Friday, August 24, 2012

Thai Beef Noodle Salad

It's Friday night. The wine is poured, and Jack is slurping up noodles like there is no tomorrow. Hall and I are eating salad still in the bowl and we are all happy with full bellies. PERFECT Friday night in my book. Here's what we ate. Try it, you will NOT be disappointed. It was SOOOOO good. And don't let rice noodles or fish sauce intimidate you (they are easily found on the international aisle of your supermarket).




I had to use their photo since we ate ours too quickly. It is better than this photo makes it look. 

From Williams-Sonoma. 

Ingredients:

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
  • 1 1/2 Tbs. soy sauce
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanut oil (I used canola, or you can use vegetable oil)
  • 1 1/2 lb. flank steak
  • Freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 lb. rice vermicelli noodles (the thin rice noodles, don't make a big deal about the vermicelli part just find thin rice noodles ;)) 
  • 2 Tbs. rice vinegar
  • 6 cups mixed salad greens
  • 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil

Directions:

Marinate the steak and cook the noodles
In a shallow glass or ceramic dish just large enough to hold the steak, stir together the garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and 1/4 cup of the peanut oil. Pour 1/4 cup of the marinade into a small bowl, cover and refrigerate to use later as a vinaigrette. Season the steak with pepper. Add the steak to the marinade and turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the vermicelli noodles and cook according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

Cook the steak
Prepare a hot fire in a grill.

Remove the steak from the marinade, discarding the marinade. Place the steak on the grill rack directly over hot coals. Cook, turning once, 8-10 minutes total for medium-rare, or until done to your liking. Transfer the steak to a carving board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 minutes.

Make the vinaigrette and assemble the salad
Whisk the remaining 1/4 cup oil and the vinegar into the reserved marinade. Season with pepper. Cut the steak across the grain into thin slices. In a large bowl, combine the salad greens, vermicelli noodles, onion, basil and steak slices. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Divide among 4 plates and serve immediately. Serves 4. 

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