Thinly sliced, perfectly seared steak tops a Thai salad of crunchy cabbage, fresh bean sprouts and fragrant basil and mint herbs. Follow this recipe and dinner can be ready in 20 minutes!
Salad as a main dish is combines so many textures and flavor profiles: crunchy, healthy vegetables, tangy dressing, and a warm, grilled meat or roasted vegetable. This Thai Steak Salad also has one additional element – fresh, fragrant herbs.
What makes this Thai Steak Salad recipe so appealing is the 5-S’s of flavor: spicy, salty, sour, savory and sweet. Toss in perfectly grilled, sliced flank steak, and you have a meal that only takes 20 minutes to prepare and pleases just about everyone.
Turn this Thai Steak Salad into a Buddha Bowl
Protein? Check. Veggies? Check. Dressing? Check. This recipe already has all the makings of a well balanced meal. To make it a Steamy Kitchen-approved Buddha bowl would just mean adding a grain base and a crunchy topping to complement the existing dressing!
This recipe is from The Great Cook Cookbook, by James Briscione, the Culinary Director of the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC, and two-time champion of Food Network’s Chopped.
About The Great Cook Cookbook
While most cookbook feature stories or a journey + recipes, The Great Cook Essential Techniques and Inspired Flavors to Make Every Dish Better is built differently. The book is like a master cooking class, with author James Briscione and the team of editors at Cooking Light at your side.
The book is organized in 35 main cooking lessons, like “Steamed Mussels,” teaching you how to debeard mussels, test for freshness and how to cook mussels with different flavor profiles. Each lesson is followed by a few variations that build upon what you’ve just learned: Mussels Steamed with Bacon, Beer and Fennel, Curried Coconut Mussels and Fettuccine with Mussels.
This is a perfect book for those learning to cook, but enjoy the freedom of variations upon a theme. With over 400 gorgeously styled color photographs throughout the book, you’re sure to understand the lessons.
The Thai Steak Salad recipe is featured in the lesson on “Leafy Main Salads” which also includes French Frisee Salad with Bacon and Poached Eggs (learn how to poach an egg and make homemade croutons) and a Greek Salad Bowl (with artichoke hearts and olives).
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More info on making the Thai Steak Salad Buddha Bowl:
- Feel free to sub rice noodles with whole grains.
- Quinoa – 10-15 minutes typically; can’t go wrong with directions from the box!
- Bulgur – Fast and tasty. I like Bob’s Red Mill brand.
- Farro – Bon Appetit has the perfect recipe for cooking farro.
- Freekeh – This one is my favorite! See if you can find cracked freekah at a health food store. Here’s how to cook it.
- Buy fried shallots here.
- How to choose a good-quality fish sauce.
Thai Steak Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak about 3/4″ in thickness
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 1/4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha or other hot chile sauce
- 1 1/2 cups very thinly sliced cabbage or any salad greens
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup julienne-cut carrots
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1/4 fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/4 fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Season steak evenly with salt and pepper on both sides. Add steak to pan, cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steak from pan; let stand 5 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.
- In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice and next 5 ingredients (through Sriracha) for the dressing.
- In a large bowl, combine cabbage and remaining ingredients. Add 6 tablespoons dressing to cabbage mixture; toss well. Toss steak in remaining 2 tablespoons dressing. Add steak to cabbage mixture; toss to combine.
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
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I love Thai food and this recipe is so easy and incorporates many of the flavors of the Thai culture. I added broccoli and it was so delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Rosann at 2BellaHealth.com
That’s an odd thing, because this would never be served in Thailand (Thais rarely eat beef and certainly don’t eat that much of it), so I’m guessing it’s an American-ized Thai salad? 🙂 (I’ve lived in Thailand for 14 years).
Looks great, and I’m sure Americans will love it, but it isn’t Thai 🙂
Delicious, Jaden! We’ve been trying to cut down on carbs and eat more protein/veggie meals, and this recipe totally fit the bill. Flavourful, interesting textures, pretty easy to make (though not as quick when using the barbeque). Mine didn’t quite look like yours but it’s the taste that counts 🙂 My only changes were to use top sirloin steak, because that’s what I had, and to add a chopped Thai bird eye red chili pepper to the dressing for more spice. This fed two hungry adults who have good appetites – no leftovers here! Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you Jenn!
Wow! This steak salad has all the flavors I enjoy — savory, sweet and spicy. Plus I have them all right now. Must try this recipe right away. Thanks for sharing, Jaden!
Going to try this. “thanks”
Hello Jaden, It has been such a long time since I have commented on your blog. But I still read your blog and love using your cookbooks. This steak salad sounds delicious. (sans the cilantro…blaah! But that is my problem!) Painting floor boards does sound strenuous work. How do you keep the dog off them? Your boys are looking so grown up now. I still remember the wonderful post when your boys first made bread on the blog about 7 years ago! So sweet.
Anyway, sending you love and good wishes from England. x
Melinda!!!! I miss you! I’m so happy to hear from you again 🙂
Hi Jaden,
Recipe was spot-on. Thanks so much, tastes just like the Thai salad we order at our local joint.
Thank you for the recipe! We tried it last night – big hit with family. Also added lots of chili pepper (very thinly sliced) on mine.
I’m looking forward to reading more about how to cut steak across the grain! I really need help with that. It’s great that this meal only takes 20 minute to prepare but looks like I was sweating it out in the kitchen for hours. I love those types of meals. The family gets super impressed and I get my afternoon siesta. Really like the basil/mint/cilantro in here too, it’s just about the only thing that’s “ready” in the garden =) I bet my husband could even make this (okay, if he went to his mom’s house for help…and I wouldn’t put that past him.)