It's Salad...It's Asian-style Salad...With Steak!

Skip to next paragraph It's been a busy and sad couple of weeks, centered around a pet's declining health and a difficult decision to help it out of its suffering. But I was ready to cook yesterday and felt like Asian.

This is a Mark Bittman recipe, part of his series of Almost Meatless recipes, but I added the step of marinating the flank steak. Mangia!

Thai Beef Salad

8 ounces skirt or flank steak

Marinade

2 tablespoons Tamari

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon each minced garlic and ginger

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon sriracha

Salad

6 cups torn salad greens (mixed is nice)

1 cup torn fresh herb leaves (mint, cilantro and basil)

1/4 cup red onion, sliced thinly 

1 medium cucumber, peeled if skin is tough, cut in half lengthwise, seeded and diced

Small red bell pepper, sliced thinly

Dressing

1 small fresh hot red chili, like Thai, or to taste, minced

Juice of 2 limes

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla, available at Asian markets) or soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar.

Combine marinade ingredients and marinate steak for 1 hour.

Start a gas or charcoal grill or heat a broiler; rack should be about 4 inches from heat source. Grill or broil beef until medium rare, turning once or twice, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness; set it aside to cool.

Toss greens with herbs, onion, bell pepper and cucumber. In a bowl, combine all remaining ingredients with 1 tablespoon water; dressing will be thin. Use half of this mixture to toss with greens. Remove greens to a platter.

Slice beef thinly, reserving its juice; combine juice with remaining dressing. Lay slices of beef over salad, drizzle remaining dressing over all, and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.