Lemongrass Beef Wraps

1 1/2 pounds flank steak or London broil, trimmed of fat and gristle

For the marinade:
2 stalks fresh lemongrass, outer leaves removed, ends trimmed, and stalks cut into 1-inch sections
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 1/2 tablespoons safflower or corn oil
2 medium-size red onions, cut into thin julienne strips
1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine

1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts
2 heads Boston lettuce, trimmed and leaves separated, rinsed and spun dry
Vietnamese Sweet-and-Sour Dipping Sauce (nuoc cham)

Run marinade ingredients in food processor until pureed. Marinate beef in this mixture in a deep dish, 30 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate overnight. (Bring back to room temperature an hour before grilling.)

Grill meat at 400 degrees F, about 6 minutes on each side, basting as it cooks. Let meat stand for 10 minutes on a cutting board to allow juices to redistribute. Cut across grain — with your (very sharp) knife almost parallel to the board — into slices about 1/6 inch thick.

Heat oil in wok over high heat. Add onions, stir-fry 30 seconds then add rice wine until onions soften, about 1 minute. Add beef slices, fish sauce and sugar, and toss lightly, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish, sprinkled with the cilantro and peanuts. To eat, spoon some beef onto a lettuce leaf, roll up, dip in the sweet sour sauce, and eat with your fingers. Serves 6.

Adapted from Nina Simonds’ Asian Wraps:

ps Because hubby’s allergic to peanuts, I substituted walnuts here. Turns out my 7-yo is allergic to walnuts too and his face puffed up. Next time maybe we’ll do almonds instead.

We used our favorite nuoc cham recipe, which was just slightly different from the sauce recipe linked above. More on that soon.