Asian Steak and Noodle Salad

Salads – never the king of the food world, but they are often underestimated. Move over lettuce, tomato and cucumber, this is a real salad. And it’s one of those that you can cook in ten minutes and it makes you look like you could totally kill Heston in a cook-off.

Ingredients

Serves one – multiply as you like! 

Salad:

• One rump steak – you could even stretch one big juicy steak between two people, if you wanted to.
• One baby gem lettuce heart.
• Cucumber, as much as you like, cute into strips.
• Two spring onions, sliced on the diagonal.
• A handful of coriander.
• One nest of egg noodles, cooked according to packet instructions.

• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped chilli.
• 1 teaspoon of grated ginger.
• 2 teaspoons of soy sauce (I used the Lee Kum Kee Double Deluxe Soy Sauce).
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.
• 2 teaspoons of light brown sugar.
• Juice of a lime.

Method

Preheat grill and boil kettle. Stick your noodles into the pan and top with boiled kettle water (we’re thinking speed here) and cook as per packet instructions.

Meanwhile, take your steak, and drizzle with a little of your soy sauce and a good twist of cracked black pepper. Leave to one side to marinade, you could do this for longer, or even overnight, if preferred.

Mix together all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl and leave to one side.

The way you cook your steak is up to you, but I like to use a hot griddle pan, with a little spray oil, to keep the fat down. Cook as per your preference – I’m a medium-rare gal – and leave to rest. This bit is important – steak is a muscle and will go all tense and tough as it cooks, leave for five minutes under some tin foil, and it will relax and soak up its own juices, making for a much more tender eat.

Separate your lettuce leaves and arrange in a fan shape around the plate, add your cucumber, spring onion, and coriander (reserve a little spring onion and coriander to garnish). Drain your egg noodles and plonk a generous pile in the centre. Slice steak thinly on the diagonal and layer on top. Sprinkle over your leftover spring onions and coriander (you could even add some sliced chilli and a wedge of lime too) and then spoon over your lovely dressing.

Serve with a Thai beer, some prawn crackers and some good conversation. Simple.