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When the aroma of this dish rises up from the cooking fire, it tantalizes the nostrils. For the best results, use a mortar and pestle to combine the ingredients but if you lack such simple tools, use a blender. We thank our friend Richard Sterling for this Cambodian recipe, gathered on one of his extensive Southeast Asian trips.

Ingredients

• 1 pound beef, cut into thin slices and threaded onto skewers

For the Marinade:

• 2 red serrano or jalapeño chiles, stems removed

• 1/4 cup lemon grass, sliced thin

• 6 Kaffir lime leaves or the peel of 1 lime

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 slice or teaspoon galangal or substitute ginger

• ½ cup oyster sauce

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 pinch salt

• ½ cup water

Instructions

Mash or blend the chiles, lemon grass, lime leaves, garlic, and galangal together. Combine the mixture with the remaining marinade ingredients. Place the mixture in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool. Taste for sweetness–it should be present but not dominant.

In a shallow glass dish, marinate the beef on the skewers in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Grill the skewers over hot coals, keeping the beef at least four inches from the heat, lest the sugar burn, until desired doneness.

Serving suggestion: Before cooking, stick a chunk of fresh pineapple on the end of each skewer.

Serve with a salad and steamed rice.

This is our version of a Korean rib dish. If these ribs were going to be smoked, we would not boil them first, but since they tend to be fatty, we do boil these before grilling. Serve the ribs with fried rice, stir-fried vegetables and cucumber slices sprinkled with hot ground red chile.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds beef ribs

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

• 3 tablespoons chopped green onion, including the greens

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 2 tablespoons orange juice

• 2 tablespoons Asian chilli sauce with ginger

• 2 tablespoons chopped ginger

• 1 tablespoon crushed chile piquin or other small, red chiles

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon orange zest

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

Cut the ribs into individual pieces. Place in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove and drain.

Combine all the remaining ingredients and allow to sit at room temperature while the ribs are simmering.

Grill the ribs over a medium heat for about ten minutes without basting. Move the ribs away from direct flames and cook about ten minutes longer, basting consistently with the sauce until crisp.