Steak Salad With Fish Sauce and Mint

By Mark Bittman

Updated Sept. 8, 2020

Steak Salad With Fish Sauce and Mint
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(442)
Comments
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This salad, with Southeast Asian flair, takes mere minutes to make, even with cooking the beef. Its base is mesclun and a handful of flavorful, mild herbs, like parsley or mint. Because steak doesn't need any seasoning, cooking it takes only 10 minutes. You could substitute chicken, pork or shrimp. The vinaigrette that accompanies this salad is light but assertive, based not on olive oil but on a neutral-flavored oil like canola. I use relatively little oil, as its job is only to help the remaining dressing ingredients coat the greens. To this I add rice vinegar or lime juice, both of which are high in flavor but low in acidity. The vinaigrette is rounded off with mustard, shallots, and nam pla (Thai fish sauce) or soy sauce.

Featured in: THE MINIMALIST; Simple Salad, All Beefed Up

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1 to 1½pounds thick sirloin, rib-eye or other boneless steak
  • 6 to 8cups mesclun greens
  • 1cup mint leaves
  • ¼cup neutral oil, like canola
  • ¼cup rice vinegar or lime juice
  • 1teaspoon mustard, optional
  • 1chopped shallot, about 1 tablespoon
  • 2tablespoons nam pla, or 1 tablespoon soy sauce mixed with 1 tablespoon water
  • ¼teaspoon or more freshly ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

462 calories; 34 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 31 grams protein; 552 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    If you're grilling, start a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill. Grill steak about 4 minutes a side for medium rare. (If you're cooking inside, preheat oven to its maximum, 450 to 500 degrees. Heat ovenproof skillet on stove over high heat until it smokes. Place steak in skillet, and transfer to oven. Roast about 4 minutes a side for medium rare.)

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, wash greens and toss with mint. Whisk or blend remaining ingredients together, taste, and adjust seasoning.

  3. Step 3

    Let steak rest for a minute before slicing, and then place it atop greens, with its juices. Dress with vinaigrette, and serve.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
442 user ratings
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Comments

J. Darken

Delicious. Used dry mustard, fish sauce and soy sauce, and and a mix of lime juice and rice vinegar for the dressing. Very easy and quick weeknight dinner. Served with Mark Bittman's Vietnamese-style portobello mushrooms, also from NYT Cooking. Put everything on the grill and dinner was served in about 20 minutes.

Hanna

Substituted diced cucumber for the greens, so delicious!

Molly Schechter

What goes around, comes around In my files, I found a "Minimalist" clipping from August 11, 2002. Mr. Bittman has changed his tune a bit -- the earlier version included red onion and minced cucumber, the dressing had no mustard or oil (!) and did have cayenne and a tiny bit of sugar, the meat went on the salad cool, not from the grill, etc. I changed it further, using Whole Foods herb rubbed London Broil (lazy? guilty!). Mine was delicious, next time maybe come avocado and cucumber.

Marguerite

A light and delicious salad with some beefy heft. I used rice vinegar and Dijon and tasted the dressing after adding only 1T of fish sauce (Red Boat), and found that to be enough. I’ll make it again when I have fresh mint growing but in the meantime added some dried mint to sub.

Es

Nice summer dinner. I had leftover steak, which I reheated quickly and cut up. Served over a bed of napa cabbage and cherry tomatoes with Thai basil instead of mint.. Also used lime-rice vinegar combo for the sauce. Used Thai fish sauce. Sauce was delicious and made the dish!

Meh

On the whole, I thought the recipe was just okay although I think it could easily be improved. I found it a bit too acidic and thought the dressing could benefit from the addition of some sweetness. Perhaps white, brown, or palm sugar would add another interesting note. Also, it goes without saying that the steaks should be seasoned prior to grilling. I used kosher salt, cracked black pepper, and some garlic powder.

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