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Steak, the Thai Way D oes anyone out there remember the 1980s-'90s cooking show Te Frugal Gourmet from PBS? It was the only televised cooking series I ever watched in the whole of my adult life. I know, I know — it's hard to believe a food writer would steadfastly refuse to watch Food TV or that the one and only show she does watch, its host ends up in a courtroom on charges of child molestation. But here's the thing: At the time of my viewing, I was pregnant. (It was also the only period of my life when I felt the need to take naps; however, the naps did not coincide with the TV program.) And I was hungry. And more days than not, I actually prepared the dishes cooked up and presented by Jeff Smith. Jeff Smith — the blandest name in the Anglo-American world! He seemed so trustworthy. With his silver beard, his receding hairline and his wire-framed glasses, the Frugal Gourmet looked like a cross between a Unitarian minister and an ACLU lawyer. Or, perhaps, if you were in England, a cross between a vicar and Oliver Sacks. He was so friendly, so broad- minded, so patient and humble in his explanations. Plus, even though he wore a necktie with his apron and had traveled all over the world, he was frugal. Or so he said. At the time, my husband insisted that hormones were making me watch the show. "In your right mind, you'd see that this guy is a yawny old geezer," he said. I'd shush him, chase him out of the room, and tell him that when he tasted the next recipe he'd be singing a different tune. Jeff Smith helped me to branch out from my love of Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern dishes to ones from Jamaica, Ethiopia — even Latvia! I bought the tome that accompanied the series, called Te Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors. Subtitle: "Recipes You Should Have Gotten From Your Grandmother." (I don't know about your grandmother, but my grandmother's recipes included pickled pigs' feet and fried calf's brain. She definitely did not make Portuguese Caldo Verde or Korean Mung Bean Pancakes.) A number of the international recipes >>By Mary Welp Photos by Mickie Winters in the book became such standards in our house that I learned them by heart, so that eventually the book got moved to the back of beyond on my cookbook shelves. Imagine, then, the great glee with which my husband smacked open the newspaper one morning in the late 1990s, exclaiming, "Told ya! I believe you owe me an apology, dear." "You said he was a bore, not a pervert," I said. "Same difference. Priests. Boy Scout leaders. TV chefs." Te Frugal Gourmet had in fact been a Methodist minister before he became a well-known chef. His first restaurant was called Te Chaplain's Pantry, and it was there, in his kitchen, rather than in the back of his church, that he allegedly abused the youngsters who worked for him by getting them drunk and toying with them. Later in the day of the news exposé, I got the cookbook back down from the shelves and began to page through it. Now I viewed Smith's regular references to "my young assistant Craig" in a completely different light. Whoops! Never again since has a creeper slipped off my Perv Radar. I even tossed the dust jacket of the book into the recycling bin, no longer able to brook the red tie worn with the pinstriped apron. Nonetheless, Jeff Smith, before shuffling off this mortal coil, imparted valuable knowledge to the food world. His recipe for Tai Beef Salad is one I trot out for deck parties several times per summer. In his original version, flank steak was the cut of beef called for, and our Reverend Smith seared it in a wok before marinating the meat. Tis is a handy (not to mention economical) way to prepare the dish in the winter months, but summertime calls for grilling the meat, using a slightly less frugal hunk of beef, and marinating sooner rather than later. Te strip steak in the newfangled version takes on a deeply charred quality with flecks of red and green from the chili paste and the chopped cilantro. Te mint leaves and lime provide cooling balance to the spicy heat of the other ingredients. Bye-bye, frugality. the recipe>> Thai Beef Salad, Rectified ½ cup finely diced onion 1 large bunch cilantro, finely chopped ½ teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon red chili paste with garlic 1 large New York strip steak 2 English cucumbers, thinly sliced 1 bunch chopped scallions 10 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped A mix of fresh baby lettuces Te juice of one lime 3 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar ¼ cup Tai fish sauce Red pepper flakes, to taste In a blender or food processor, blend the onion, half of the cilantro, the sugar and the chili paste until smooth. Rub this paste onto all sides of the strip steak so that it is well coated. Let the steak marinate for one hour at room temperature. Light the grill, and when it is ready, char the steak on each side over high heat, then move it to a spot where it can cook internally to your preferred state of doneness. (Rare to medium-rare is always most flavorful.) Depending on what kind of grill you have, it should take about five minutes on each side. Check for doneness; then remove it to a plate, allowing it to cool for eight minutes before slicing. As the steak is cooling, make a salad bed of baby lettuces topped with the remaining cilantro, the mint, the cucumber slices and the scallions. Slice the cooled steak into thin slices. Whisk together the lime juice, rice wine vinegar and fish sauce and drizzle this over the salad mixture. Arrange the steak slices as artfully as possible over the top of the salad bed and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Serves four. 6.12 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE [31]