Vietnamese Shaking Beef

Start by marinating your meat. You can do this for a minimum of four hours up to overnight, which I prefer to do. Add the cubed beef into a large zip-lock bag. In a small mixing bowl, add the garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and cracked black pepper and mix until everything is incorporated. Add this to the zip-lock bag, seal, and toss the beef in the marinade, gently massaging along the way. Place in the refrigerator for 4 hours or up to overnight.

Next, make the dressing. Into a small mixing bowl, add the dressing ingredients, and mix to dissolve the sugar. Seal and place in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the salad.

When the beef is done marinating, remove it from the fridge and let it come up to room temperature, or at least long enough to take the chill off.

Heat a large wok or skillet on medium-high heat. Let this heat up for a few minutes, then add the canola oil. Let the oil heat up for about a minute, then add the beef in a single layer but make sure not to crowd it. You can do this in batches if you prefer.

Keep shaking the skillet back and forth to move the beef. Let it get a nice sear on all sides then cook to your desired done-ness. I tend to go medium on my beef. Once cooked, remove the beef onto a plate. Repeat if necessary.

Into another bowl, add the watercress. Add about 5 tablespoons of the dressing onto the watercress, and give it a gentle toss.

Add the watercress onto your serving dishes. Place the beef on top of the watercress, and add the tomatoes and peanuts. Add more dressing to taste. I like to add some of the remaining shallots from the dressing on top of the beef.

The result is truly a great salad. The presentation is so inviting and the flavors are perfectly balanced. It’s nice and sweet. Plus a bit bitter from the watercress. And then you get the awesome Asian flavors from the beef marinade. My wife and I devoured this salad and we both agreed that it would be a hit at any dinner table. Hope you enjoy!