Thai Beef Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Slaw

I originally posted this recipe made with beef. Tonight I substituted shrimp for the beef and have a new favorite! I marinated the shrimp for about 4 hours – you can cut up the shrimp after cooking to make the taco a little easier to eat. I also used flour tortillas that I “crisped up” by putting the tortilla in a skillet sprayed with olive oil for a minute or two. So good!

Here’s a great combination of healthy and fun!  I marinate the steak overnight and buy packaged shredded angel hair cabbage and matchstick carrots for a quick preparation. You may not have these ingredients in your refrigerator, but once you’ve purchased them, you have an easy go-to dinner.

Mix together for steak marinade:

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger (or ginger paste – easy – see photo)

1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound flank steak, trimmed

Combine first six ingredients and add to large zip-lock bag, along with steak.  Seal and marinate in refrigerator overnight.

You can also make the slaw dressing the night before and refrigerate until it’s time to prepare the tacos.  It saves time when you’re preparing dinner and the flavors gets a chance to blend nicely.

Mix dressing together for the slaw:

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger – or the ginger paste  

1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

Cover and refrigerate.

When you’re ready to prepare dinner/tacos:

Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Grill the steak until desired degree of doneness.  Let it stand a few minutes and then cut steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. You want thin, smaller pieces that are easy to eat in the taco shell.

Toss well to combine for the slaw:

3 cups packaged angel hair slaw

2 cups packaged matchstick-cut carrots

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Prepared dressing 

Divide steak evenly among 8 tortillas or taco shells.  Add about 1/2 cup slaw to each tortilla or taco shell.  We added Chipotle Ranch Dressing (see photo) on our tacos – delicious!  Serve immediately.

Need a great dessert to go with this? You can never go wrong with Key Lime Pie!