Easy recipe turns grilled meat into gourmet

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 17, 2006 | by Alicia Ross, with Beverly Mills

These days not a weekend goes by that we don't know someone in the neighborhood is grilling outdoors. In fact, the delicious aroma wafting in from our neighbors' back decks often influences our choice for Saturday's dinner. One night it may be grilled chicken, another a juicy steak or perhaps a flavorful fish fillet. When the weather is warm and the days are longer, grilling just makes sense.

With today's recipe for Hoisin Ginger Sauce, any plain grilled meat instantly becomes gourmet fare. It's so amazing that you can forget marinating: The flavor is all in the sauce. It goes together with pantry ingredients in less than 10 minutes and will keep refrigerated for more than a week.

Go ahead: Fire up that grill and sit down to your choice of grilled meat and delicious Hoisin Ginger Sauce.

Menu suggestion: Grilled meat of choice, with Hoisin Ginger Sauce

Rice pilaf

Crisp green salad

HOISIN GINGER SAUCE

Start to finish: less than 10 minutes

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 bunch green onions (for about 1/3 cup finely chopped)

3/4 cup hoisin sauce (see Cook's note)

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon bottled fresh ginger

1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic

1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, optional

Cook's note: Hoisin sauce is a sweet, complex Asian condiment found on the grocery-store shelves alongside the other Asian ingredients.

1. In a 1-quart or larger saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Rinse and thinly slice the green onions, using all of the whites and enough of the tender green tops to make 1/3 cup. Add them to the pan. Stir and cook until the green tops are tender, about 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Cook over medium heat until the sauce is slightly thick. Remove the sauce from the heat and cool slightly before serving over grilled meat of choice.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Approximate values per tablespoon: 30 calories (41 percent from fat), 1 g fat (trace saturated), trace cholesterol, 0.5 g protein, 4 g carbohydrates, trace dietary fiber, 180 mg sodium.

Beverly Mills is a former food editor of the Miami Herald food section and a mother of two; Alicia Ross, a former food columnist for The Raleigh News and Observer, also has two children. They have been living the desperate life for years and years. Send desperate tales of woe or everyday success stories and your favorite quick recipes to Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. Or visit the Desperation Dinners Web site at www.desperationdinners.com. You can e-mail Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross at bev-alicia@desperationdinners.com.