• 2 tablespoons Soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon Fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 pound Flank steak, cut into 1/4-inch strips, 3-4 inches long
• Salt and freshly cracked pepper    to taste
• 8 stalks Lemon grass, inner portion of the lower third only, minced
• 1 cup Rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Sugar
• 3 tablespoons Lime juice, fresh
• 1 teaspoon Thai bird chile, minced
• 1 teaspoon Ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons Fish sauce
• 2 each Green mangoes, peeled, pitted, and cut into matchsticks
• 2 each Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into matchsticks
• 1 each Carrot, peeled and grated
• 1/4 cup Bean sprouts
• 1/4 cup Mint, fresh, cut in strips
• 1/4 cup Cilantro
• 1/4 cup Thai basil

Preheat an oven to 350ºF.

For the marinade, combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and salt in a bowl, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the beef and marinate for about 1 hour, turning occasionally.

In a small saucepan bring the lemon grass, vinegar, and sugar to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and boil until the liquid is reduced by about half, which should take 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain, discarding the lemon grass. Add the remaining vinaigrette ingredients, mix well, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Make the salad: In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the salad, toss well, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

In a small bowl, combine the beef with the marinade and toss to coat. Thread the beef onto skewers and grill over a medium-hot fire for about 2 to 3 minutes per side for rare to medium rare.

Remove the beef skewers from the grill. Add about 3/4 of the vinaigrette to the salad and toss well. Place the beef skewers on the salad, drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve, garnished with lime quartered if you want.

Yield: 6-8 servings