Unleashing the power of the marinade

I was listening to Splendid Table this afternoon while trekking along with the Omnivore in the car.  I have a love-hate relationship with this radio program.  I LOVE everything about it.  I HATE that it comes on at 4pm – just when that pre-dinner grumble of hunger starts to hit.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s voice is as smooth and illustrious as her name.  I swear, she can make the most bland ingredient sound mouth watering.

On the particular show we were listening to, Lynne was educating her listeners about making marinades at home.  I agree with her, marinading can be a simple, cheap, and effective tool for taking your meal up a notch.  But, I disagree with her pronunciation of marinade.

Say it with me MARE-IN-ADE. Not Mawr-en-AHD. Sheesh.

Most casual cooks are used to marinading meats.  I hear that this can turn a perfectly good steak into a diner-esque slab of meat (almost like covering your meal in A1 sauce instead of enjoying the flavor of the meat…).  But I shall not judge your flesh-eating habits.

Vegetables, too, can benefit from a tasty marinade.  For this sushi recipe, I marinaded raw zucchini and yellow squash before wrapping it in brown rice and seaweed.  No need for soy-sauce to dip your sushi in for this meal (besides, I heard that’s a strictly American habit) – the veggies provide that tang you are looking for.

Ok.  I’ll go ahead and address the side dish here.  YES.  That is okra.  We all know the Omnivore is uninterested in eating sushi.  Well, okra is in the same category as sushi, unfortunately, so I must enjoy the two loathed items at once.

Asian Marinade
1 T soy sauce
2 T water
1 tsp Sesame oil
1/4 tsp grated ginger or ginger paste
pinch sugar

Whisk all ingredients together and soak veggies at room temperature for 1 hr (ore refrigerate overnight).

I prepared this batch of sushi the same way as last time.