Cleverness abounds in Five-Spice Steak Wraps

I always appreciate a recipe that’s clever.
   Such a recipe uses a neat shortcut or secret ingredient to make magic out of everyday food items.
   Five-Spice Steak Wraps (click for the recipe) from Better Homes and Gardens is an example. (The recipe is also in the cookbook Dinner Express).
   The wraps have a delicious flavor that’s produced in mere minutes – this recipe is a snap to make. I’ll bet the whole family will go for it, too.
   The secret ingredient/shortcut in this recipe is the use of rice vinegar and sesame oil as a simple dressing on purchased coleslaw mix.
   The dressing has a fresh, bright taste that turns the coleslaw into a yummy, crunchy, ideal accompaniment to the steak, which has been sprinkled with five-spice powder before cooking.
   The coleslaw with the rice vinegar and sesame oil dressing is so good that it can stand on its own. I’ll probably steal the idea to whip up an easy weeknight salad in the summer.
   The recipe calls for “toasted” sesame oil. I used sesame oil that was labelled “pure.”
   The sesame oil is combined with rice vinegar and is tossed with a mixture of coleslaw mix, red or green pepper, shredded carrot and chopped chives.
   A boneless beef round steak is cut into ¼-inch-thick strips and is sprinkled with five-spice powder and salt. (Five-spice powder is available in many supermarkets in the dried herbs and spices or Asian cooking sections.) The pieces are cooked in a skillet.
   A wrap is assembled by spreading plain yogurt or sour cream down the centre of a tortilla, topping with steak strips and coleslaw mix and folding in the sides of the tortilla.

Better Homes and Gardens Dinner Express at amazon.ca