Fiery Beef and Rice Noodle Salad

Every so often I try something that is similar to something I've made before, but perhaps a bit simpler. And sometimes it works out, but more often than not, I find that the more complex recipes end up more flavorful. This was the case for this recipe. It's similar to one of my favorite recipes from last year, the Vietnamese Pork Noodle Salad, which I recently made for my family over the holiday. So if I'm going to recommend making one of these recipes, make that one. But hey, maybe you can improve upon this one?

Fiery Beef and Rice Noodle Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients:

soy sauce

2 oz uncooked rice stick noodles

12 oz flank steak, trimmed

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Cooking spray

2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion

1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced

1/2 habanero pepper, minced

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 TB sugar

1 TB fish sauce

12 basil leaves, torn

Instructions:

Cut steak into 1/8-inch-thick slices.Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then place in a ziploc bag. Coat with soy sauce. Marinate for an hour or more.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Coarsely chop noodles.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add beef; sauté 4 minutes.

Combine steak, noodles, lettuce, onion, cucumber, and habanero. Combine juice, sugar, and fish sauce; pour over noodle mixture, tossing gently. Sprinkle with basil.