Thai Steak Salad

I LOVE SALAD! Seriously. When I was in JVC and living on $100 a month, my “splurge” would be to go at to the salad bar at the local supermarket. This salad is one of the best.

Growing up, my mom normally made this for potlucks or parties because it had some “unique” ingredients we didn’t normally keep on hand. Now, I LOVE it for meal prep. If I have an extra hour on the weekend I can turn on a show (right now I am rewatching Gilmore Girls) and get chopping! Pack the dressing on the side and you have a lunch to look forward to all week long.

Most recently I made this with chicken instead of steak. Honestly, it wasn’t as good. I think part of it was because I roasted the chicken in the oven instead of grilling it, so it was missing a crispiness. But also, I think the richness of the steak plays more nicely with the herby dress. So of course, you can use any protein in this – but wanted to provide full disclosure that the yum factor may be impacted.

I couldn’t find an original recipe source for ya’ll on this one. We (a.k.a my mom who I just texted) think it was a weight watchers recipe. So as always – thank you to whoever created this – my stomach thanks you!

Hope you enjoy this! Let me know if you make it!

xoxo

Liz

Ingredients:

• 1/3 C fresh lime juice
• 1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1 T water
• 1 T Thai fish sauce
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Thai, hot red, or serrano chiles (seeded & minced)
• 1 lb flank steak, trimmed
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/8 t pepper
• cooking spray
• 6 C torn romaine lettuce
• 1 1/4 C quartered cherry tomatoes
• 1 C thinly sliced red onion
• 1/4 C chopped mint
• 2 T sliced/pealed fresh lemon grass

Directions:

1. Combine first 7 ingredients (lime juice – chiles) in a bowl, whisk to combine
2. Prepare grill or broiler
3. Sprinkle both sides of the steak with salt & pepper. Place steak on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray and cook for 6 minutes on each side. Let rest 10 minutes. Cut steak against the grain in 2 inch pieces
4. Combine steak, lettuce, and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing tossing to coat

Tips & Tricks:

• I have a really hard time finding fresh lemon grass and using it before it goes bad. I now keep pre-cut lemongrass paste, like this one, in the fridge and add it to the dressing.
• My mom’s tip would be – remember not to change you contacts after cutting the peppers.