Asian Marinated Flank Steak

Soy marinated flank steak, grilled to perfection, topped with a refreshing cucumber relish and served on a bed of sesame noodles.

The term “blog-worthy” is one I use often. I’m always asking people if something I’ve made is blog-worthy – meaning, is the recipe good enough to go on the blog? I want to share all my of favorite recipes with you, but I am also mindful of the fact that some things are more blog-worthy than others. For example, I have this great flank steak marinade that I’ve been using for years. But plain old grilled flank steak is…well…dare I say a little boring? And also not particularly note worthy (or should I say blog worthy?!). BUT. When you take said marinated grilled steak, add a cool and refreshing cucumber relish on top and then serve it all over a mess of sesame noodles? Now that’s blog worthy. And that’s how this recipe for soy marinated flank steak with cucumber relish came to be.

This recipe starts with the steak marinade, which is a salty-sweet mixture of soy sauce, brown sugar, mustard and worcestershire sauce. The meat can hang out in the marinade anywhere from 2 to 24 hours, depending on your schedule. The meat gets grilled to perfection and then thinly sliced. With flank steak, you need to be sure to slice across the grain to keep your meat tender.

While the meat is cooking, you can make the cucumber relish and sesame noodles. The cucumber relish is seasoned with lime juice, herbs and sesame oil, and can actually be made hours in advance if need be. You can get creative here and use your favorite herbs for the relish – green onions, mint, basil and cilantro are great choices.

The sesame noodles are a perfect complement to the meat because the noodles incorporate the soy and sesame flavors that we’ve got elsewhere in the recipe. I used rice noodles here, but you can really use any asian style noodle that you like. Other great choices are soba noodles or chow mein noodles. If you can’t find asian noodles, spaghetti will work just fine.

Now normally my girls are not that into steak. In fact, I’d say they approve of my steak dishes about 30% of the time.  That being said, I wanted steak for dinner, there is only so much chicken you can eat! I knew that the kids would happily eat the sesame noodles so I figured if they didn’t want to eat the steak, it was no big deal because you can absolutely make a meal out of the noodles. I was definitely surprised when they loved the steak, even my 2 year old enjoyed it! Since then, they’ve been willing to eat steak, so if you’ve got a steak hater in the house this might be the meal to convert them. I had this meal on the table in less than an hour making this soy marinated flank steak with cucumber relish a great choice for an everyday dinner that verges on exotic.

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5 from 1 vote

Soy Marinated Flank Steak with Cucumber Relish

Soy marinated flank steak, grilled to perfection and topped with a refreshing cucumber relish.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword asian flank steak, cucumber relish, flank steak, soy marinated flank steak

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 517kcal

Author Dinner at the Zoo

Ingredients

• For the steak:
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 flank steak (about 1 and 1/4 -to 1 and 1/2 pounds)

• For the cucumber relish:
• 1 1/2 cups cups finely chopped cucumber (I recommend the little persian cucumbers if you can find them, otherwise you can use an english cucumber)
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1/4 cups of mixed herbs (I recommend any combination of green onions, mint, basil, cilantro and/or chives)
• salt and pepper to taste

• For the sesame noodles:
• 8 ounces of asian noodles or spaghetti (use rice noodles if gluten free)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• Lime wedges for garnish (optional)
• Additional sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Instructions

• For the steak: combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, cider vinegar, worcestershire sauce, mustard and pepper in a resealable bag; seal and shake to combine. Add the steak and marinate for 2-24 hours.
• Heat a grill to medium-high. Place the steak on the grill and cook for 6-8 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of your meat and the desired level of doneness. Remove from grill and cover with foil. Let stand for 5-10 minutes and then slice thinly against the grain with a very sharp knife.
• For the cucumber relish: combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly; cover and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
• For the sesame noodles:
• Whisk together the soy sauce, honey, garlic, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Set aside. Cook your noodles according to package directions. Toss the hot noodles with the soy mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• To serve: place the sesame noodles on a plate. Top with the sliced flank steak and a spoonful of cucumber relish. Sprinkle with more sesame seeds and serve with lime wedges if desired.

Notes

Make Ahead: The cucumber relish can be made up to 3 hours in advance. The sauce for the sesame noodles can be made up to a day in advance.

Nutrition

Calories: 517kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 4158mg | Potassium: 602mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 0.7% | Vitamin C: 3.1% | Calcium: 8.1% | Iron: 22.5%