Delia Smith’s Asian steak sandwiches are marinated rump steak strips, seared for 30 seconds each side and wrapped in iceberg lettuce. Served with cucumber, spring onion, coriander and a fish sauce dipping sauce, they take under 15 minutes for 2.
From her How to Cheat at Cooking (2008), Delia says these are “not bread sarnies” but lettuce wraps filled with sticky, fragrant beef. The marinade is lemongrass, brown sugar, fish sauce and sesame oil, blitzed in a mini chopper.
The technique that makes this work is fierce heat. Get the pan very hot, then 30 seconds per side, no more. Any longer and the thin-cut rump turns tough, because the sugar in the marinade needs high heat to caramelise before the beef overcooks.
Delia Smith Asian Steak Sandwiches
Course: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy2
servings10
minutes3
minutes345
kcal15
minutesFrom Delia’s How to Cheat at Cooking. Lettuce-wrapped steak strips with a lemongrass and fish sauce marinade, served with a sharp dipping sauce of lime, rice vinegar and garlic. Ready in under 15 minutes, serves 2.
Ingredients
- For the steak:
225g trimmed rump or sirloin steak
Oil, for frying
10cm piece fresh cucumber, cut lengthways into matchsticks
2 spring onions, cut lengthways into shreds
2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves
1 iceberg lettuce (use the pliable leafy parts)
- For the marinade:
2 stalks lemongrass (from a jar), cut into 3 pieces
½ small red onion, peeled and halved
1 dessertspoon dark soft brown sugar
2 jalapeño peppers, from a jar
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1 dessertspoon each sesame oil and groundnut oil
- For the dipping sauce:
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 piece jalapeño pepper, from a jar
1 dessertspoon dark soft brown sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
Green parts of 2 spring onions
Directions
- Chop all the marinade ingredients in a mini chopper, then empty into a bowl.
- Slice the steak across into thin strips, then add to the bowl, pushing them down well into the marinade.
- For the dipping sauce, put all the dipping sauce ingredients into the mini chopper, give them a good burst, then pour into a bowl.
- Heat a frying pan lightly brushed with oil until very hot. Add the strips of steak and cook for 30 seconds. Flip them over with a fork and spoon (or tongs) and give them another 30 seconds before transferring to a warm serving dish.
- To serve, roll up strips of steak, shredded spring onion, cucumber and coriander in the lettuce leaves, swirling them in the dipping sauce. Have plenty of paper napkins handy.
FAQs
Why does Delia use jarred lemongrass and jalapeños instead of fresh?
This recipe comes from How to Cheat at Cooking, a book built entirely around shortcuts. Delia wrote it for people who want real flavour without prepping every ingredient from scratch. Jarred lemongrass skips the tough outer layers you’d normally peel and the woody core you’d discard.
If you want fresh lemongrass, take one stalk, remove the outer two layers and finely slice the bottom 8cm. For the jalapeños, Delia chose them over Thai bird’s eye chillies because they’re milder. Fresh red chillies work if you prefer more heat, but start with one and taste the marinade before adding a second. Delia’s vanilla ice cream from her Summer Collection makes a good contrast dessert after the spice.
Can I marinate the steak for longer than a few minutes?
You can, but keep it under 30 minutes. The fish sauce and lime in the marinade are acidic, and acid breaks down the surface proteins in thin-cut steak quickly. After 30 minutes the outside starts to turn grey and mushy, which ruins the sear.
Delia’s method assumes almost no marinating time: you slice, press the strips into the marinade, then cook. The flavour still penetrates because the strips are thin enough that every surface is coated. If you want deeper flavour, 15 minutes in the fridge is the sweet spot.
What cut of steak works best here?
Delia says rump or sirloin, and both work for different reasons. Rump has more beefy flavour and costs less, but it’s slightly tougher. Sirloin is more tender and has a thin fat cap that renders nicely in the hot pan.
The key with either cut is slicing thin and across the grain. Cutting across the grain shortens the muscle fibres, so each strip is tender enough to bite through inside a lettuce wrap. If you slice with the grain, even sirloin turns chewy. Pop the steak in the freezer for 15 minutes before slicing to firm it up, which makes thin cuts much easier.
What can I use instead of iceberg lettuce?
Iceberg works because the leaves are large, crisp and cup-shaped enough to hold filling without tearing. Little gem lettuce is the best substitute: smaller cups, same crunch, and they’re sturdy. Butterhead lettuce is too floppy and rips when you roll.
Rice paper wrappers work if you want something more substantial. Soak them in warm water for 10 seconds until pliable, then roll like a summer roll. The texture is completely different from Delia’s version though, so you’re really making a different dish at that point. Stick with iceberg or little gem for the closest result.
How do I make the dipping sauce less salty?
The sauce gets its salt from two tablespoons of fish sauce, which is concentrated. If that’s too strong for you, start with one tablespoon and add the second gradually while tasting. A splash more lime juice also helps because the acidity balances the saltiness without diluting the flavour.
Delia’s ratio of two tablespoons fish sauce to two tablespoons rice vinegar is already balanced, but palates vary. The brown sugar in the sauce is doing the same balancing job. If you reduce the fish sauce, you might also reduce the sugar by half so the sauce doesn’t tip towards sweet.
Can I cook this on a barbecue instead of a frying pan?
Yes, but change the method slightly. Thin strips fall through grill grates, so either thread them onto soaked wooden skewers or lay them on a grill mat. Cook over the hottest part of the barbecue for 30-45 seconds per side, same as the pan method.
The charcoal adds a smoky note that suits the lemongrass and fish sauce well. Delia’s strawberry cheesecake ice cream or a simple fruit sorbet works well after a barbecue meal like this if you want something cold to follow.
