Crunchy Oriental Beef Salad

Since summer is in full swing and temperatures are in the upper 90's in my neck of the woods, I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite salad recipes.  This salad is probably my all time favorite...ever.  I was a little worried that my kiddos wouldn't be satisfied with salad for dinner, but I was pleasantly surprised!  The whole family loved this so much, we all made total pigs out of ourselves.

This salad is so delicious and different.  I've had plenty of salads with chicken in them, but never beef.  It was delightfully different.  In fact, my hubby asked me if I got this recipe off a cooking show on TV.  What a compliment!  Actually, this recipe won the Idaho Beef Cook Off in 1990, and once you taste it you will totally understand why!

This recipe calls for flank steak, but that was way to pricey for my budget.  So I substituted a nice lean beef roast that I found on sale and had the butcher slice it nice and thin.

Crunchy Oriental Beef Salad
Serves 6 as a main dish


1 1/2 lb. beef flank steak (Or beef roast sliced thin)
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. EACH  vegetable oil, apple juice, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. EACH  instant beef bouillon and garlic powder
1 (3 oz.) pkg. beef flavor ramen noodle soup mix
1 head iceberg lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces
1 cup EACH thinly sliced celery and shredded red cabbage
4 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds

Ginger Dressing


1/4 cup EACH sugar, vegetable oil, and rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. EACH ground ginger and black pepper

Partially freeze the flank steak until it is firm.  Meanwhile, combine the water, sugar, oil, apple juice, soy sauce, vinegar bouillon and garlic powder.  Mix well.  Stir in beef flavored packet from the noodle soup mix.

Slice the steak diagonally across the grain into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Cut the slices crosswise into 1 1/2 inch strips.  Place the beef and marinade into a plastic bag, turning to coat.  Place in the refrigerator and allow to marinate 1-2 hours or overnight.

Prepare the ginger by combining all the ingredients and mixing well.

Drain the beef and discard the marinade.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until hot.  Stir fry the beef in batches until browned.  Remove the beef and drain on paper towels.  Refrigerate beef for 30 minutes or until cool.  (If you are using sliced beef roast instead of flank steak, cut the meat into bite sized pieces once cooled.)

Combine the lettuce, celery, cabbage, green onions, almonds and 1 Tbs. sesame seeds.  Add the crushed ramen noodles, beef and ginger dressing and toss.  Sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds.

**This salad doesn't store well, so add the ramen noodles, beef and dressing immediately before serving**


Source:  Janeen T.