Ginger Beef Peanut Noodle Salad

Ingredients

Peanut Dressing:
1 cup boiling water
3 tea bags of Chinese black tea (e.g. Prince of Wales tea)
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup chopped watercress
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

Beef:
5 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1 Tbsp honey
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb top sirloin steak, cut crosswise into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices; slices then cut into 3-inch strips.

Noodle salad:
3/4 lb of linguine pasta
1 Tbsp oriental sesame oil
2 12-oz cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded
8 large green onions, halved lengthwise, cut on diagonal into 1-inch lengths
1 bunch fresh mint
1 bunch watercress
1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
Lime wedges

Method

This recipe can be prepared in stages. The meat will need time to marinade.

The dressing:
Bring water to a boil. Combine water and tea bags and let tea bags seep for 5 minutes. Place peanut butter in a medium sized bowl. Add 3/4 cup of tea, soy sauce, lime juice, and cayenne. Whisk dressing to blend well. Mix in watercress and mint.

The beef marinade:
Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, honey, crushed red pepper and cumin in a large bowl, whisk to blend. Add beef and toss to coat. Marinate at room temperature at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours, stirring occassionally.

The noodle salad:
Cook linguini pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Drain again. Transfer linguine to a large bowl. Mix in sesame oil. Using vegetable peeler, cut cucumber halves lengthwise into long thin ribbons; arrange on a paper towel to drain.

Cooking the beef:
Drain marinade from beef into a small saucepan, boil 2 minutes over high heat. Let cool, set aside. Heat grill pan over high heat for 4 minutes. Working in batches, grill beef until just brown outside but rare inside, about 1 minute per side. Transfer beef to bowl.

Putting it all together:
Add cucumbers, green onions, and cooled marinade to the linguine pasta. Add dressing and toss to coat. Season salad with salt and pepper. Arrange mint and watercress around edge of large platter. Mound noodle salad in center; top with beef. Garnish with peanuts and lime wedges.

Serves 6.