Sunday Dinner: Thai Beef with Tomato and Herb Salad

In a attempt to alleviate our heartsickness for France and slightly larger waistlines after arriving back from Paris, B and I found the best solution was to focus on a completely different (and a little bit healthier) cuisine. This Thai beef salad fit the bill perfectly – light and delicious and, honestly, the beef and marinade stand quite well on their own.

  6 teaspoons sugar
  juice from 6-8 limes
  8 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
  4 large garlic cloves, minced
  4 medium-hot fresh red chiles, deseeded and very finely chopped
  1 1/2 lbs flank steak
  8 small shallots, very thinly sliced
  5 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
  3 tablespoons mint, chopped
  9 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
  1/2 head of Napa cabbage, thinly sliced

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl and use half to marinate the steak for 2-3 hours. Set the remaining half aside for salad dressing.

Heat the grill to high, cook steak, flipping once, until rare to medium-rare. Let rest 5 minutes, then cut thin slices against the grain.

Toss steak with remaining ingredients and dressing, serve, and enjoy!

adapted from recipe in Perfect Pairings