Thinly Sliced Beef Yakitori

Plunging a stick in food was a genius idea – I sincerely wish we could thank the person who originally thought of doing that.  Think about hard candy.  If someone was like ohh, here have some candy and they handed you hard candy you would be like um thanks? But get a stick in that hard candy and it becomes fun!  You would totally be happy if someone gave you a lollipop.  Take a corn dog...  If possible, Seth would probably divorce me and marry the person who came up with that.  Take the stick out of the cornbread encrusted hotdog, and he would be like ehhh, ok.  But once that stick is there it is all like, ohh my god must have it.  Here, we take fresh beef flap meat, marinate it in a homemade teriyaki sauce, skewer it, then grill it over high heat, brushing it with a thickened version of the marinade.  Like eating a popsicle, but all meaty and umami.  And you know, grilled.  And not frozen.  Actually the opposite.  

Ingredients 
2/3 cup mirin
1 cup soy sauce
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup brown sugar
7 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper
1 inch strip of orange peel
1 pound flap steak, thinly sliced across the grain
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
10-15 bamboo or wooden skewers
5 tablespoons canola oil (for grilling)
rice, for serving

Instructions
Place the mirin in a medium pot and boil over high heat.  Reduce to medium low and add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, and orange peel.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Place half of sauce in a Ziploc bag or container and refrigerate until cool. 

Take thinly sliced beef flap steak and cut into 1½-2 inch strips for skewering.  Submerge in cooled marinade and refrigerate for at least another hour.  Take bamboo or wooden  skewers and soak in cool water for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with water.  Bring the remaining sauce to a boil and thicken with the cornstarch mixture, constantly stirring.  Let the sauce cook for 5 more minutes, tasting to make sure the cornstarch has fully dissolved.  Once ready, pour into small bowl and set aside.
 
Preheat grill to high (roughly 400°).  Just before grilling, take marinated beef and skewer so that the meat can lie flat.  Place canola oil in a small bowl.  Using a paper towel or cloth, dip in canola oil and rub over hot grates to prevent sticking.  Lay beef skewers over heat and stay nearby to monitor.  Once bottom is a little charred, brush the tops with canola oil, and flip.  Brush again with thickened teriyaki sauce.  Once the bottoms are slightly charred again, be careful not to overcook, flip and brush with thickened teriyaki sauce, so both sides are sauced.  Remove and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.  Serve with rice.