Lunch in a Box: Thai Beef and Mango Salad

Yesterday I hosted our latest Cookbook Club gathering, where we enjoyed a great meal and reviewed dishes we made from two different blogs- Post Punk Kitchen and Eating Well. I wanted to serve something light, fresh and "summery". I knew a salad would be great, but I didn't want it to be a boring salad. Luckily I came across a recipe for Thai Beef and Melon Salad. With a few adjustments, I was confident that it would be perfect for our meal. It tasted great yesterday, and even better today, and of course I was excited to have leftovers to make my lunch.

I did make a few tweaks to their recipe (like replacing the melon with mango), and was really pleased with the results. You can check out the original on the link above if you want to compare. I added cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks and some fresh berries to round out the meal.

Thai Beef and Mango Salad
(serves 3-6)

12 ounces of beef sirloin, about 1 inch thick
salt and pepper to season the meat
1 tsp oil

1/4 cup lime juice
3 T low-sodium soy sauce (I can't stand the taste of fish sauce, so I subbed soy sauce and Hoison)
1 tsp Hoison
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper (less if you don't want the heat)

6 cups of mixed greens
3 mangoes, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
1 red bell pepper, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 cup thin cucumber slices, halved
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 cup mint, chopped

1. Heat a pan over medium, and place the seasoned steak in when it's hot. Cook about 5 minutes on each side for medium pink. (Alternative would be to grill the steak.)

2. Meanwhile, whisk the lime juice, soy sauce, Hoison, garlic and red pepper together.

3. When steak is done cooking, let it rest about 5 minutes before slicing it into thin strips.

4. Assemble the lettuce and remaining ingredients, toss with dressing, and then serve steak on top.