Vietnamese Steak and Smashed Cucumber Salad

We’ve been having a lot of BBQ’s throughout lockdown. Mostly pork chops, burgers and sausages alongside some nice salads, but thanks to Deborah, our in-house Inspire chef, we now have something a little more sophisticated that tastes amazing.

It’s perfect for cooking outside for a barbecue and the pickled cucumber can be done up to a day in advance. I hope you enjoy it! It’s really healthy so you can enjoy it mid-week. If you want to add some sides, this delicious Potato and Greens Salad goes great with it. For more tasty recipes go to the free tools section of our website.

I hope you enjoy it,

Jessica Cooke

Ingredients

• 2 sirloin steaks
• 1 cucumber
• 1⁄2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• 1 green chilli, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• Handful of coriander, roughly chopped

Method:

Cut the cucumber into 3 or 4 pieces and place in a plastic sandwich bag. Smash with a rolling pin until you get chunks around 1-2 inches big. Place in a large bowl and add the salt, sesame seeds, sugar and vinegar. Leave aside for at least 30 minutes.

Heat a frying pan on high heat and cook the steaks for 3-4 minutes a side, or to your preference. Leave to rest for 5 minutes and then slice thinly against the grain. Serve the steak with the pickled cucumber and top with the chopped herbs and chilli.