Asian Inspired Beef Salad
A little artful arranging goes a long way.
Although zesting tends to be easier with a whole fruit, it works after it's been cut as well...
The greenmarket tomatoes and peppers are at their peak.
The recipe called for 3 tablespoons of unrefined sugar. We only had white. As white is finer, we only used 2 tablespoons, with good results.
The cross section of the lemongrass after the root end was removed.
ChezUs called for the lemongrass for the dressing to be microplaned. Brilliant. Amanda forgot to read the recipe, and finely minced it. While this method was totally effective (and a nice...
Rubbing the beef with sesame oil before cooking.
Merrill seasoned aggressively, as evidenced by the visible grains of salt and grinds of pepper.
Pre-emulsification, the dressing layered itself beautifully.
Fish sauce smells super funky on its own, but is intriguing as part of a dressing such as this.
We used a screaming hot cast iron skillet instead of a grill pan, and it worked well.
Seasoning the salad, adding the beef, and then drizzling a bit more dressing over it all allows each component to be appropriately dressed.
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Author Notes: This recipe is a combination of a few different recipes. I have adjusted it by using what we love to eat but with a bit of an Asian influence. - ChezUs
Food52 Review: We've come across a lot of Asian beef salads in our time (some good and some not so good), and we both agreed that this recipe knocks one out of the park. This fresh, light salad utilizes our favorite Southeast Asian flavors: fish sauce, soy, lime juice, chili, fresh herbs, and best of all -- lemongrass. The dressing is balanced, rather than overwhelmingly fishy or sweet, and the addition of tomatoes and red pepper adds both some pretty red color and juiciness. We also liked ChezUs's method of tossing the greens with just a fraction of the dressing and then drizzling the rest over the top at the end. This keeps the greens from getting limp but ensures that the salad is adequately dressed. We didn't have unrefined sugar on hand, so we substituted white sugar, using 2 tablespoons rather than 3 because it's sweeter and more dense. - A&M - A&M
Serves 2
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons unrefined sugar
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons lemongrass, microplaned
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 2 teaspoons serrano chili, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- Combine all ingredients in a small jar and shake until combined. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
Salad
- 1 pound beef sirloin, grass fed preferred
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- kosher salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 cups red leafed baby romaine
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup basil, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup mint, roughly chopped
- 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 vine ripe tomatoes, cut in quarters
- Rub the beef with sesame oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Combine lettuce, herbs, red onion and red pepper in a salad bowl, toss to combine.
- Heat a stove top grill pan and sear beef until cooked to your liking. We like ours medium rare, which is about 2 - 3 minutes each side depending on thickness of the cut of meat. Slice meat into thin strips.
- Toss the greens with 1/3 of the dressing.
- Divide salad greens onto serving plates. Top with the sliced beef and tomatoes. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the top of each salad.
- Serve. Eat.
- Your Best Beef Salad Contest Finalist!
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over 1 year ago LiquidSmoke
I made this salad a few days before Thanksgiving after spending the day making gallons of chicken/turkey stock. It was the perfect antidote to Thanksgiving/Americana cooking. A&M are right when they say the flavors knock this recipe out of the park.
I wasn't sure you could really microplane lemongrass but it was easy. I'll be making this recipe again and again.
over 1 year ago ChezUs
I am really glad you enjoyed this recipe. It is a favorite around here as well. The flavors are really great when you are feeling under the weather as well ... lots of protein, and good veggies to help you recover!
over 3 years ago ENunn
Just made this for dinner for man and 10 year old; loved it. We had it with corn pudding for some crazy reason, and it was such a nice meal.
over 3 years ago zeus
i made this last week and the family loved it but had misread dressing as marinade. no matter. i used a vacuum sealer overnight to put the marinade deeper into the beef.
i made it last night using quail instead of sirloin.
equally great
over 3 years ago amanda
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
Quail? That's cool. Would never have thought of that.
over 3 years ago nancy
Can you please clarify what microplaned lemongrass means? Thanks!
over 3 years ago bye
This link will explain what a microplane is and the recipe calls for you to process Lemongrass through this sweet little kitchen gadget. http://tinyurl.com/yebpnpt...
over 3 years ago luvcookbooks
Meg is a trusted home cook.
Made a great, quick dinner, I had all the ingredients except the lemon grass, which I left out (sorry). The leftovers are going to school with my daughter tomorrow (dressing in a separate bottle).
I would never have thought to look for a recipe on a week night but because of the web site it was right in front of me.
Thanks!
over 3 years ago lastnightsdinner
You had me at fish sauce. :D