Thai Steak Salad

Inspired by PokPok - Portland, OR

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Flank steak can easily be overlooked in the fine dining category. It’s quite lean with a long grain thread and thus easy to dry out, overcook, or appear tough when cut incorrectly. But, take the time to marinate this cut and you’ll find it very easy to work with for everything from fajitas to stir fry to this amazing dish right here. My only regret is not making more. Prepare to multiply this recipe exponentially and thank me later.

Parts of this recipe were adapted from Andy Ricker’s recipe for “Neua Naam Tok (Isaan Steak Salad)” in his cookbook PokPok. Andy owns a restaurant named Pok Pok in Portland, Oregon. They’ve won Michelin stars. It’s worth visiting.

INGREDIENTS

THAI STEAK (serves 1, increase as needed):

  • 6 oz flank steak (½ inch thickness)

  • 1 ½ tsp tender lemongrass, thinly sliced

  • 4 black peppercorns

  • 1 TBS soy sauce

THAI STEAK DRESSING:

  • 1 ½ TBS lime juice

  • ½ TBS lemon juice

  • 1 ½ TBS fish sauce

  • 1 TBS beef stock

  • 1 tsp sugar

  • 1 tsp Thai toasted-chili powder (or ½ tsp regular chili-powder if not making Thai Toasted-Chili Powder)

  • 2 TBS tender lemongrass, thinly sliced

  • 1 tsp rice flour

  • ¼ cup mint, coarsely chopped

  • ¼ cup cilantro, coarsely chopped

THAI TOASTED-CHILI POWDER (optional):

  • 1 oz puya chilies

ADDITIONAL NEEDS:

  • Rice (for serving)

GO FOR IT

THAI STEAK:

  1. Using a mortar and pestle, grind lemongrass slices and peppercorns together (don’t spend long here, just enough to combine - or mince lemongrass and use ground pepper if you do not have a mortar and pestle)

  2. In a bowl, add soy sauce and lemongrass/peppercorn paste, then add steak and rub mixture well into it

  3. Marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour

  4. Once marinated, use a hot grill or cast iron pan to cook steak for 2 to 3 minutes on each side

  5. Let steak rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing against the grain in ¼ inch slices

THAI STEAK DRESSING AND FINISHING STEPS:

  • Before slicing steak, start your dressing by adding lime juice, lemon juice, fish sauce, beef stock, sugar, toasted-chili powder, lemongrass slices, rice flour and most of the mint and cilantro (save some for topping after) to a bowl and combine well

  • Once combined, add mix to a skillet and heat over medium heat until liquid is just warm (15 to 30 seconds tops)

  • Once the dressing is warm, toss in steak slices and combine well

  • Remove from heat, top with remaining mint and cilantro, and serve immediately with a side of rice to soak up the remaining juices

THAI TOASTED-CHILI POWDER:

  • Turn on your kitchen exhaust fans or open up some windows (toasting chilies releases quite a bit of capsaicin molecules into the air which may cause you to cough)

  • In a large skillet or wok, heat chilies over medium-low until all are well browned (skins will brittle and almost black) but not burned (you will need to stir constantly to avoid burning - the whole process will take about 10 to 15 minutes)

  • Remove toasted chilies from heat and let cool before removing seeds

  • Coarsely grind chilies in a spice grinder or by using a pestle and mortar

NOTES:

This stuff was truly outstanding. I’ll be adding it to my regular rotation. I want you to enjoy this too but also know there are people out there that have an aversion to fish sauce. If that’s you, then don’t worry. I found a way to make a very similar sauce that will be absent the fishy taste - just use a mixture of half soy sauce and half rice vinegar.

The biggest challenge I’m asking of you here is the homemade chili powder. I’ve made various chili powders over the years and cannot overstate how much more vibrant they can make a dish over the store-bought stuff. That being said, I totally understand that this isn’t just difficult, but can be a literal headache if you’re sensitive to capsaicin (to a certain extent, we all are). This stuff is good though, and shines through nicely with how coarse it is. This is why I recommend half as much if you end up substituting with regular chili powder which is ground much finer. Should you decide to brave this endeavor, you’ll end up making more than you need but it stores very well and can be used in later dishes. Andy Ricker also called for homemade sticky rice powder in his recipe which called for drying out cooked sticky rice and then grinding it. I felt it was a too much trouble for what I needed so I used some rice flour I had lying around instead. All-purpose would also work as I am pretty certain this is there more as a thickening agent than major flavor component.

Andy Ricker also recommends using Key limes so if you can find those then use them. However, with the lack of Key limes in my area, I took his advice and added a bit of lemon juice to compensate as is reflected here. I also used 6 ounces of flank steak instead of the 4 ounces in his recipe but that’s just because I love steak and I regret nothing here. It’s my understanding most Thai meals are served with several dishes for everyone to enjoy a bit of each from. That’s probably why Andy mentions this feeding 2 to 6 people as part of a meal. However, 1 or 2 dishes at a time is about all I can handle in my Brooklyn apartment so having this with a side of rice was the perfect dinner for me. Do as you will.