Vietnamese Steak With Cucumber Salad Food

VIETNAMESE-STYLE RICE-NOODLE AND STEAK SALAD

Steps:

• Place the rice sticks in large bowl. Cover completely with boiling water and let stand until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain well.
• In a mortar and pestle (or small-capacity blender), mash the garlic, jalapeño and sugar to a paste. Transfer to a small bowl; whisk in the fish sauce, 1/4 cup water and lime juice. Toss some of the dressing, a few tablespoons at a time, with the noodles, tasting as you go, until the flavor is to your liking; use up to half the dressing. Add 6 tablespoons nuts, 1 tablespoon mint and 1 tablespoon basil. Toss well.
• Whisk the peanut oil into the remaining dressing. In a large bowl, toss together the radicchio, remaining 1 cup mint, remaining 1 cup basil and cucumber. Pour enough dressing over the salad to lightly coat the greens; reserve some dressing for the meat.
• Arrange the salad on a large platter. Top with the noodles. Arrange the steak over the noodles and spoon additional dressing over the meat if desired. Garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons peanuts and cilantro, if using.

CRAVING-VIETNAMESE SALAD

Steps:

• Combine 1/4 cup mirin, soy sauce, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce, brown sugar, and garlic in a bowl. Stir in pork. Let marinate in the refrigerator, 1 to 4 hours.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pork, discarding marinade; cook and stir until lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain excess juices and allow to cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
• Place noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak until softened, about 5 minutes. Drain and cut into short lengths.
• Combine drained noodles, shrimp, scallions, lettuce, carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl to make salad. Stir in pork.
• Mix sesame dressing, 1/3 cup mirin, 1/4 cup fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce in a bowl to make dressing. Pour over salad and toss until well-mixed.
• Grind peanuts coarsely in a food processor. Sprinkle on top of the salad.

VIETNAMESE STEAK WITH CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• PREPARATION In a small bowl, combine the fish sauce, lime zest, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic and jalapeño. Pour 1/2 of the mixture over the flank steak and let marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (or refrigerate for up to 24 hours). Let meat come to room temperature before cooking if necessary. Combine the cucumber, radishes and scallions. Pour in just enough of the marinade sauce to coat. Light the grill or heat the broiler to high. Pat steak dry with paper towels. If grilling, cook until done to taste, about 3 minutes per side for rare. If broiling, heat a 10-inch skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Add oil to pan and sear the meat for 2 minutes. Flip meat and immediately transfer pan directly to top shelf of oven and broil for 2 to 3 minutes for rare, or longer for more well-done meat. Transfer steak to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes covered in foil. Thinly slice steak and serve over cooked rice noodles or rice if desired, and top with the cucumber salad. Garnish with sesame seeds and plenty of herbs if using and serve with remaining marinade as a sauce.

SWEET AND SALTY GRILLED STEAK WITH CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the fish sauce, lime zest, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic and jalapeño. Pour 1/2 of the mixture over the flank steak and let marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (or refrigerate for up to 24 hours). Let meat come to room temperature before cooking if necessary.
• Combine the cucumber, radishes and scallions. Pour in just enough of the marinade sauce to coat.
• Light the grill or heat the broiler to high. Pat steak dry with paper towels.
• If grilling, cook until done to taste, about 3 minutes per side for rare. If broiling, heat a 10-inch skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Add oil to pan and sear the meat for 2 minutes. Flip meat and immediately transfer pan directly to top shelf of oven and broil for 2 to 3 minutes for rare, or longer for more well-done meat. Transfer steak to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes covered in foil.
• Thinly slice steak and serve over cooked rice noodles or rice if desired, and top with the cucumber salad. Garnish with sesame seeds and plenty of herbs if using and serve with remaining marinade as a sauce.

VIETNAMESE GRILLED STEAK AND CABBAGE SALAD

Steps:

• To make the marinade, grate the zest from 1 lime; juice that lime. Whisk together 1/4 cup soy sauce, lime juice and zest, ginger and sesame oil. Chop 2 cloves garlic. With a mortar and pestle or with the flat side of a knife, mash the garlic into a paste. Whisk into the marinade.
• Place the steak in a shallow dish and cover with the marinade, turning completely to coat. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours. (Alternate method: place steak in a ziplock bag, pour over marinade, squeeze out air, seal and massage to distribute marinade.) Remove the steak from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.
• In the meantime in a food processor fitted with the large grating attachment, shred the carrots. Transfer to a large bowl. Add cabbage and cilantro; toss well. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 hours.
• To make the vinaigrette, juice the remaining lime. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, vinegar, olive or peanut oil, fish sauce, lime juice and cayenne. Chop the remaining garlic clove. Using a mortar and pestle or with the back of a knife, mash garlic to a paste; whisk into the vinaigrette.
• Heat a broiler or grill. Remove the steak from the marinade, scraping off excess; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, turning once halfway through, until browned, 5 or 6 minutes per side for medium/medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice against the grain.
• To assemble, add just enough of the vinaigrette to the salad to coat it; toss well. Taste and add more dressing or salt or lime juice if desired. Place the salad onto the center of a platter and top with the steak. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and drizzle with more vinaigrette.

VIETNAMESE-STYLE STEAK SALAD

Steps:

• In a small sauce pan, cook the noodles in boiling water until soft, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse. Transfer noodles to a medium bowl and let cool.
• In a small jar, combine the soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, and pepper flakes and shake until the dressing is well combined.
• Slice the steak against the grain into thin strips. ( Note much easier to slice thin strips when steak is partially frozen).
• In a wok or large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the beef, in batches, and stir-fry until just cooked through.
• Transfer the beef to the bowl with the noodles.
• Add half the dressing and toss until well coated. Let cool.
• In another bowl, combine the lettuce, cucumber, carrot, and mint.
• (If you are making the dish as picnic fare, transfer the beef-noodle mixture to a resealable plastic bag and the vegetable mixture to a covered plastic container and place both, along with the jar of remaining dressing in a cooler. Remove from cooler about 30 minutes before serving.).
• Just before serving, toss the greens with the remaining dressing and divide among 4 plates. Top each with the beef-noodle salad.
• Recommended wine: Gewurztraminer.