Beef Teriyaki Kebabs with Peppers and Zucchini
on Sep 07, 2017, Updated Dec 15, 2023
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Truly, there are few things teriyaki sauce doesn't work on.
Tender cubes of beef get a burnished glaze of teriyaki sauce, and then are skewered up with colorful zucchini and peppers for a quick trip under the broiler. The marinade is mildly sweet and salty, but at the end it’s turned into a sauce that can also get a little kick from Korean Gochujang paste if you want to bump up the heat for some of the family.
You can skip the gochujang and just simmer the marinade if you don’t want that little bit of heat.
Know that in a perfect world you will allow for several hours of marinating time, but if you haven’t been able to plan ahead, you can let the meat sit in the marinade while you prep the vegetables for the kebab. The marinade gets simmered and drizzled over the kebabs and rice, so there will be that additional hit of flavor either way.
These would also be lovely with chicken, either white breast meat or dark meat from boneless thighs. For the white meat cut the cubes into 1 1/2-inch chunks, as directed below, but if you are using darker meat keep the pieces to 1-inch. Dark meat cooks more slowly than light meat, so this will even out the cooking time with the vegetables.
Cubes of pork are another great option. The flavor of teriyaki sauce never gets old in my house, and I know of few kids who don’t love it.
See what the kids can do at the end, for tips on getting them involved in the meal prep. And definitely feel free to play with the colors of the peppers, maybe add in some onions (red, yellow or white), use yellow summer squash instead of green zucchini, try eggplant cubes.
All in all, this is one of those recipes to pull out of the old data bank after a late summer/early fall trip to the farmers’ market.
And oh, that final squeeze of lime.
More Skewers and Kebabs Recipes:
- Scallop and Pancetta Kebabs with Balsamic Glaze
- Chicken Tender Skewers with Spiced Curry Rub
- Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kebabs
- Citrus Basil Shrimp Kebabs
- Moroccan Inspired Lamb Kebabs
Beef Teriyaki Kebabs with Peppers and Zucchini
Ingredients
- ½ cup less sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons mirin optional
- 3 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 ¼ pound filet mignon cut into 1½-inch cubes
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 1 large yellow bell pepper
- 2 small zucchini
- 1 tablespoon gochujang paste
- Hot cooked rice to serve
- 8 12-inch wooden skewers
- 1 lime wedges to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler. Place the wooden skewers in a shallow container and cover them with water. Let them soak for at least 20 minutes to prevent them from burning.
- Place the soy sauce, vegetable oil, ginger, garlic, mirin, brown sugar, and cornstarch in a shallow bowl and stir to combine. Add the steak cubes and toss to coat well. Let marinate in the fridge for 2 to 8 hours (if you don’t have time for this, 15 minutes at room temperature will still add nice flavor).
- Lightly oil a baking sheet. Cut out and discard the stems, ribs and seeds of the bell peppers, then cut them into 1-inch squares. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise, then cut each half into ½-inch slices. Remove the beef from the marinade, transferring the marinade to a small saucepan. Skewer the vegetables and the beef onto the wooden skewers, alternating to create a nice pattern on each (knowing there will be many more vegetables than pieces of meat. Place the skewers on the baking sheet as you go.
- Broil the kebabs for about 4 minutes on one side, then turn the skewers and broil for about another 4 minutes until the teriyaki glaze caramelizes and the meat is cooked to your liking (4 minutes on each side should get you to medium rare).
- Meanwhile, add any part or all of the gochujang paste to the marinade in the saucepan (if desired; depending on the level of heat you want) and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and let the marinade simmer until it is slightly thickened and reduced, about 1 minute.
- You can serve this all on one big serving platter with the kebabs over the rice, or dish up individual plates with a scoop of rice and a few kebabs on top. Drizzle the spicy (or mild) simmered marinade as desired over individual portions of the rice and skewers.Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.
