large bowl, and add the beef, honey, oil, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and paprika. Toss the beef until evenly coated in sauce, and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Light a grill. Thread the beef onto wooden skewers, and then grill, turning as needed, until charred and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a platter and serve while hot.