| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 6 - 8 minutes |
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This salad is a perfect juxtaposition of flavors. There’s a certain balance from the ultra fresh, harmonious herbs and cucumber against the rare beef that is so satisfying. It’s almost Zen-like… almost.
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- 1 pound steak (flank/London Broil, top blad/flank, or even strip, flat iron or New York - about 1" thick)
- 1/2 English Cucumber
- 4 - 6 green onions sliced on a bias (about 3/4 cup)
- 1 cup mint leaves whole
- 1 cup cilantro leaves whole
- 5 ounces spring green, baby lettuce, or baby Asian greens
- About 2 tablspoons vegetable oil
- Scant 1 t-spoon kosher salt
- A few pinches coarse sea salt flakes such as Maldon (optional)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 t-spoon sugar
- 1 red finger chili seeded and minced or sliced thin
- 2 - 3 drops sesame seed oil
- 1 small cayenne chili or some other hot red chili
- Start by mixing everything for the dressing, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Split the cucumber in half lengthwise, scoop the watery “seed” membrane from the center and either thinly sliced into half-moons or, if you’re feeling dexterous or have a julienne peeler, julienne into strips.
- Tear up the lettuce and mix on a large platter with the herb leaves and sliced green onions and set in the fridge until everything’s ready – no more than 20 minutes, though. If you want to chop the herbs a little bit do so roughly but do not do this in advance or they will wilt and turn black.
- Preheat your grill or grill pan and let it get screaming hot. Slather the steak with enough vegetable oil to coat it, moderately, and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Once the grill is very hot, slap the steak on and grill it for about 3 – 4 minutes before flipping and grilling an additional 2 – 3 (or a thermometer reads about 125°, give a few degrees).
- Move to a foil lined plate and cover with more foil for 10 minutes where it will carry-over cook to a perfect medium-rare at 130 – 135°.
- Once it’s wrapped in its foil parcel, plunk the cucumbers into the dressing.
- After the steak has had its time to rest, thinly slice it on a bias against the grain. If any juices from the beef have accumulated in the foil, plunge the beef back into it so it can soak it up.
- Lay the beef across the salad. Remove the cucumbers from the dressing scatter over the salad, adding a little more dressing as needed, and sprinkling with the crunchy flakes of salt if using.
In case you like your steak cooked more, below is a little guide to the internal temperature beef should reach to attain the level of done-ness you're looking for. There is no regulated, set internal temperature for these, so they're really opinion based--the ones I list below are no different. I know there are a million tricks for testing a steaks done-ness (pushing on the steak with your finger and comparing it to the fell of various parts of your face or palm are two of the popular methods) but I prefer to rely on a digital thermometer for this. Just pierce the steak in the middle and push it through to the center. Remember that it will continue to cook as it rests so I'd recommend you pull it off when it's roughly 5-10° less than your preference.
Beef (Steaks)
Blue……………………. 105 – 110° (remove at 100°-105° and rest for 5 minutes)
Rare………................... 125° (remove at 120° and rest for 5 minutes)
Medium-Rare………. 130°-135° (I usually remove at 125° and rest for 5 minutes)
Medium……………….. 135°-140° (I usually remove at 130° and rest for 5 minutes)
Medium-Well……….. 140°-145° (remove at 140° and rest for 5 minutes)
Well Done…………….. 155° (remove at 150° and rest for 5 minutes or not – its shoe leather anyway)