Steak Dinner

Everybody loves a good steak, and I have to say, I fell in love with grass fed beef steak. For Father's day, I made a delicious steak dinner for my dad. He enjoyed dinner immensely and it made me so happy to see him smile. I wish I could make this dish for him often, but because I live so far away, I promised that I will share this recipe so that my siblings could make it for him. And of course, I hope that you can take some ideas from my steak recipe to share with your own family.

MARINATING & GRILLING THE STEAKS:

Ribeye (Grass fed, thin cut)
Worcestershire sauce
Salt
Black pepper
Sugar
Garlic powder


Grass fed beef steaks on the grill

Sprinkle each of the seasonings on both side of the steaks. Let them marinate for half an hour at room temperature. Grill for about 3-4 minutes on medium high heat on each side for medium well (less time if you would like your steaks rare). If you do not have access to grilling, you can pan-sear the steaks (about 2 minutes on each side on medium high heat).



BOILED POTATOES: Yukon Gold potatoes

Yukon Gold potatoes
Pot of boiling water
salt, pepper, garlic powder

Cut the Yukon potatoes in half or quarters (not too big, not too small). Boil the potatoes in water until they are done (firm, not mushy). Pour out the water and leave the potatoes in the pot. Season with olive oil, a pinch of salt and garlic powder (use soft spatula or your hands to gently mix the ingredients so the potatoes stay intact).


GREEN BEANS: French string beans (skinny beans) also called Haricots verts

French string beans
1 plum tomato, finely diced
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
soy sauce
olive oil
salt
pepper
sugar


Ingredients for the stir fry: green beans, tomatoes and garlic

Wash the beans and boil in hot water for 2 minutes (make sure beans are still crunchy). In a pan, pour in olive oil and sauté garlic, then add the plum tomatoes, and stir. Season with a pinch of salt, pepper and sugar. Pour in the green beans, stir, season with soy sauce (start with a drizzle of soy sauce and add more according to taste), stir until all the beans are coated with soy sauce.

Shrimp Salad with Citrus Dressing

Sometimes when I crave greens, I just want a crisp salad topped with citrus dressing. In Vietnamese cuisine, a common salad called gỏi is made with fresh shredded greens, usually papaya or cabbage, topped with prawns, herbs, and roasted peanuts mixed with a vinegar chili dressing made with fish sauce. There are so many versions of gỏi, but I find that most of the time, the best salads are the result of using fresh local ingredients. This past summer, inspired by the abundance of sweet oranges, I came up with a citrus dressing that complimented my shrimp salad quite nicely. I like to share this recipe with you. Of course, you can even add your own local ingredients, including replacing shrimp with crab meat or topping the salad with walnuts for extra crunch.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SALAD:
1 head of butter lettuce (soft leaves), washed and torn to bite size
2 medium carrots, thinly shredded (use peeler)
cherry tomatoes or 1 plum tomato, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
2 dozen large shrimps (prawns), deveined and shelled
5 cloves of garlic, minced or garlic powder
half onion, thinly diced
salt
pepper
sugar

INGREDIENTS FOR THE DRESSING:


Ingredients for the dressing.

2 large sweet naval oranges, 1 orange cut into wedges, the other squeeze for juice
3-5 tablespoon of rice vinegar (my favorite brand is Marukan)
1 teaspoon of yellow mustard
3-5 tablespoon of olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt
pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Butter lettuce is ideal for this salad because it has more flavor than iceberg or romaine lettuce, and it just melts in your mouth. After washing and tearing the lettuce leaves into the size you prefer, put the shredded carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, orange wedges, and any other greens or toppings you desire.


Fresh orange wedges

2. In a pan, pour a generous amount of olive oil and saute the onions and garlic, then add the shrimp and stir. Season the shrimp with a pinch of salt, pepper and sugar. I usually cover the pan with a lid for a quick minute to ensure that they are thoroughly cooked (do not over cook the shrimp).


Saute shrimps

3. In a bowl, add the juice of the oranges (about half a cup or more), the juice of the lemon, the rice vinegar (start with 3 tablespoon and add more if you want more acidity), the olive oil, yellow mustard and stir with a fork. Flavor with a pinch of salt and pepper.


Citrus dressing

4. Top the salad with the saute shrimps and drizzle with the citrus dressing.

Enjoy...