Pardon me if my recent posts are just all about the recipes.  There’s nothing much going on and there really is no story to tell behind this particular dish except that its another one of those quick, easy recipes on a busy day.  Ingredients are quite basic, plus a piece of yum Peruvian mango was sitting pretty in my fridge.  I can eat it as it is but I also love it with lime and fish sauce dressing. And coriander… ahh, we are just in love with this herb that I always have it in my grocery list.  Used to hate it but not anymore.  I guess it’s an acquired taste.

Ingredients for the Asian BBQ Beef:
350g beef sirloin steak
1 clove garlic, minced into paste
2 tsp grated ginger
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
Salt
A handful of rocket leaves (just because I have them and we love!), washed

Ingredients for the Mango Salad:
1 Peruvian mango (not-so-ripe but not unripe), diced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce
Freshly ground pepper
A handful of coriander leaves, washed

Cut steak into thick strips.

Combine garlic, ginger, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce, and then mix with beef. Marinate for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the ingredients for the mango salad. In a serving plate, combine olive oil, lime juice, fish sauce and ground pepper. Add the diced mango and coriander sprigs. Mix well to combine.

Push salad on one side of the plate. Arrange rocket leaves on one side of the plate (or combine with the mango salad, your choice). Set aside.

Brush a tbsp. or 2 of oil on a heated BBQ plate. Cook beef strips in batches for about 3-4 minutes, turning often. Season with salt midway through cooking.

Transfer cooked beef over rocket leaves and garnish with few coriander sprigs. Serve with steamed rice.

Iska

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.