RECIPE DOCTOR
Beef kabob marinade cuts fat, sodium

By Elaine Magee

Q. I wanted to know if you had a relatively fat-free savory marinade for beef kabobs. This is the time of year when we love to try new grilling recipes.

A. I've tested a few fun, new grilling recipes that I plan to run in the column over the next couple months of summer, so stay tuned. But since you asked for a fat-free marinade for beef kabobs, Easy Asian Beef & Veggie Skewers will be the first one I include.

This recipe is easy to throw together, no heating of the marinade or anything else. Serve the skewers as an entree or appetizer or remove the beef from the skewers and toss into a salad (green salad, rice salad or pasta salad). It will work after a couple of hours of marinating the beef in the refrigerator but overnight is ideal.

I never make all-meat kabobs because this is the perfect opportunity to work in some vegetables. Although I can't buy a lower-sodium hoisin sauce, we can reduce the sodium by not adding any additional salt to the marinade and using a lower sodium soy sauce. If you do this, each serving with end up with around 500 milligrams of sodium.

Easy Asian beef and veggie skewers

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 3 tablespoons sherry
• 1/4 cup light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons barbecue sauce
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced or chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger (bottled or fresh)
• 1 1/2 pounds lean steak (flank steak, London broil, top sirloin, etc) trimmed of visible fat

Assorted vegetables such as 10 cherry tomatoes, 1 bell pepper cut into chunks, and 10 small mushrooms (see chef's note)

Add hoisin sauce, sherry, soy sauce and barbecue sauce, green onions, garlic and ginger to a small bowl and whisk together well.

Cut steak across the grain on a diagonal into 1/4-inch slices. Cut the slices into 2-inch long pieces. Place beef pieces in a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag.

Pour marinade mixture over the beef pieces and mix together to coat the meat well. Seal bag and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat outdoor grill for high heat. Thread the steak pieces on metal skewers, alternating with assorted vegetables (cherry tomatoes, small mushrooms, and bell pepper chunks).

Lightly oil the grill or coat the grill with canola cooking spray. Grill skewers until desired doneness (about 3 to 4 minutes per side).

Makes 6 servings (2 skewers each)

• Per serving (using flank steak and the assorted vegetable listed above): 228 calories, 25.5 g protein, 9.2 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat (3.7 g saturated fat, 4 g mono-unsaturated fat, .5 g polyunsaturated fat), 57 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 500 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 38 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids: 0 g, Weight Watchers points: 5 Omega-6 fatty acids: .5 g.

Elaine Magee's new book, "The Change of Life Diet and Cookbook," was released this month. Reach her through www.recipedoctor.com. Personal responses can't be provided. This column is distributed by the Knight Ridder News Service.