Thai Steak Noodle Salad

One of my favorite local restaurants is Hillstone, located on Camelback in between 24th and 28th street in Phoenix. I love everything from the ambiance, to the staff, to the drinks, and especially the food. Not to mention the hot fudge sundae that comes with its very own gravy boat of chocolate sauce. One of my favorite menu items is their Thai Steak and Noodle Salad. But at $20 a pop it's not always a justified purchase for me. So I decided to do some research and make my own version at home for 1/3 of the cost (which made 2 salads FYI). The flavors were spot on, and besides that fact that I had to make it myself instead of someone doing all the work and bringing it to me, it was pretty damn close to the original! 

Thai Steak Noodle Salad

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. good quality steak

Marinade

• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. minced ginger
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 tsp. brown sugar

Dressing

• 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
• 4 tbsp. orange juice
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. sriracha
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 4 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Salad

• 4 oz. udon noodles
• 1/2 green cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, sliced
• 3 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• handful of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 small carrot, shredded
• 1 ripe mango, pitted and chopped
• 1 large or 2 small avocados, pitted and chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts for garnish

Pour all marinade ingredients into a large sturdy zip lock bag. Place the steak into the bag and mix well to cover the meat. Let sit at room temperature and marinate for 15-30 minutes.

Now make the dressing by whisking the lime juice, orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha and garlic together. Now slowly whisk the coconut and sesame oil into the mixture, mixing well.

Sear the steak in 1 tbsp. of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat about 2-3 minutes on each side for medium rare. Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing and tossing with 2 tbsp. of the dressing.

To prepare the salad, pour 2 tbsp. of the dressing over the noodles. Place into a large serving bowl. Toss the noodles with the cabbage, spinach, basil, cilantro, tomatoes, carrot, mango, avocado, and green onions. Add the rest of the dressing and mix to combine.

Place a large pile of the noodle salad onto each plate. Top with chopped peanuts, and the sliced steak.