Thai Beef Salad
This is a great salad for a warm summer evening. Lots of refreshing vegetables and herbs, perhaps some from the garden.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pound Flat Iron Steak
- 4-5 cups Napa cabbage - thinly sliced
- 2-3 scallions - thinly sliced
- 3 persian cucumbers - sliced
- 1 red bell pepper - cleaned and thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup cilantro chopped
- 1 Mango - peeled and sliced
- 1 avocado - sliced
- 1 cup peanuts - lightly chopped - garnish
- 1/3 cup toasted coconut flakes or chips - garnish
Marinade and Dressing
- 1 shallot - quartered
- 1 T brown sugar
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 T lemon grass - chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 T soy sauce
- 2 T lime juice
- 1 T lime zest
- 2 T fish sauce
- 1 inch piece of jalapeño - seeded
Preparation:
Place all the marinade ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
Place steak in a glass baking dish - add a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper and cover with 1/3 cup marinade. Turn over a few times to coat both sides of meat. Cover and let marinate on the counter while preparing the salad ingredients. Pour the remaining marinade in a glass measuring cup and whisk in a few more tablespoons of oil, adjust to desired taste. This will be the dressing for the salad.
In a large bowl toss together the cabbage, scallions, cucumbers, red bell pepper, cilantro and mango. Place avocado on a plate to arrange just before serving. Set aside the peanuts and toasted coconut for garnish.
Heat grill or grill-pan on medium high heat. Oil grates or pan and grill 6-8 minutes per side to desired doneness. Let rest before slicing against the grain into thin slices.
To serve - Place salad on a serving platter. Arrange sliced steak on top followed by the avocado and mango. Drizzle with some of the dressing and garnish with the peanuts and coconut. Serve the remaining dressing on the side. Serves 4.