I love cooking flank steak because when it’s done right, it is perfect for so many dishes.

The base of this dish is a flavor packed coconut and curry noodle soup but the real star is the steak which receives a healthy dose of an Asian inspire dry rub seasoning before being grilled hot-and-fast.  The true secret to flank steak, though, is in the slicing, as cutting along the natural grain of the meat will result in an extremely chewy bite while slicing against the grain renders it a fall apart tender addition to this soup.

THAI COCONUT CURRY SOUP WITH GRILLED FLANK STEAK

Ingredients

1 package rice noodles

1 tbsp. canola oil

4 green onions

1 stalk lemongrass

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. minced ginger

¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped

1 tbsp. lime juice

3 tbsp. red curry paste such as Sharwood's Tikka Paste

1 tbsp. fish sauce

3 cups chicken broth

1 can (approximately 14oz.) coconut milk

Asian dry rub (recipe follows)

1 (20oz.) flank steak

½ tbsp. olive oil

4oz. baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced

Lime wedges

Instructions

Prepare grill for high heat cooking (450+ degrees). 

Bring a sauce pot of water to a boil, add rice noodles, and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender.  Drain the noodles and set it aside until ready to use.

Remove ends of the lemongrass stalk and peel away fibrous outer layers.  Thinly slice the bottom half of the lemongrass and smash the upper half with the backside of a knife.  Thinly slice the white portion of the green onions and slice the upper green portion on the bias.

Heat canola oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add sliced lemongrass, whites of the green onions, minced ginger, and garlic, to the oil and sauté until fragrant, approximately 2 minutes.   Add curry paste, chicken broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, and smashed lemongrass stalk.  Stir and allow the soup to simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

As the soup simmers, coat flank steak with olive oil and season liberally with Asian dry rub seasoning mix.  Place steak on the grill and cook for 8-10 minutes per side until it reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees for medium rare.  Remove the steak from the grill and allow it to rest for 5 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain.

Add sliced mushrooms and lime juice to the coconut curry soup and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Place rice noodles in the bottom of each bowl, add the coconut curry soup, and top with slices of flank steak, green onion, and cilantro.  Serve with a lime wedge.

ASIAN DRY RUB

Ingredients

½ tbsp. Kosher salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

½ tsp. dried lemongrass

½ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

Instructions

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and blend well. Store in a sealed container until ready to use.

* This post is sponsored by Omaha Steaks but the recipe and opinions are my own.