Vietnamese Noodle Salad from Love Your Leftovers

    If you told me 5 years ago that my coffee table would not only host my own cookbook, but also a cookbook written by a friend of mine, it wouldn’t even be something that my brain could grasp and I would probably just laugh it off. But here we are, and that sentence is a reality.

    Nick from Macheesmo was a once rival, turned friend and also powerful ally in the world of food blogging, and his book Love your Leftovers, comes out in a few days! Love your Leftovers is an epic tome of meal planning that teaches you how to cook in large batches and then repurpose the leftovers into dinners later in the week. Nick is modest on the cover when he says there are “over 100” recipes in the book, because many of the recipes feature variations and twists with full ingredient lists. I asked him what the true recipe count was, and he said it comes to 187!!!

    As I flipped through the book wondering what to cook the other night, the Vietnamese Noodle Salad that uses leftover grilled flank steak caught my eye (because I could eat vietnamese noodle salads every day of my life) and it did not disappoint.

    Lots of herbs in this salad.

    I used skirt steak instead of flank steak… DON’T TELL NICK! No, actually the cuts of meat are completely interchangeable and my grocery store didn’t have flank steak that day.

    Cook the steak only about 5 minutes a side (depending on the thickness) to get a nice medium doneness.

    Then just build your salad. Nick does it in one big bowl, but I made them in individual plates. You know, to be classy.

    For a dry rub on the steak, I did a combination of the all purpose, and the five c’s rubs from the book. In the sauce, I added a little more fish sauce, and a little less soy.

    Check out this really cook video nick made to promote the book!

    Recipe from Love your Leftovers

    Dressing:
    3 tablespoons soy sauce
    1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
    1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
    1 tablespoon brown sugar
    1/2 a lime (juice)
    splash of fish sauce

    8 oz rice vermicelli
    additional drizzle sesame oil
    1 pound grilled flank steak
    1 english cucumber
    1 serrano pepper
    1 cup shredded carrot
    1/3 cup minced fresh basil
    1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
    1/3 cup minced fresh mint

    Whisk together the sauce ingredients. Cook the rice noodles according to the package and rinse in cold water. Toss with a splash of sesame oil to prevent sticking. Slice the flank steak thin against the grain and then roughly chop it into bite sized pieces. Split cucumber and remove seeds with a spoon. Dice. Dice up the pepper as well. Put the noodles in a bowl and drizzle on some of the dressing. Top with the veggies, herbs, and then the steak, and add some more of the dressing. Reserve some of the dressing to serve on the side.

    Ingredients

    • 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
    • 1 Tablespoon Toasted Sesame Oil
    • 1 Tablespoon Chile Garlic Sauce
    • 1 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
    • 1/2 Lime (Juice)
    • Splash Fish Sauce
    • 8 Ounces Rice Vermicelli
    • Drizzle Sesame Oil
    • 1 Pound Grilled Flank Steak
    • 1 English Cucumber
    • 1 Serrano Pepper
    • 1 Cup Shredded Carrot
    • 1/3 Cup Minced Basil
    • 1/3 Cup Minced Cilantro
    • 1/3 Cup Minced Mint
    • For: 3 Servings
    • Preparation: 20 min
    • Cooking: 15 min
    • Ready in: 35 min

    Instructions

    1. Whisk together the sauce ingredients. Cook the rice noodles according to the package and rinse in cold water. Toss with a splash of sesame oil to prevent sticking. Slice the flank steak thin against the grain and then roughly chop it into bite sized pieces. Split cucumber and remove seeds with a spoon. Dice. Dice up the pepper as well. Put the noodles in a bowl and drizzle on some of the dressing. Top with the veggies, herbs, and then the steak, and add some more of the dressing. Reserve some of the dressing to serve on the side.

    Notes

    If you told me 5 years ago that my coffee table would not only host my own cookbook, but also a cookbook written by a friend of mine, it wouldn’t even be something that my brain could grasp and I would probably just laugh it off. But here we are, and that sentence is a reality.

    Nick from Macheesmo was a once rival, turned friend and also powerful ally in the world of food blogging, and his book Love your Leftovers, comes out in a few days! Love your Leftovers is an epic tome of meal planning that teaches you how to cook in large batches and then repurpose the leftovers into dinners later in the week. Nick is modest on the cover when he says there are “over 100” recipes in the book, because many of the recipes feature variations and twists with full ingredient lists. I asked him what the true recipe count was, and he said it comes to 187!!!

    As I flipped through the book wondering what to cook the other night, the Vietnamese Noodle Salad that uses leftover grilled flank steak caught my eye (because I could eat vietnamese noodle salads every day of my life) and it did not disappoint.

    Lots of herbs in this salad.

    I used skirt steak instead of flank steak… DON’T TELL NICK! No, actually the cuts of meat are completely interchangeable and my grocery store didn’t have flank steak that day.

    Cook the steak only about 5 minutes a side (depending on the thickness) to get a nice medium doneness.

    Then just build your salad. Nick does it in one big bowl, but I made them in individual plates. You know, to be classy.

    For a dry rub on the steak, I did a combination of the all purpose, and the five c’s rubs from the book. In the sauce, I added a little more fish sauce, and a little less soy.

    Check out this really cook video nick made to promote the book!

    Recipe from Love your Leftovers