Korean-Style Beef, Pepper, and Cucumber Salad

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make beef, pepper, and cucumber salad? Gather your ingredients. Wash the vegetables and herbs and let them drain. Rinse the meat and pat it dry with paper towels. This recipe uses lean beef, but any lean meat will do.

2. Step 2:

   

   Cut the cucumbers in half. Cut each half in half again, then into thirds — or quarters if the cucumber is large. You can cut on the diagonal. You want roughly even sticks, each with a bit of green skin. Put all the cucumbers in a deep salad bowl or wide bowl, salt them, and mix well. Let them sit for half an hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Step 3:

   

   Cut the onion into quarters. Cut the pepper in half, in half again, then into strips about 0.4–0.5 cm (¼ inch), a little wider than the onion. Slice the meat into strips too, but very thin. If your piece is large, first cut it across the grain into matchbox-sized blocks, then slice each block along the grain into thin strips.

4. Step 4:

   

   While the cucumbers salt, sear the meat with the onion and pepper. Heat the oil until hot, add the meat, lower the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until the liquid evaporates. Once the foaming stops, add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes until it starts to turn golden. Add the pepper right away, cook a couple of minutes, then take the pan off the heat (or leave it on the turned-off burner). Don't salt the meat — it'll soak up the soy sauce later — or salt it just a touch.

5. Step 5:

   

   By the time the meat is done, the half hour should be up — drain off the liquid the cucumbers have released. Taste them. Salt varies, so if they're too salty for you, just rinse them with water; remember the salty soy sauce is still to come. Finely chop the bunch of cilantro and mix it in with the cucumbers.

6. Step 6:

   

   Add the sugar, soy sauce, and 1 tsp of vinegar essence to the cucumbers and mix. On top, set little mounds of the sesame seeds (toasted in a dry pan), toasted ground coriander, paprika, and ground black and red pepper. Press the garlic into a mound as well. Don't stir the spice mounds in yet.

7. Step 7:

   

   Pour the hot oil straight from the pan over the spice mounds, then add the meat and vegetables — just as hot — and let it all sit for a couple of minutes so the spices warm through and release their full, glorious aroma. Only then toss everything together thoroughly.

8. Step 8:

   

   Let it sit out for two hours to marinate, stirring a few times, then serve it on its own or with rice, potatoes, pasta, or grains. If you're not eating it right away, cover it tightly and refrigerate. It's even tastier chilled after a night in the fridge. A good amount of dressing collects at the bottom — it's delicious, so serve it with or without.