Recipe

Rice, Radish, and Snap Pea Salad with Seared Beef

Recipe
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Photo by Sara Moulton

Chef
Sara Moulton's Notes: Back in the seventies I worked for a catering company in Cambridge, Massachusetts called Caras & Rowe, run by the estimable and talented Ms. Rebecca Caras. Besides preparing food for events...
Back in the seventies I worked for a catering company in Cambridge, Massachusetts called Caras & Rowe, run by the estimable and talented Ms. Rebecca Caras. Besides preparing food for events in and around Boston, we also made food to be sold at several of the area's takeout shops. One of my favorites of these recipes was a rice salad with peas, radishes, scallions, and dill. I've taken that salad in an Asian direction with a light rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil dressing. I've also added some seared and sliced steak and topped it all off with a dollop of wasabi sour cream. If the cuts of beef I recommend don't fit your budget, just use a less expensive cut, like flank steak. The resulting dish is both refreshing and substantial. - Sara Moulton (from "Sara Moulton's Everyday Family Dinners")

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Serves 4

For the Salad and Beef:

1 cup raw brown rice or white rice or 3 cups cooked rice Ask a question about this ingredient

Sesame Dressing (recipe follows) Ask a question about this ingredient

1 to 1 1/2 pound pounds top loin or sirloin steak, cut 1 1/2 inches thick Ask a question about this ingredient

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Ask a question about this ingredient

1 tablespoon vegetable oil Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 pound sugar snap peas (unshelled) or 1 cup thawed frozen peas Ask a question about this ingredient

4 large radishes Ask a question about this ingredient

4 medium scallions Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup sour cream Ask a question about this ingredient

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoon prepared wasabi Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon soy sauce (low sodium, if you prefer) Ask a question about this ingredient

For the Sesame Dressing:

1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon sugar Ask a question about this ingredient

3 tablespoons vegetable oil Ask a question about this ingredient

2 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium, if you prefer) Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil Ask a question about this ingredient

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the rice; reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes for brown rice or 17 minutes for white, or until tender. Meanwhile, prepare the Sesame Dressing. When the rice is tender, drain it, rinse it in cold water, thoroughly drain it again, and toss it with the Sesame Dressing in a medium bowl.
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Meanwhile, season the steak on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat until very hot. Cook the steak, turning once, for about 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Remove the steak to a plate and set it aside for 5 minutes; cover and chill it for at least 20 minutes, or until the rice has cooked.
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While the steak is chilling, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat; prepare a medium bowl of ice and water. Add the whole pea pods to the boiling water; return the water to a boil, remove and drain the peas, and plunge them into the ice and water. When the peas have cooled, drain them thoroughly and pat them dry. Cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices (about 1 cup). Halve the radishes through the root, lay them flat, and thinly slice them (about 1 cup). Trim and thinly slice the scallions (about 1/2 cup). Add the cut pea pods (or thawed peas, if using), radishes, and scallions to the rice and toss to combine.
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Make the wasabi dressing. Whisk together the sour cream, steak juices form the steak plate, wasabi, and soy sauce in a small bowl.
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To serve, mound some of the rice salad mixture in the center of each of 4 plates. Thinly slice the meat and arrange some slices on top of each portion of rice salad. Drizzle with the wasabi dressing.
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For the Sesame Dressing (makes 1/2 cup): Whisk together 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Whisk in 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium, if you prefer), and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil.
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5 Comments on Rice, Radish, and Snap Pea Salad with Seared Beef

likestocooklovestoeat added 11 months ago

We're having this for dinner tonight and it looks great - thank you! It looks like the ingredient list is missing the scallion; can that be adjusted?

LJT added 11 months ago

Thank you for this recipe Sara. I have many food intolerance issues and am always looking for recipes I can make that only require slight variations, this one makes it easy. Great tips too!

pat_dohaney added 11 months ago

Terrific recipe! I miss you Sara, this was a great treat to watch and listen and learn from you. Can't wait to get your cookbook. Stay Well and thanks so much.

gwennw added 11 months ago

Looks amazing. Can't wait to make it for my family next week. Interesting fact about the 10 inch knife. I'm going to have to go measure my chef knife and see how long it is.