This flank steak salad will be on your table in 30 minutes. Bright and vibrant with fresh herbs and a Thai style dressing that can be made ahead. The dressing also doubles as the marinade for the steak.
1teaspoonGinger (or Galangal if you can find it), grated Galangal has a milder ginger flavour and is a traditional ingredient in Thai foods.
1teaspoonGarlic, minced
2tablespoonVegetable Oil
2tablespoonSweet Chili SauceFor the Sweet and Spicy
3tablespoonLime Juice and ¼ teaspoon zest from the limeFor the Sour, grate the zest before juicing the lime for greater ease
1tablespoonFish SauceFor the Salty
1-2*Optional* Birds Eye Chilis chopped finely (or Sriracha Sauce to taste)Birds Eye Chilis are a traditional Thai source of spice. If you want to kick up the heat to a more authentic level, add in one or two of these!
Thai Salad Vegetables
6cMixed GreensButter lettuce, kale, spinach, mustard greens and other reasonably sturdy greens work well.
1cCucumber, thinly sliced
1cCarrot, ribbons or thin slices
1cPurple Cabbage, shredded
½cEach, Basil, Cilantro and Mint, roughly chopped
1*Optional* Avocado, thinly sliced or cubed
1*Optional* Mango, thinly sliced or cubed
½cPeanuts, crushed
Lime Wedges to serve
Instructions
Dressing And Marinade
Mix together all dressing ingredients.
Flank Steak
Pour 3 tablespoon of dressing in a bag or bowl, poke flank steak with a fork all over and place in marinade. Massage flank steak in dressing and leave to marinate while you chop the salad ingredients. If making ahead, you can marinate this steak up to 12 hours.
Preheat your grill to high, lightly oil grates with a BBQ basting brush and put steak on. Cook approximately 3-4 minutes each side but every grill (and thickness of flank steak) is different so pay attention to your steak, letting it sear on both sides and aim for a doneness of no more than medium to keep it from getting dry.
Remove steak from grill, cover and let rest 10-20 minutes. Once rested, slice thinly on an angle across the grain. (Flank steak has a very defined grain compared to many other meats so you should be able to see which way the grain or "stringiness" is running. You want to cut the opposite way to make the steak pieces tender.)
Salad Assembly
Toss all vegetables and herbs in a large bowl gently. Drizzle with half of the dressing and toss gently.
Heap salad into bowls topping with slices of steak. Drizzle with remaining dressing and serve with lime wedges and hot sauce.
Notes
-When marinating flank steak, place it on a cutting board and poke it all over with a fork before placing in bowl or bag with marinade. This will help the flavor soak in and really do it's work -Once your steak is finished cooking, cover it with foil and let it rest 10-20 minutes. -To slice your steak, identify which way the grain (or strings) are running. It is very important to cut across them.