Marinate flank in garlic, lime and fish sauce, grill it hot, and let everyone build their own bowl of noodles, greens and herbs — bright, meaty, and utterly addictive.
For most of the last decade or two, my dad was on a perennial low-carb diet, eschewing bread and often sugar, save for carefully chosen exceptions. When family would come over for dinner, he’d always tell me I didn’t need to make anything special for him, but I enjoyed the challenge of coming up with a menu that would work for everyone. The results became some of my favorite meals to this day. Previously, dinner parties usually had a carb-assault at the center — lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs or mussels and fries — but in these, protein (and a great heap of vegetables) get the spotlight: chicken gyro salad, street cart chicken (one of my favorites in Smitten Kitchen Every Day), piri piri chicken, and many steak salads. As should be clear, these aren’t bread- or carb-free, but they’re set up in an assemble-your-own style that allows the carb-rejecting to eat as they wish, and the carb-demanding (or not) children to get into the meal too. Everybody wins.
This is one of the more recent ones. I jokingly called it the Not-Really-Thai Steak Salad because I was craving a flavor profile, not authenticity. [While it’s probably closest to yum neua yang (grilled beef salad), it wouldn't include noodles or green beans, just for starters; neua naam tok (waterfall beef) would have even fewer extras, and is often served with rice.] The first time I made it, while it was delicious, I completely overdid it with fixings: chile-lime peanuts, crispy fried shallots, julienned mango — sheesh, almost a full salad-bar of options. I was craving it again last Friday (when this handsome couple came over) but vowed to keep it simpler, trying to distill it to its most essential parts — it’s the garlic, lime, and fish sauce marinade that I crave most — and landed on this, and it was so good, it’s officially in the summer rotation now.
Because this is an assemble-your-own situation, getting the ingredient amounts exactly right can be tricky. If your people love noodles, you might need more. If they don’t eat noodles but love steak, get extra; a half-pound per person is a fairly safe bet for crowds. Some people love the dressing (my kids, even!), others devour entire bowls of green beans before people arrive (cough me). What I’ve written below works for our family of four on a weekday night. The leftovers keep well, too, so don’t be nervous about scaling up.
Servings: 4 Time: 1 hour, plus marinating time
Servings | Total time | Source |
|---|---|---|
4 | About 1 hour (plus marinate) | Smitten Kitchen |
Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
Brown sugar (light or dark) | 1/4 cup (50 g) |
Fish sauce | 3–4 tablespoons (45–60 ml), to taste |
Lime juice | 1/3 cup (80 ml) |
Garlic, minced | 2–3 cloves |
Thai chili powder / red pepper flakes / bird’s eye chilis | To taste |
Flank steak | 1 1/4 lb (565 g) |
Neutral oil (vegetable or similar) | 3 tablespoons, plus more for grill |
Thin rice noodles | 8.8 oz (250 g) |
Green beans, trimmed | 1 lb (455 g) |
Salt & freshly ground black pepper | To taste |
Cherry tomatoes, halved | 8 oz (225 g) |
Persian-style small cucumbers, thinly sliced | 12 oz (340 g) |
Chopped cilantro + mint mix | About 1/2 cup |
Make the marinade and dressing: In a medium bowl whisk brown sugar, a smaller measure of the fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and your chosen chili heat. Taste — the balance should be salty and sour first, followed by sweet and spicy; you’ll likely add more fish sauce.
Marinate steak: Place steak in a sealable bag, pour in about one-third of the mixture and press out air so the marinade stays against the meat. Refrigerate for about 1 hour or up to a day; if pressed for time, marinate while you prep.
Make the dressing: Slowly whisk 3 tablespoons of oil into the remaining marinade to make the dressing and adjust to taste.
Prepare vegetables and noodles: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch green beans: 2.5 minutes for regular beans, 2 minutes for haricot vert; drain and transfer to an ice bath, then to a bowl. Cook the rice noodles per package instructions (author soaks them in boiling water off the heat for 5 minutes), drain, and toss with a splash of oil if they stick.
Grill steak: Heat grill very hot and oil the grates. Remove steak from marinade and grill about 3½–5 minutes per side depending on thickness (author used ~4 minutes each side and found it a touch too done). Season both sides with salt and pepper while grilling. Let the steak rest for 5 minutes and then slice very thin.
Serve: Put out bowls of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs along with noodles, steak and dressing. Offer extra chilis and a little vinegar if desired. To eat, start with a small pile of noodles, add sliced steak, a few vegetables, herbs and a ladle of dressing; repeat to build each person’s bowl.
Practical Tips
Tip | |
|---|---|
Taste & adjust the fish sauce — it varies by brand. | “fish sauce brands can vary a lot… should be adjusted to taste.” |
Toss cucumbers with rice vinegar + sesame oil + salt for picky eaters. | “I usually toss my cucumber slices with a splash of rice vinegar, a splash of toasted sesame oil, and two pinches of salt…” |
Blanch green beans briefly then shock in ice water. | “For regular sized green beans, cook them for 2.5 minutes; for haricot vert… 2 minutes, then drop into a bowl of ice water.” |
Soak rice noodles in boiling water off heat if package suggests. | “remove the boiling water from the heat, add the noodles, and let them soak for 5 minutes…” |
Let steak rest 5 minutes before slicing very thin. | “Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing very thin…” |
Scale to appetites — add more noodles or more steak as needed. | “If your people love noodles, you might need more. If they don’t eat noodles but love steak, get extra.” |
