WEEKNIGHT FEAST

One of my all-time go-to cookbooks is Milk Street Tuesday Nights by Christopher Kimball. It’s a book that prioritizes recipes that work in every sense of the word: they’re fairly straightforward to make, the ingredient lists are manageable, and they’re calibrated to be pretty generally tasty and appealing to most any crowd you might have gathered around.

A painstaking (but entertaining!) recipe hunt with my kids a few weeks ago, led us to settle on a Milk Street Ginger Beef and Rice Noodle Salad. I think the kids liked the big, tasty-looking sliced  up steak in the book’s photograph; I liked the ample use of herbs and the classic flavor kicks of lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and chili-garlic paste. 

This is a recipe that comes together pretty quickly, and there’s nothing on the ingredient list that you won’t find at your local co-op (including locally raised beef, which I think is always worth spending a little extra for.)

GINGER BEEF AND RICE NOODLE SALAD

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp fish sauce, divided (I like Squid brand)
2 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger, divided
3 Tbsp plus 2 tsp packed brown sugar, divided
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 pound sirloin tips or round tip steak, patted dry
12 oz. thin rice noodles
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp chili-garlic sauce or paste
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 cup lightly packed fresh mint, torn
1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

In medium bowl combine 1 Tbsp fish sauce, 1 Tbsp ginger, 2 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Place sirloin between two pieces of parchment papper or plastic wrap and pound with meat mallet to about 1/2" thickness. Add beef to the fish sauce mixture and marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Boil a large pot of water. Add noodles and remove from heat, and let noodles stand until tender, typically 3-8 minutes.  Drain in a large colander and rinse with cold water, then drain again. Transfer to medium bowl.

In small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup fish sauce, 1 Tbsp ginger, 3 Tbsp brown sugar, lime juice, 2 Tbsp water, and the chili-garlic sauce until the sugar dissolves.

In a non-stick skillet over medium-high, heat oil until barely smoking. Add beef, and cook until browned on both sides, turning once, about 6 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. 

Add to the noodles 1/2 cup fish sauce-lime juice mixture, the mint, cilantro, and peanuts, and toss to combine. Transfer to serving platter or individual plates or bowls.

Cut each piece of meat into thirds with the grain, then slice as thinly as possible against the grain. Place slices on top of the noodles and drizzle with accumulated juices. Serve with remaining fish sauce-lime juice mixture on the side.