Name: Cambodian Steak with Salads and Condiments
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Cambodia
Ingredients: 2 to 4 small hot red chiles, such as Thai chiles or serrano peppers, seeded and finely chopped (for hotter Cambodian steak, leave the seeds in); 1 large or 2 small heads Boston lettuce, broken into whole leaves (16 to 20 leaves), rinsed, and spun dry; ½ cup finely chopped dry-roasted peanuts (see Notes); ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice; 4 limes, cut into ovals or wedges, for squeezing; 1 to 1½ pounds thinly sliced sirloin steak (¼ to ½ inch thick; see Notes); Green parts of 4 scallions, thinly sliced sharply on the diagonal; ½ teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper; 1 cup pra hok, or 1 cup Asian fish sauce, or 1 cup white miso; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; ¼ cup finely chopped dry-roasted peanuts (see Notes); 2 cups thinly sliced napa cabbage; 2 to 4 small hot red chiles, such as Thai chiles or serrano peppers, thinly sliced crosswise; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves or regular basil leaves; 1 piece (2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled and minced; 1 medium-size cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced; 2 medium-size tomatoes, cut in half and thinly sliced; ¼ cup Asian fish sauce or soy sauce; ½ pound long beans or green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces; 2 to 3 carrots, peeled and cut sharply on the diagonal into ⅛-inch slices; 4 scallion whites, minced (set the green parts aside for the condiment tray); 3 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and sliced paper-thin crosswise; ½ cup sugar; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 bunch watercress, torn into 2-inch sprigs

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Planet Barbecue

By Steven Raichlen

Published 2010

About

What do you do if you’re young and restless on a hot steamy night in Siem Reap? (Of course, they’re all hot steamy nights in Siem Reap.) Or if you want to feed a posse of friends or a family of six and still get change from a 50, 000 riel banknote (about $12)? Head for the restaurant Nana, where flames leap from a charcoal brazier out front, where the chiles are fiery, and the Angkor beer is always icy cold. As elsewhere in Asia, steak plays a subservient role in the main course. You eat it