garlic lime steak and noodle salad

For most of the last decade or two, my dad was on a perennial low-carb diet, eschewing bread and often sugar, save for carefully chosen exceptions. When family would come over for dinner, he’d always tell me I didn’t need to make anything special for him, but I enjoyed the challenge of coming up with a menu that would work for everyone. The results became some of my favorite meals to this day. Previously, dinner parties usually had a carb-assault at the center — lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs or mussels and fries — but in these, protein (and a great heap of vegetables) get the spotlight: chicken gyro salad, street cart chicken (one of my favorites in Smitten Kitchen Every Day), piri piri chicken, and many steak salads. As should be clear, these aren’t bread- or carb-free, but they’re set up in an assemble-your-own style that allows the carb-rejecting to eat as they wish, and the carb-demanding (or not) children to get into the meal too. Everybody wins.

This is one of the more recent ones. I jokingly called it the Not-Really-Thai Steak Salad because I was craving a flavor profile, not authenticity. [While it’s probably closest to yum neua yang (grilled beef salad), it wouldn’t include noodles or greens beans, just for starters; neua naam tok (waterfall beef) would have even fewer extras, and is often served with rice.] The first time I made it, while it was delicious, I completely overdid it with fixings: chile-lime peanuts, crispy fried shallots, julienned mango, sheesh, almost full-sized salad bar of options. I was craving it again last Friday (when this handsome couple came over) but vowed to keep it simpler, trying to distill it to its most essential parts — it’s the garlic, lime, and fish sauce marinade that I crave most — and landed on this, and it was so good, it’s officially in the summer rotation now.

Because this is an assemble-your-own situation, getting the ingredient amounts exactly right can be tricky. If your people love noodles, you might need more. If they don’t eat noodles but love steak, get extra; a half-pound per person is a fairly safe bet for crowds. Some people love the dressing (my kids, even!), others devour entire bowls of green beans before people arrive (coughme). What I’ve written below works for our family of four on a weekday night. The leftovers keep well, too, so don’t be nervous about scaling up.

Previously

One year ago: Broccoli Rubble Farro Salad and The Red and Black
Two years ago: Cucumber Yogurt Raita Salad and Chicken Gyro Salad
Three years ago: Swirled Berry Yogurt Popsicles and Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes
Four years ago: Carrot Salad with Tahini and Crisped Chickpeas and Nancy’s Chopped Salad
Five years ago: Lobster and Potato Salad
Six years ago: Tzatziki Potato Salad and Rhubarb Snacking Cake
Seven years ago: Strawberry Summer Cake and Spring Salad with New Potatoes
Eight years ago: Mushroom Crepe Cake, Braided Lemon Bread, and Carrot Salad with Harissa, Feta, and Mint
Nine years ago: Almond Raspberry Layer Cake, Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Lemon Pasta, Raspberry Buttermilk Cake
Ten years ago: Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad, Martha’s Macaroni and Cheese, Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies, and Haricot Vert with Shallots
Eleven years ago: Coconut Pinkcherry Yogurt and Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

And for the other side of the world:
Six Months Ago: Bakery-Style Butter Cookies
1.5 Years Ago: Root Vegetable Gratin, Cheesecake-Marbled Pumpkin Slab Pie, and Brussels Sprouts, Apple, and Pomegranate Salad
2.5 Years Ago: Date, Feta and Red Cabbage Salad, Pecan Pie, and Roasted Leek and White Bean Galettes
3.5 Years Ago: Pickled Cabbage Salad, Pretzel Parker House Rolls, Classic Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Praline Sauce, and Crispy Sweet Potato Roast
4.5 Years Ago: Cranberry-Orange Breakfast Buns, Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions, and an Apple-Herb Stuffing for All Seasons