Vietnamese Marinaded Broiled Beef

For my mom's birthday this year, I decided to start a tradition going forward- have a party. Yeah, I know it's not something new. But for my family, it really is. Both my parents have never been inclined to celebrate any of our nucleus family member's birthday outside the nucleus core. Even then, it's a play by ear not particularly celebratory event. Well, enough of that! Moving forward, I want a big but casual shebang filled with food, drinks, laughter, gossips, and, what the heck, even gambling!

For my first time hosting a birthday party, I made the following menu:

•  Korean Chap Jae (gotta have some form of noodles for an East Asian birthday; plus one of my mom's fav)
• Vietnamese Banh Xeo (savoury crepes)- eaten lettuce wrap style
• Marinaded Broiled Beef- eaten lettuce wrap style

Mouths count was...fifteen. Not too bad for a last minute invite on a Sunday night. All in all, it was a good bash.

Marinaded Broiled Beef

Ingredients

• slab of flank steak (approx 2.5 lbs)
• 4 cloves garlic- minced
• 3 tbs fish sauce
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tbs of lime zest
• ground black pepper- to generously coat the steak
• 2 Thai bird's chili- minced
• 1.5 tbs brown sugar

Instructions

1.  Marinade the steak with the rest of the ingredient list for at least 3 hours. I marinaded mine overnight.

2.  Heat a large skillet over high flame. Coat the skillet with vegetable oil.

3.  Drip the excess marinade of the beef. When the pan starts to smoke, gently slide the beef in. Sear both sides 3-5 minutes each. Remove from heat and let rest.

4.  Spoon out any marinade and juice that collects in the skillet. Put aside.

5.  In a sauce pan, reduce all the marinade sauce and spooned out sauce down to a thicker denser consistency. Taste to season.

6.  Strain the sauce and throw out all the bits and pieces left behind- garlic, zest, chili.

7.  Baste the steak with strained sauce.

8.  Put steak under broil to quickly crisp up the exterior. Remove steak to cool and juice to settle.

9. Slice against the grain thinly for easily wrapping.

10. Spoon the reduced sauce over the beef.

11.  Finish with scallion oil and chopped roasted peanuts.

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