Shaking Beef

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Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients

For the Beef

1 ¼ pounds rib eye steak
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 ½ tsp sugar
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 ½ Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp white pepper
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

For the Dressing

¼ cup sliced shallot
1 ½ tsp sugar
Pinch salt
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 ½ Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp sesame oil

For the Salad

1 bunch watercress
½ bunch cilantro sprigs
Lime wedges, to garnish

For More Sauce!

1 cup lime juice
2/3 cup fish sauce
1/3 cup sugar
2 thai chilis
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp ginger
1 Tbsp rice powder

Cilantro and mint, to garnish

Special Equipment

Wok and paddle

Instructions

For the Beef

Trim any fat from the beef, and cut into ¾ “cubes. In a bowl, combine both of the ground peppers, sugar, garlic, oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and vegetable oil. Add the beef, and stir gently to coat. Set aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.

For the Dressing

Stir together the sugar, salt, pepper, rice vinegar, water, and sesame oil. Stir in the sliced shallots, and let marinate at least 20 minutes.

For the Salad

Clean the watercress and cilantro. Remove the larger woody stems. When ready to serve, dress the salad with the shallots, and place on serving platter. Save some of the shallot dressing to toss with the seared beef.

To Finish

Heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil in a wok until almost smoking. In a single layer, add ½ of the beef and spread it out. Let the meat cook to sear. Do not turn until one side is browned nicely. Shake the wok or use a paddle to turn and cook the other side. Remove from the heat, and repeat with remaining beef.
Taste the beef for seasoning, adding some of the dressing from the shallots if necessary to balance the sweet, salty and tart flavors. Place beef on top of the watercress and shallot salad, with all of the juices. Serve with lime wedges to garnish.