Summer Steak Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing
Known in Asia as Shaking Beef Salad, or bo luc lac, this Vietnamese classic is made by shaking essentially searing steak in a very hot pan. The older I get the more I like the saladbeef combo. Healthy but with the meat I crave.
Known in Asia as Shaking Beef Salad, or bo luc lac, this Vietnamese classic is made by shaking essentially searing steak in a very hot pan. The older I get the more I like the saladbeef combo. Healthy but with the meat I crave.
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- dressing
- salad
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce*
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced peeled
- 1 teaspoon red jalapeno chile minced
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce*
- 1 tablespoon medium-dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons tamari soy sauce*
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar packed
- 1 1/4 pounds pounds new york steak trimmed, cut into 2/3-inch cubes
- 2 bunches watercress bottom 2 inches discarded, cut into 1-inch lengths
- 3 cups mizuna leaves torn in half if very large (about 1 1/2 ounces)
- 2 cups bibb lettuce lightly packed and torn about 6 large leaves
- 1 cup thai basil leaves cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
- 1/2 12-oz english hothouse cucumber halved lengthwise, sliced very thinly on diagonal
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 red onion cut into thin wedges
- 2 shallots sliced into thin rounds
- 1/4 medium pineapple peeled, cored, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-t
- Carbohydrate 61.1029227752988 g
- Cholesterol 80.7975 mg
- Fat 40.2328678263597 g
- Fiber 8.09954187745539 g
- Protein 37.0049879174354 g
- Saturated Fat 11.3466034458256 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (922g)
- Sodium 2264.5860686053 mg
- Sugar 53.0033808978434 g
- Trans Fat 5.33254165093217 g
- Calories 733 calories
Step-by-step
- Whisk all ingredients in small bowl to blend.
- Mix oyster sauce, Sherry, tamari soy sauce, minced garlic, and brown sugar in medium bowl. Stir in steak. Marinate steak at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Combine watercress, mizuna, lettuce, basil, cucumber, and tomatoes in large bowl. Add half of dressing and toss to coat. Arrange greens mixture on large rimmed platter.
- Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add onion and shallots and saute 30 seconds. Add beef with marinade. saute until beef is brown outside but still pink inside, about 4 minutes. Add pineapple slices and stir until pineapple is heated through, about 1 minute longer. Spoon steak mixture with any pan juices atop dressed greens mixture on platter. Drizzle salad with remaining dressing and serve.
Crisp watercress and tender Bibb lettuce meet seared cubes of beef coated in a pungent glaze of oyster sauce and tamari, all tied together by a sharp emulsion of lime juice and fish sauce. Building this bowl requires balancing assertive pantry staples against perishable produce that degrades rapidly if mishandled. Keeping greens crisp means washing them in ice water and spinning them dry before storage, which prevents residual moisture from diluting the dressing later. When purchasing herbs like Thai basil, inspect the stems closely because bruised vascular tissue causes black oxidation within twenty-four hours of cutting.
Fresh ginger root yields a brighter, sharper flavor profile than dried ground ginger due to the volatile oil gingerol, which breaks down rapidly once processed. Grating fresh ginger on a microplane releases maximum cell juice, whereas dried powder contributes a dusty, muted heat that completely alters the dressing balance. Similarly, fresh garlic cloves contain alliin and alliinase enzymes that combine upon mincing to create potent thiosulfinates absent in jarred alternatives. Bottled lime juice similarly lacks the aromatic essential oils found in the peel and vesicles of fresh fruit, relying instead on citric acid preservatives that flatten the acidity.
Searing the marinated steak demands intense thermal energy to develop Maillard browning without overcooking the interior proteins past medium-rare. Using a large nonstick skillet heated over maximum flame ensures the meat releases its moisture quickly and browns rather than stews in the pan juices. Overcrowding this pan lowers the surface temperature catastrophically, preventing the rapid crust formation required for proper texture contrast against the raw greens. Cooking the meat and shallots for precisely four minutes retains the juicy interior while rendering the exterior savory and dark.
Maximizing ingredient value involves utilizing every component efficiently to minimize waste across the grocery budget. Trimming the tough bottom two inches of watercress stalks removes fibrous lignin while saving the tender upper leaves for the platter. Pineapple slices added during the final minute of pan cooking absorb residual meat juices while caramelizing their natural sugars without becoming mushy. Storing leftover raw shallots and red onion in airtight glass containers preserves their pungency for up to three days without absorbing ambient refrigerator odors.
