Pungent fish sauce mixed with garlic and soy give an inexpensive cut like flank steak new life in this Vietnamese style beef dish.
Ingredients
1 cup white rice
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoon fish sauce (divided)
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
10 ounces flank steak
2 cups salad greens, I like to use baby arugula or a mix of baby arugula and baby spinach
1/2 cup fresh mint,
1 red onion, sliced thin on a mandoline
1 green Thai chile, discard seeds and mince
1 lime
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil (I like California Olive Ranch evoo)
kosher salt and black pepper
I like to slice the beef into bite-size pieces first and put in a zip top bag along with the minced garlic, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, soy sauce and white sugar. Let this sit in the fridge for a few hours, 2-4 is ideal.
Cook the rice according to package directions.
In a medium bowl, combine the chile, juice of the lime, red onion, remaining 2 T fish sauce, brown sugar, and mint. Right before you serve, add the salad greens and give it one last toss.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pan or wok over high heat. When the oil is just smoking, add beef and cook, shaking pan to turn it, until browned on outside and medium rare, about 3-4 minutes.
To serve, layer rice on the bottom of your serving dish and top with the meat along with any pan juices. Lastly, top everything with the spicy herb salad and serve immediately.
This is incredibly satisfying at right around 500 calories a plate. The entire meal took 30 minutes from start to finish. I have served this to guests, to foodie friends who asked for the recipe!