Things are heating up here in Phoenix: it’s that time of the year when one minute you think Winter might just linger a bit longer, and then the next you’re smacked in the face with 85+ degree temps. The grill is ready to get more use and you’re craving Spring freshness in your food again. What better way to get all of those things into one healthy dish than to build a gigantic and spicy salad!
I’m often told that sometimes my food is too “chefy” for a home cook to make, and I promise you that is not the case, especially with this simple steak salad recipe. This one brings the heat, but in a good way. So be prepared for a burning tongue and a full belly!
I’ve chosen tri tip as my cut of meat, and have actually cooked it 2 ways here. I placed the tri tip into a vacuum sealed bag with a cup of Sweet Thai Chili sauce, and allowed it to sit in a sous vide water bath at 130 degrees for about 7 hours. And then post water bath, it gets tossed onto the grill to carmelize the chili sauce. Don’t fret if you don’t have a sous vide, although I would highly recommend getting one as it’s a total game changer for the way you cook many things in the kitchen. You can simply throw the steak into a gallon Ziploc bag with the Sweet Thai Chili sauce and allow it to marinate for a few hours, or overnight if possible. Once you’re ready to grill, go ahead and remove the steak and transfer to a well oiled grill. You’re going to grill for about 5-10 minutes per side depending on the thickness, but to be totally precise, do yourself a favor and use a meat thermometer. You’re looking for an internal temp of about 130 degrees for a perfectly grilled medium rare steak. I would suggest doing 5 minutes per side and then checking. You can always cook it longer, but you can’t bring back the pink once it’s gone!
The rest is incredibly simple. Make the dressing early and you’ll have yourself a quick cleanup post-meal. Chop and layer your veggies, add the sliced steak on top, and cover in that bright and spicy kimchi vinaigrette. Spring is here!!!
Tri Tip Steak Salad with “Kimchi” Vinaigrette
Equipment
- Sous Vide
Ingredients
Tri Tip
- 1 Tri Tip Steak 2-3 pounds should feed 3-4 people.
- 1 cup Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
Salad Components
- 1 head napa cabbage chopped
- 1 handful pea shoots
- 1 handful cilantro chopped
- 1 handful fresh mint chopped
- 3 stalks green onions chopped
- 1 cucumber, small chopped
- 1 can sliced water chestnuts
- 1 can mandarin oranges drained
- 1 serrano chili sliced thin
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
Kimchi Vinaigrette
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 garlic gloves minced
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Tri Tip Steak (Sous Vide) / Grilled
- Season the steak with salt and pepper, and place into a acuum seal bag (or Ziploc if you you’re not going to Sous Vide this). To that bag, add the Sweet Thai Chili sauce and seal. Mix up with your hands to get the sauce all over the steak. At this point, you can add the steak to a sous vide water bath (130 degrees for Medium Rare) or place into your fridge to further marinate. If you’re going to grill this, allow the meat to marinate for at least 3 hours or overnight. If bypassing the Sous Vide, grill the meat for 5 minutes on each side and then check with a meat thermometer. You’re likely going to need at least 7 minutes per side, depending on thickness of the steak, but a meat thermometer will allow you to cook it precise to your liking. Once done to your liking, remove the steak from the grill and allow it to rest.If using a sous vide water bath, which I absolutely recommend, place the bag into a 130-degree water bath for about 7 hours. It’s pretty hard to overcook sous vide since the temperature remains constant, so feel free to leave in longer if you have to bounce out to work all day. Once you’re done with the sous vide, remove the steak from the bag and place onto a hot well-oiled grill. Grill about 3 minutes per side and then transfer to a plate to rest. The goal is to caramelize the chili sauce on the grill but not to further cook the steak much as the sous vide already has you where you want to be here.Regardless of how you get to the final result of a cooked steak, allow it to rest about 10 minutes before slicing. Once you’re ready, cut against the grain into strips and place on top of the salad.
Salad Assembly
- Lay the napa cabbage on the bottom of a deep bowl or plate, and scatter all other ingredients over the top. Lay the sliced steak on top, and dress to your liking.
Kimchi Vinaigrette
- Add all salad dressing ingredients to a bowl or a shaker and mix until well combined. Mix thoroughly again before adding to salad.
