Marinated Flat Iron Steak, Herbs & Peanut Sauce

The marinade

1/2 cup soy sauce (probably should have used low sodium, see note on sauce later)
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek or other chili sauce
1 teaspoon lemongrass paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon sugar

My flat iron steaks were not very thick, so even an hour marinating on the counter was enough. 4 to 8 hours in the fridge would be fine as well.

I grilled the steaks 3 minutes each side, and let them rest before slicing against the grain.

The herbs

The herbs are mint, cilantro and Thai basil, rinsed, spun dry, and chopped.

I sliced carrots and green onions on the diagonal for garnish.

The sauce

After looking up the safety of using the marinade as a sauce, I took the sauce and brought it to a full rolling boil, and let it boil. I added a couple of teaspoons of sugar as I wanted it to thicken and become more of a sauce. The problem was as it reduced it became OMG salty.

Thus commenced a series of stir-ins (after taking it off the heat). A little bit of hoisin definitely nope,didn’t reduce saltiness at all) added some more lime juice, a dab more sambal oelek, and the ultimate winner, a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter.

The final dish

Lay the sliced steak on the rice, top with the sauce, herbs, carrots and onions!