Modified crying tiger (spicy steak) salad

 Rob and I order this dish at Thmor Da (a Cambodian restaurant in Revere; likely our favorite restaurant in the Boston area). I tried to make a version yesterday, based on somewhat cursory internet research. It came out well but was TOO SPICY. Here's a recipe based on what I did yesterday, but modified to fix spiciness and other minor flaws. 

This dish is a lot of fun to eat --- sharp and flavorful with lots of contrasting textures --- and quite easy to make. I'd recommend it for a quick summer dinner. I think it would be good with rice to soak up the juices but we ate it with corn since it's summer and we have corn. 


The dressing contained powdered toasted rice; here's a picture of the toasted rice, pre-powdering. 



Recipe (serves 2)

Step 1: Marinate steak. Sprinkle

--- kosher salt 

over

--- one small steak  (around 3/4 inch thick; I used rib-eye, which is my favorite)

and let stand at least 30 minutes.


Step 2: Toasted-rice poweder. In a heavy pan, toast 

--- 3 tablespoons rice (I used jasmine rice; sticky rice would have been more authentic, I think)

over medium-low heat for 10-20 minutes, until golden brown (photograph of toasted rice above).  Cool on a plate, then grind in a spice/coffee grinder to obtain a coarse powder. 


Step 3:  Made dressing. Combine:

--- the juice of one lime

--- ~1 tablespoon fish sauce

--- 1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced

--- ~3 minced green chillies

--- 2 teaspoons sugar (palm sugar if you have it; I used raw cane sugar)

--- the toasted rice powder


Step 4: Vegetables. Assemble in a large salad bowl:

--- 1-2 romaine hearts, dry and roughly chopped

--- 1 large ripe tomato, sliced 

--- ~1/5 of a small yellow onion, very finely sliced and separated into fine threads


Step 5: Cook steak. Heat up a heavy cast-iron pan on medium-high heat until very hot, and add 

--- 1/2 teaspoon oil (any kind, preferably one with a high smoking point)

and swirl pan to spread the oil around. Dry the steak well, raise heat to high, add steak to pan. Press the steak down well to ensure a good sear. Cover the pan. Start a timer for 6 minutes. (We want the steak to cook for a total of around 6 minutes, and to be covered for 3-4 minutes of that time. If your steak is thicker you'll want to cook it longer. I still occasionally over- or under-cook steak, so I can't give foolproof instructions here :-/) After 2-2.5 minutes have elapsed, uncover the pan and flip the steak, pressing down again. Cover for a minute or two, then uncover and flip. When steak looks well seared it's probably done. Remove onto a plate or cutting board and allow to rest for 5-7 minutes. 


Step 6: Final assembly: Carve rested steak into ~3/4 cm slices (thinner if you can manage it) and add to the lettuce-onion-tomato bowl. Add dressing and toss well. Garnish with lots of

--- cilantro

--- mint (I didn't have mint so I used basil, which worked pretty well)  

and toss again. Serve as is (which is what I did) or with rice or bread to soak up the abundant juices.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tomato-wine-cream spaghetti

Image
 A version of this pasta sauce that is stripped down and more practical. It's delicious and we've eaten it several times over the last week. Not a balanced meal, but we've been working hard on a fellowship application, and an easy, carb-y dinner is very welcome at such times! Recipe (for two) Dice -- one large good tomato Put through a garlic press, or mince --- 1-3 cloves garlic (depending on size, preference, and laziness) Boil water for pasta, and salt heavily. To a medium pan, on medium heat, add --- Olive oil + butter, 2-3 tablespoons total, in preferred ratio. I like half-and-half. when butter is sizzling a bit, add the minced/pressed garlic, and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring and modulating heat so that the garlic does not color. Add diced tomatoes and raise heat.  (Start the spaghetti cooking at this point.) Season the tomatoes with  --- salt + optional fish sauce  --- sugar My tomatoes are watery and the spaghetti I used cooks quickly.  When my pasta was d...
Read more

Spicy (stir-)fried chicken, with or without eggplant

Image
This is so tasty! I made it many times with eggplant in late spring, and without in early summer. Much easier without, and also crisper. Eggplant does add flavor though. Although the chicken is not deep fried, it gets crisp, more crisp-chewy than crunchy, though.  Notes for success: — DO NOT SCALE UP. Cooks best in a small batch. — Fry chicken on high-ish heat at first, then medium-high. Allow it to get crisp and golden before adding eggplant (if using), fry for several minutes while after adding eggplant, then fry on medium-low for a few minutes after adding sauce. — Use large non-stick pan to stir-fry.   Marinate for anywhere between 30 minutes and two days, but ideally one day: — two boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces — 1 tbsp light soy sauce — 1/4 tsp grated ginger  — splash Chinese rice wine — ground black pepper (little) When ready to cook/marinated at least 30 mins, coat very well with  — tapioca (or corn or sweet potato or potato) starch ...
Read more

Eggs-on-rice, 1 (Thai-style and spicy)

Image
 This is my go-to comfort dinner. Recipe adapted from Leela Punyaratabandhu's recipe here . Not pretty, but so, so tasty. (I don't usually serve with sliced tomatoes, as pictured here; I had leftover tomato slices from BLT made that afternoon, and thought I might as well add some color to an otherwise monochromatic dish.) Recipe (serves two) Cook --- rice for two (our standard rice is white jasmine) Beat  — 4 eggs  with — 1 tbsp fish sauce — juice of 3/4 lime — lots of minced fresh chillies Heat in wok or frying pan -- oil, ~3 tablespoons add eggs and cook. When nearly set, add  — 1 tbsp butter  And mix to incorporate. Eat over rice.
Read more