Asian Steak Salad with Bok Choy

I swear this is the last of the Asiany foods for a while.

And ohhhh my is it a doozer.

I’ve rather enjoyed our little trip together! We’ve canoed through rivers of fish sauce. We’ve snorkeled in soy. We’ve climbed the ropes of vermicelli noodles. And today we shall bok the choy.

Wait! I lied. I just took a glance at my planner because something in my ticker was whispering, “youuuu whippersnapper, it’s not the last!” But who are you going to believe, me or my planner?!

That only made zero sense.

I wasn’t sure whether or not to call this is a salad, because everything is warm and seared and silky and wilted. But the dressing that you can BARELY see in that photo right under this word right here comes from a salad cookbook that my sister gave me a hundred years ago. So the salad thingy stuck.

And the dressing? Oh it will just karate chop your tongue. Garlic, ginger and all kinds of posh oils, soy sauce and sugar and lemon juice and yeaaaah you pretty much just got black belted.

Sear sear sear. Wilt wilt wilt. Simmer simmer simmer. Slice slice slice.

Skillet salad Shangri-La.

Your mom called. She said to go ahead and knock you out.

Asian Steak Salad with Bok Choy:

What it took for 2:

* 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 pound flank steak
* 1 bunch bok choy, ends trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise
* 2 Tbs. peanut oil, divided
* 1-inch piece fresh ginger root, minced
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tsp sugar
* 2 tsp sesame oil
* 2 Tbs. soy sauce
* 1 Tbs. lemon juice
* coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
* black sesame seeds, for garnish (or regular)
* 1 scallion, thinly sliced for garnish
* 1 red chile pepper, sliced thinly for garnish (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a small cast iron skillet on medium high. Salt and pepper the steak on both sides and sear until your preferred doneness. I like mine about medium-rare, which was about 5 minutes per side. Remove from heat, tent and let rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Back in the skillet, add 1 Tbs. peanut oil, along with the bok choy; sauté until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Back in the skillet, add the other tsp of peanut oil. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté about 30 seconds. If you need to turn your heat down because that blasted cast iron is so dang hot, do so.

Then add the sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce and lemon juice to the skillet. Let it sizzle and bubble and simmer for about a minute. Stick your head over it for a quick Asian dressing facial steam.

Thinly slice the steak and arrange it on two plates with the divided bok choy. Drizzle the dressing over the plates, and garnish with sesame seeds, scallions and sliced pepper!

I need to tell you that my spell check changed “bok” to “boy” every single time. Boy choy. I think boy toy would have been more fun, SPELL CHECK.