Last Updated on March 3, 2016

Makes 4 servings
Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Total preparation time: 25 minutes

Skirt steak is one of those ingredients you would have to be very talented to mess up. It is a well-marbled (butcher’s way to say there is significant fat running through it) tough cut of meat that should be cooked rare to medium rare and sliced thin across the grain. Skirt steak is the full-flavored cut of beef usually used for fajitas and it takes very nicely to this Asian preparation. If you have time, make double the sauce and marinate the meat in half of it for 1 hour. I chose napa cabbage because it is more delicate than regular cabbage and provides the perfect crisp backdrop to the beef.

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger (use a Microplane)
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1 pound skirt steak
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups thinly-shredded Napa cabbage (about 1 pound)
1/4 pound snow peas, halved diagonally
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Whisk together the soy sauce, scallions, vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil, and garlic and set aside. Season the steak with salt and black pepper on both sides. Cut into pieces, if necessary, in order to fit all of it into the skillet.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over high heat until hot; add the meat. Sear the steak on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes total for medium-rare.

Transfer the meat to a platter, cover loosely with foil, and let rest while you cook the cabbage. Discard the fat in the skillet; heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the same skillet over high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium and add the cabbage. Saute for 3 minutes or until the cabbage is crisp tender. Add the snow peas, red pepper flakes, and salt to taste.

To serve, slice the steak thin, against the grain, at an angle. Add any juices from the platter to the soy sauce mixture and toss the meat with the sauce in a bowl. Arrange a mound of cabbage on four plates; top with the meat and sauce.