[RevDahlia]

Time to mollify Clutch!

I've got a flank steak, a few limes, some red peppers and some Kudzu in the fridge, and I think we're having your steak salad for dinner tonight. I do suspect that I will grill the peppers alongside the steak, instead of leaving them raw.

I am a sucker for steak salads. It really is almost the whole point of grilling -- I'm always a little irate when there is no leftover steak.

Here is my favorite steak salad. Of course the recipe calls for cilantro.

Steak and Glass Noodle Salad

Soften the dried glass noodles (also called mung bean or cellophane noodles) in a bowl with boiling water, covered with plastic wrap. Drain. Set aside.

Mix up a dressing of lime juice, fish sauce (nam pla -- this recipe requires a trip to the ethnic-foods aisle,) hot sauce (sriracha) to taste, a teaspoon of sugar, and salt.

Chop an extremely beautiful cucumber, a red bell pepper and a radish or two into teeny julienne. Mix them in with the noodles. Add a goodly quantity of thinly sliced leftover grilled steak (I have used flank and tri-tip; both are good. You could also use roast beef.) Dress and allow to chill for awhile; this is best either cold or at room temperature, and it gets more interesting the longer it sits around. Within reason.

Before serving, toss in minced scallions, a handful of cilantro, a smaller handful of minced basil (Thai basil if you can get it,) and a smidgen of chopped fresh mint. It is usual to garnish this with bean sprouts and shredded carrot.

There you have it. My favorite lunch ever. It's pretty easy to do, too, if you have the leftover meat hanging around.