Cooking to Beat the Clock:
Delicious, Inspired Meals in 15 Minutes

 This week's cooking lesson on my
Cooking to Beat the Clock segment
on A Chef's Table is about FOCUS and the recipe is 
Asian Steak Salad  

 Getting in Focus

 You hear a lot about focus these days. Athletes, businessmen, and politicians tell us how important focus is to success. In the kitchen, focus is crucial when you’re Cooking to Beat the Clock.

 Focus means the question, “How was your day, dear?” should be asked and answered while eating dinner, not cooking it. No sipping of wine. No listening to the news on the radio. Get in there and get it done.  Then be as leisurely as you want afterwards.

 What are the keys to focus? First, work alone. Believe it or not, it’s easier for one person to prepare the meal, especially in a small kitchen. Two people can get in each other’s way. The person who isn't cooking can set the table, open the mail, or feed the cat.

 Second, read the entire recipe through before you start cooking. This not only tells you the ingredients you need but the equipment too. You don’t want to be searching for a pot in the middle of cooking, only to find it dirty in the dishwasher.  Or not find it at all.

 Third, give yourself as much counter space as possible, even if it means putting a few things on the floor for the time being. The kitchen where the recipes in my books were tested was so small that  I routinely used the top of the fridge and the microwave as holding areas.

 Being focused means you’ll be able to do more than one thing at a time.  It's called multi-tasking in computer lingo. For example, in the Asian Steak salad recipe I’m going to give you, while the steak cooks, the rest of the salad ingredients are assembled. When the steak is done, slice the meat, and toss it with the vegetables and dressing.

 Focus allows you to get the job don quickly and safely. If you’re focused on what you’re doing, you are less likely to be distracted. Distractions cause accidents. If you think you are sacrificing safety for speed, slow down. Better to take an extra minute chopping that onion than lose the tip of your finger.

 The concept of focus also has a low fat benefit. Without that glass of wine, you’ve eliminated all those calories from alcohol. And without alcohol to stimulate the appetite, you’re less likely to snack while you wait for dinner to be ready.

 My Asian Steak salad combines the very popular flank steak or London broil cut of beef with Asian salad ingredients. These salad ingredients, like Napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, and fresh ginger,  are widely available in supermarkets. But feel free to substitute. If you can’t get Napa cabbage, use romaine lettuce. Button mushrooms can be used instead of shiitake mushrooms. But whatever ingredients you do use, just remember to stay focused.

Asian Steak Salad

• 20-ounce flank steak or London broil

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1/4 cup peanut oil

• 1 small head Chinese or Napa cabbage or romaine lettuce, no more than 1 pound

• 1 bunch watercress

• 3 scallions

• 1 large red bell pepper

• 3 to 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, as large as possible

• 1/3 cup packed cilantro leaves

• One 2-inch piece fresh ginger

• 1 large clove garlic

• 1 lime

• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

• 2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce or soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

• Cayenne pepper to taste

 1) Turn on a gas grill. (Or put a cast iron skillet over high heat on a stove top.) Season the steak with salt and pepper and brush with 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil. Grill (or pan fry) for 5 minutes on each side for medium rare. Then remove to a cutting board.

 2) Meanwhile, cut off and discard the bottom inch of the cabbage and remove any damaged or withered parts from the tops of the leaves. Cut crosswise into strips 3/8 to 1/2-inch wide. Put into a salad spinner. Cut off and discard the bottom inch of the watercress stems. Halve the rest of the watercress crosswise and add to the cabbage. Fill the salad spinner with water, drain, and spin dry. Wrap the cabbage and watercress in paper towels to remove excess moisture. (If you don’t have a salad spinner, wash the cabbage and watercress and drain well in a large colander. Then wrap in paper towels.)

 3) While the greens are drying, trim the ends of the scallions and cut the green and white parts thinly, crosswise. Cut the top from the bell pepper. Stand it upright and cut down inside the four walls, separating them from the center core and seeds. Then cut the walls into thin strips. Remove and discard the stems from the mushrooms and thinly slice the mushroom caps. Coarsely chop the cilantro. Put the scallions, bell pepper, mushrooms, and cilantro in a large serving bowl.

 4) Peel and halve the ginger. Peel the garlic. With the motor running, drop the ginger and garlic down the chute of a food processor and purée. Stop the motor and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Juice the lime. Add the lime juice, vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, the remaining peanut oil, and cayenne and salt to taste. Turn on the processor and mix until the dressing is combined. (Garlic and ginger may be finely minced with a knife and combined with the other ingredients in a mixing bowl.)

 5) Cut the steak in half with the grain. Then cut each half on the diagonal against the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices about 2 inches long. Add the meat and juices to the vegetables. Add the dressing and toss well.

 Serves 4

 Per serving: 429 calories, 34 grams protein, 13 grams carbohydrate, 27 grams fat, 7.3 grams saturated fat, 71 mg cholesterol, 419 mg sodium.