Thai-Style Beef Salad

Thai-Style Beef Salad

Salads, Beef
Thai, Main Dish

Serves 4

This is a weeknight favorite at our house — it comes together quickly, and has a deeply complex flavor. Loaded with all the vegetables you care to add, it’s bright, crunchy, spicy, meaty and amazing.

This calls for grilling the meat, and grilling it over lump charcoal adds a real dimension of flavor. But it definitely can be seared to doneness in a cast-iron skillet over high heat. In fact, I suspect this is preferable to grilling over gas.

Ingredients #

  • 1 large shallot, sliced thin
  • 1 Serrano or jalapeno, sliced very thin (optional)
  • 3 tbsp lime juice (from two limes)
  • 4 tsp (packed) brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp white pepper
  • 1.5 lbs skirt steak, trimmed and cut into 2 or 3 pieces
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp (or more) red pepper flakes (or a couple of tsp of Sambal Oelek)
  • 1 ½ cups (~7oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 red or yellow bell pepper, sliced thin and cut in half crosswise
  • 3-4 cups sliced romaine lettuce
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh mint

Instructions #

In a large bowl, combine the shallots, Serrano and lime juice and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, combine 2 teaspoons of sugar, the salt, and white pepper. Pat the steak dry with paper towels, then rub all over with the sugar-salt mixture.

Prepare a grill for very high heat. For a charcoal grill, spread a full chimney of hot coals evenly over half of the grill bed. For a gas grill, set all burners to an even, high flame. Heat the grill until hot, about 5 minutes, then clean and oil the cooking grate. Grill the steak (directly over the coals, if using a charcoal grill) until charred all over and cooked to desired doneness, 2 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare (depending on the thickness of the steak). Transfer the steak to a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the fish sauce, pepper flakes, and remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar to the shallot-lime juice mixture and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Slice the steak against the grain and on a steep bias, as thinly as you can manage; cut any very long strips in half (we want bite-sized). Transfer the steak to the bowl along with any accumulated juices. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, romaine, cilantro, and mint and fold to combine.

Transfer to a platter, garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired, and serve.