Summer Spicy Steak Salad

Happy Summer! Finally, I have both air conditioners installed! I don't do well in hot weather. I don't like cooking, and I just stay low and try not to move. But I still need to eat, and I can't live off of take-aways, that's not healthy or sustainable. 

Vietnamese Steak Salad is a great balance of hearty and light. You get the satisfaction of steak, and the healthiness of greens. The spice is balanced by the cucumber and herbs. Grill the flank steak for extra flavor and to keep the kitchen temperature down. 

Chiapalin Donburri

I've been watching anime, and getting ideas for food. Again. This time from Shokugeki No Soma, which follows the protagonist, Soma, as he attends the most elite culinary school in Japan. The anime, and manga, are quite redonk. As usual, they cook something up that I'd want to eat. 

The dish that really got me hungry was Chiapalin Steak Don, which is steak with onion gravy over rice that's been laced with pickled plums (umeboshi). 

Here's the recipe I used, I stuck to it pretty closely. In the show the meat is so tender the characters pull off pieces with their chopsticks. I wasn't able to get that, despite scoring and pounding my steaks. You could sub in Cube Steak if you want to skip a step, but I would use either a fattier cut or score it more severely to get it "chopstick tender." 

The umeboshi are very salty, but once they're mixed into the rice, it mellows out perfectly, so you don't want to salt the rice separately. 

Dons (rice bowls) are a lot of fun, and they're cheap and filling. This one was really good, and I'd probably make it again.