The fiance’s mom is an excellent cook. They own a well established Vietnamese restaurant in town and I’ve been learning more about the cuisine over these last couple of years. She always makes containers of marinade for us to take home; one for beef, the other for pork or chicken. They are both amazingly good when used for grilling. This post will be on the beef marinade. She told me before what she put in it, and since nothing is measured after decades of experience, I looked online for something similar to her key ingredients and found one on www.vietworldkitchen.com. Make sure to finely grind up the inner white stalks of the lemongrass, shallots, and garlic in a food processor. We usually marinate the steaks for at least an hour, two preferred. The oil is important; it’ll keep the steaks juicy.

Marinade (for one large ribeye like the picture shown)
11/2 to 2 tablespoons granulated or light brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped shallot or yellow onion
1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and finely chopped (3 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon dark (black) soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon oil

We were low carbing it tonight, hence the roasted curry cauliflower and roasted brussels sprouts. Yummy!