#instagrub : Spicy Nam Tok Beef Salad with Roasted Peanuts

Spicy Nam Tok Beef Salad with Roasted Peanuts

2014 is gonna start off with a bang y'all!! We're moving on up to bigger + better things over here at PLC and it all begins with this Spicy Nam Tok Beef Salad recipe... with roasted peanuts! We swoon over Thai food, I prefer it over any Asian-inspired cuisine, and this our go-to order. It starts off with a sweet, tangy, zesty, spicy, salty, well err everthing kinda vinaigrette/marinade. The mixture includes soy sauce, fish sauce, hoisin, rice wine vinegar, lime, sesame oil, sugar, honey, and seasonings. Then, a'whole'bunch of veggies are added in, like... red onions, shallots, baby cucumber, garlic, ginger, green onion, and spicy jalapenos. Finally it's the vinaigrette is finished off with some fresh herbs and a big pile of medium rare seared filet. You let this "salad"marinate for 4-6 hours until the meat has absorbed the flavors and soaked up a bunch of juice. It stays nice n' plump n' moist for like ever... probably because it's extra-tender filet mignon, who can't get on board with that?! I'm in love with the entire dish, especially the contrast of temperature between the sweet & the heat, as well as the warmth of the roasted peanuts against the cold, crisp salad. Traditionally, it is served with a big pile of cabbage leaves, some sticky rice, more roasted peanuts, and some peanut sauce for drizzling. We like to turn them into killer lettuce wraps and just nosh on them all night! What's great about this recipe is that it's extremely versatile in that it can be served as an appetizer or as a main dish. You could also toss the Nam Tok Beef with some coleslaw or even lo mein to make an Asian chopped salad-- um yum!! Enjoy y'all :)

beginning of the vinaigrette

perfectly seared filet mignon

time to marinate... 

plumped up, garnished with roasted peanuts, & ready to eat!!

For the Nam Tok Beef:

2 8oz Filet Mignons, Cooked Medium-Rare + Thinly Sliced

Half of a Small Red Onion, Shaved

Half of a Shallot, Shaved

5 Green Onions, Thinly Sliced

3 Large Garlic Cloves, Minced

1T Fresh Ginger, Minced

¼C Soy Sauce + Honey

2T Fish Sauce + Sesame Oil

¼C Dark Brown Sugar

2T Sambal Oelek + Rice Wine Vinegar

1T Asian Spice Mix, Red Pepper Flakes, & Crushed Szechuan Peppercorns

1t Peanut Butter Powder

1 Fresh Chili or Jalapeno, Thinly Shaved

1 Small Cucumber, Thinly Sliced

¼C Pickled Shallots

2 Limes, Zested & Juiced

½C Cabbage, Thinly Shaved

A Small Handful of Fresh Cilantro + Fresh Mint, Finely Minced

¼C Chopped Roasted Peanuts (plus extra for topping)

Cabbage Leaves, For Serving (like lettuce wraps)

Directions:

1. For the Steaks: Season your filets with fleur de sel and fresh cracked pepper and heat a pan over high heat. Cook the steaks to the temperature to medium-rare. Let them rest. Thinly slice the steak and let them cool completely on the cutting board. Meanwhile prepare your marinade.

2. For the Salad: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, fish sauce, sesame oil, sambal Oelek, rice wine vinegar, spices, peanut butter powder, and lime zest. Add in the shaved red onion and shallot, green onions, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, cucumber, and pickled shallots. Mix together all of the ingredients and toss to combine and coat. Next, add in the room temperature sliced steak. Marinate for at least 4-6 hours in order for the flavoring to permeate the meat.

3. For Serving: Right before serving, add in fresh squeezed lime juice of the two zested limes, shaved cabbage, minced cilantro and mint, and chopped roasted peanuts. Serve the Nam Tok Beef Salad with cabbage leaves to eat like lettuce wraps. 

Our Top 10 Favorite Recipes of 2013: Savory + Sweet

A third year is done + over with. Ca-raz-ay. 

Every year I'm shocked with the new level and ideas of food this blog brings me to...

I've definitely slowed down a lot and have so many adventures ahead me.

While in the process of posting on here, I'm also running my newly opened Etsy store (yay),

and I'm also working on finishing my Haute + Heirloom blog. 

It's gonna be a busy, busy year... I can just feel it (in a good way)!!

But anyway enough about that and onto our favorite post of the year... the 2013 edition.

Our Top 10 Savory + Sweet recipes are finally HERE.

Thank you for the unconditional support, love, and loyal following :)

Y'all are the best.

Our Top 10 Favorite Recipes of 2013: Savory

Coconut Crusted Fried Avocado Taco's with Creamy Cilantro Coleslaw, Spicy Taco Pickles,
Crumbled Cotija Cheese, + Bang-Bang Sauce on Homemade Beet Infused Soft Tortillas

Revamped: Caramel Glazed Pork Belly Banh Mi’s with Asian Pickled Carrots + Daikon, Sriracha Bread n’ Butter Pickles, Fresh Jalapeno + Candied Jalapeno, Fresh Cilantro, and a Homemade Red Rooster Aioli on Crispy, Garlic-Rubbed Bread

Spicy Cajun Carbonara with Andouille, Bacon, Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, Grilled Peppers and Onions, Crumbled Bleu Cheese, & Blackened Shrimp

Confit Chicken Wings with Homemade Sriracha-Bourbon Caramel Sauce, Buttermilk Bleu Cheese
Dressing, + Italian-Style Shaved Carrot and Celery Slaw

Pok Pok Lacquered Fried Chicken Banh Mi Sandwiches with Crispy Garlic, Homemade Red Rooster Aioli, Sweet + Spicy Pickle Coleslaw, Fresh Cilantro, & Buttered Brioche Buns 

Crispy "Chicken Fried" Chicken Skins with Homemade "Wrecked Junction" Hot Sauce 

Fried Sriracha-Bread n’ Butter Pickles with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Ice Cream
 & Sriracha-Cajun Seasoning

PBLT's: Georgia Peaches, Sorghum Braised Pork Belly, Heirloom Tomatoes, Mixed Spring Greens
& Herbs, + Homemade Jalapeno Aioli on Bacon Fat Fried Bread

Our Top 10 Favorite Recipes of 2013: Sweet

Brown Butter-Brown Sugar-Bourbon Bread Pudding with Salty Butterscotch Sauce
& Vanilla Bean-Bourbon Glaze

Crème Brûléed Buttermilk Pie with Vanilla Bean Pâte Brisée

Crème Brûlée Cronut's made with Quick Croissant Dough, Flaky + Fried, Filled with Vanilla Bean
Cream, Rolled in Vanilla Sugar, & Torched Sugar Topping

Creamy Goat Cheese Cheesecake Ice Cream with Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn
Preserve Swirls + Dark Chocolate Freckles

"Momofuku Style” Gooey Butter Funfetti Layer Cake with Birthday Cake Milk Crumbs
+ Whipped Rainbow Chip Frosting

Beer Battered Monte Cristo Sandwiches with Homemade Chipotle-Strawberry Jam

"Momofuku Style" S'mores Layer Cake with Chocolate Fudge Cake, Malted Chocolate Cake Soak,
Malted Fudge Sauce, Graham Ganache, Graham Cracker + Chocolate Milk Crumbs,
 Charred Marshmallows, & Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

Salty Winter White Honey Pie with Himalayan Sea Salt

Vanilla Bean Paloma’s with Grapefruit Soda & Mixed Citrus Sea Salt 

Roasted Summer Berry Swirled Buttermilk Ice Cream Sandwiches with Rehydrated 
Berry-Sweet Corn Cookies + Lemon Curd Center

XOXO y'all, Juliana

Revamped : Christmas Pretzel Toffee with Milk Chocolate, Bittersweet Chocolate, Crunchy Toffee Chips, + Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel

Christmas Pretzel Toffee with Milk Chocolate, Bittersweet Chocolate,
Crunchy Toffee Chips, + Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel

A couple years ago, I made Salted Pretzel Toffee, and it was great. It had the slightest twist on the original classic, but I missed the texture of the crackers. While strolling through the grocery store yesterday, I saw Ritz Pretzel Crackers and my mind was blownnnnnn. And I feel like Christmas Toffee is a tradition in almost every household during the holidays. Everywhere I go, someone is making toffee. So I figured why not make another batch, but with these new crackers. Well, I took this version to a whole new level. It reaches a gratifying level of salty + sweet. The crackers are buttery, flaky, and have the slightest hint of salt. After I layer those into a pan, I boiled dark brown sugar, butter, and two vanilla beans to make my butterscotch sauce that covered the crackers and baked them just for a little bit, to make sure that it all set properly. On top of everything, I used one bag of high quality bittersweet chocolate + one bag of high quality milk chocolate. Once it melted, I spread it into a thin layer and generously topped it with crushed toffee bits and homemade vanilla bean fleur de sel!! This is what (Christmas) dreams are made of, people! It's so addicting that the whole bag will be gone within an hour. So why eat that boring old recipe, when you can have the gourmet edition. Oh and P.S. MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!! Enjoy :)

look at those toffee crunchy bits :)

For the Christmas Pretzel Toffee:

1 ½ Boxes of Ritz Pretzel Crackers (¾ of the crackers whole, ¼ of the crackers crushed)

4 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

2C Dark Brown Sugar

2 Vanilla Beans, Split & Scraped for Seeds

½t Sea Salt

1 Bag of Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

1 Bag of Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips

1 Bag of Toffee Bits

Homemade Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. For the Toffee: Line a baking sheet with a Silpat and arrange the whole crackers in an even layer, and then sprinkle the remaining crushed crackers into any cracks or holes, so that the whole tray is filled.

3. For the Butterscotch Caramel Sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, dark brown sugar, vanilla bean seeds, and salt together and boil until it turns a caramel color and is smooth in texture (whisking the entire time). This will take about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately pour the caramel over the crackers, covering them evenly.

4. Baking the Toffee: Put the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes or until just bubbly, making sure to watch it very carefully. Remove from the oven and sprinkle both types of chocolate chips over the crackers. The chocolate should start to melt, but if isn’t melting fast enough, you can pop it back in the oven for another minute or two, and that should make it spreadable enough. When the chips have melted, spread them in an even layer over the top with a rubber spatula. Immediately sprinkle the bag of toffee bits and fleur de sel over the melted chocolate and just slightly press the bits into the chocolate, making sure that they will stick to the chocolate once everything has cooled & hardened.

5. Transfer the pan to the freezer for 20-30 minutes or until completely cold. Once cold, break them or cut them up into small squares or pieces and enjoy!

Life As Of Lately...

Hey y'all, it's been a long time sine I gave you a picture-by-picture update of my life...

{as of lately}

So, here it is... all the adventures we have gotten ourselves to!!

XOXO, Juliana + My Mountain Man

P.S. Happy Holidays :)