- Hey guys, today I'm gonna show you how to make
a delicious Thai Steak Salad.
I love this recipe for summer entertaining,
because most of the ingredients can be prepped in advance.
Then all you have to do is grill your steak,
my kind of party.
Special thanks to Beef, It's What's For Dinner
for sponsoring and collaborating with me on this video.
For this recipe I'm gonna be using a sirloin steak.
I really like this cut of beef,
especially for salads because it's so lean.
Now when you're shopping for beef,
a few things to keep in mind.
First up, you wanna make sure you choose a cut
that's a nice bright red color.
It should be firm to the touch,
and you also wanna make sure there's no excess liquid
sitting in the package.
The other thing you wanna check is the sell-by date.
Make sure that you're buying it either on,
or before the sell-by date,
that way you'll guarantee it's nice and fresh.
It's also good to know that beef typically goes on sale
during the holiday weekends.
So this would be a great time to make this salad
during Labor Day, which is coming up.
So to flavor our steak we are gonna create
a really simple wet rub.
In a small bowl we're gonna combine three teaspoons
of grated fresh ginger,
three garlic cloves that have been minced,
the zest and juice of one lime,
two tablespoons of brown sugar,
one tablespoon of sweet chili sauce.
I really love the sweet chili sauce,
because not only do you get the sweetness,
but you get a little kick from the chilies as well.
One tablespoon of soy sauce,
and one tablespoon of freshly chopped cilantro.
And that's all you have to do,
and now we have a really nice wet rub
that's going to flavor our steak beautifully.
So we're gonna take about half of this mixture
and rub it on one side of the steak.
Then flip it over, and rub it on the other side.
Then you can cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
So now that our steak is prepped and all ready to go,
we can prepare our dressing for the salad.
This is another thing you can get done ahead of time.
One of the things I love about this dressing
is it really does bring together
all of the flavors of Thai cooking,
which essentially is balancing out those flavors
of sour, sweet, spicy, and salty.
So, this is the way that I like this dressing best,
but you really can experiment with it,
because sometimes people like it a little bit sweeter,
a little bit spicier, a little bit more sour,
so really it's up to you.
But you could begin like this,
so you're going to add to a small bowl,
the juice of two limes,
then I like to add one tablespoon of the sweet chili sauce.
Then for our salty,
we're gonna add two teaspoons of the Thai fish sauce.
So this is something
that you'll find in the condiment aisle of your supermarket,
usually where they sell all of the Thai products,
it's called just Thai fish sauce.
It does not have a fishy flavor to it.
A lot of people kind of cringe
when they hear the word fish sauce,
but what it really does is just provide
a really low, salty flavor
that also gives it a really great depth.
If you can't find it
you could also just probably add a little bit of salt,
but look for the Thai fish sauce,
it's pretty readily available,
and it really does make this dressing.
And I also like to add one clove of minced garlic.
And you can whisk that all up to combine.
Then a lot of people would just serve it just like this,
and you could do that,
but I do like to add a little bit of non-flavored oil to it,
just to give it a little smoothness.
So, I like to use grape seed oil,
but you could really use any non-flavored oil.
And you wanna whisk that in in a slow steady stream
until all of your dressing is combined.
Then you can cover this with some foil,
and just leave it on your countertop
until it's ready to serve.
You can leave it right at room temperature.
And then for the salad,
you can get a lot of this prep done in advance as well.
We're going to be using two mangoes,
that have been diced into chunks.
I really love to use mangoes in a salad like this.
It's perfect for summer entertaining,
they're so fresh, and sweet, and delicious
this time of year,
and it adds a really nice counterbalance
to the spiciness of the dressing.
Then we're also going to prep one shallot,
that you're gonna slice thinly,
one cup of cherry tomatoes,
you can go ahead and just slice those in half.
Then the other thing you can prep are the carrots.
So, I like to take a medium sized carrot,
and just with a vegetable peeler, peel off all the skin
and then once you have a nice clean carrot,
you can go ahead and just peel off some beautiful ribbons.
And I think that makes for a really pretty presentation
when the salad comes together.
And often times this time of year,
you can also find purple carrots,
and if you can find those that's another good one
to slice in and add to the regular carrot,
just has a really nice exotic color,
and people will inquire about what it is.
Good for conversation.
Okay, so we have all of our components ready to go.
When it comes time to grill your steak,
here's what you're going to do.
You just wanna rub off the marinade,
and pat it dry.
And then pop it on a plate,
and then you can take it out to your grill.
So you wanna grill your steak
anywhere from five to eight minutes on both sides,
just until it has a nice sear.
Now I really like to serve this medium rare,
so the best way to know if something is medium rare
is really with a digital meat thermometer.
There's no guessing that way.
Once it gets to 145 degrees Fahrenheit,
you can take it off the grill.
It's really important when you're grilling steak
to make sure that you give it
at least 15 minutes to rest,
to keep all those juices inside.
So while the steak is resting,
you can start to create your salad.
So in a large bowl you're gonna add your baby greens,
and then the other thing I like to add to the greens
is some freshly chopped herbs.
So this makes the salad really flavorful,
and really summery.
I like to use an equal portion of chopped mint,
chopped basil, and chopped cilantro.
So you can just use all of them in combination
until you get about a quarter of a cup,
and you can pop those in with the greens.
Then after that you're gonna add your mangoes,
your shallots, the cherry tomatoes, the carrot ribbons,
and then the final thing I also like to add is
two thirds cup of just dry roasted peanuts,
gives it a really nice crunch.
And then you can set that aside,
and then once your beef is fully rested,
you can go ahead and slice it.
So in order to get the tenderest piece,
you wanna make sure that you're cutting it
against the grain.
So it's easy to see which way the grain is going,
you wanna go the opposite direction.
And I like to slice it nice and thin,
and then you can go ahead and add to your salad.
And then the finishing touch is just to
pour your dressing on top, and give it a nice toss.
Then to serve this salad, I like to use square plates,
because I find that it looks really pretty that way
to then take the salad using some kitchen tongs
and pile it high into like little pyramids.
And you'll start to see how beautiful it comes together
between that mangoes and the carrots,
and those tomatoes, and then of course,
that wonderfully flavored steak.
This salad is cool and refreshing and so flavorful too.
It's a fantastic recipe to serve in the summertime
when you're looking for something a little bit different
to throw on the grill.
I hope you guys give this one a try,
and let me know what you think.
And special thanks to Beef, It's What's For Dinner
for sponsoring and collaborating with me on this video.
I'll see you back here next time.
(upbeat music)