Craving some Vietnamese food!!!!

When Tyler and I were first married, our first duty station together was Guam. We LOVED it. The beaches, the culture, the beauty-most of all, the FOOD. Our love for ethnic food was filled to the brim. Asian restaurants everywhere you turned-Thai, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and our favorite: VIETNAMESE. Our favorite place was right off the highway, and they were open 24 hours a day. Whenever we ate there (which was on a weekly basis at the very least) we ordered smorgasbord style, and felt that we had to be rolled out afterward. Among our regular steaming bowls of pho tai and their wonderful version of giant lumpia's served with romaine leaves and vermicelli rice noodles, we ordered big helpings of their beef salad. It was the most delicious, tender, slices of thick sirloin steak, charred perfectly and served over a bed of romaine, rice, cabbage and cucumbers. They served a wonderful light dressing to top it off, with some added cilantro and scallions. It was comforting, and hit the spot perfectly. Tonight, my husband and I craved that yummy salad, so I did my best to try to mimic the taste we remembered. The end result? SUCCESS!!! Our hearty meal was just what we remembered. I took measurements this time, so the next time we ache for this flavor, I know just how to make it!

Make a nice big bed of salad, made up of:

Romaine Leaves
Shredded Cabbage
Bean Sprouts
Sliced Scallions
Cilantro
Chopped Green Onions
Shredded/Julienne Carrots
Chopped Cucumbers

Meanwhile, salt and pepper some nice big sirlion steaks. I added some crushed red pepper and some garlic powder to ours as well.

For the dressing:

3 TBSP Fish Sauce
3 TBSP Water
3 TBSP Sugar
Juice of 2 Limes
Nice big spoonful of Sambal Oleek (more or less depending on your preference)
Splash of rice vinegar
Few drops of Sesame Oil

Assembly:

Top the bed of lettuce with about a cup of steamed white rice. Slice the steak and place over the rice. Drizzle the dressing over all of it and sprinkle some chopped peanuts and extra cilantro over. I added extra Sriracha to mine for some extra spice-it was delicious! You could very easily omit the rice for an extra healthy version of this filling meal, it's a meal all in itself which is an added plus :)