This recipe called for some *slightly* uncommon ingredients I didn't have lying around my kitchen. I could procure all the ingredients at my regular grocery store except for one. Cut to mine and Mason's adventures at the Asian Pacific Market in Colorado Springs-- it was fun to browse the store, and we ultimately came away with sweet dark soy sauce, regular soy sauce, oyster sauce, and a black pepper grinder! We got limes, a red onion, butter lettuce, garlic, and rice at the regular grocery store. Oh, and we already had top sirloin steak in our fridge, but you could get that at any store. 

The recipe I used: https://www.marionskitchen.com/cambodian-pepper-beef-lok-lak/

First, I marinaded the cubed meat in oyster sauce, the two soy sauces, baking soda, cornstarch, and minced garlic. I left that to soak for about an hour. Next, I made the dipping sauce and the stir fry sauce. The stir fry sauce was oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. The dipping sauce was a mix of lime juice, salt, and ground pepper. Once both the sauces were ready, I chopped an onion. Mason made the cute little butter lettuce and tomato beds for the meat. 

Finally, I heated vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat and tossed in the meat. I am a baby and the oil was popping, so Mason charred the meat to perfection for me. Once the meat was charred, we tossed in the onion for about 30 seconds and then dumped it all in a bowl to rest (I want to point out that I've NEVER cooked with red onion before because it is best served raw, but the 30-second toss wilted it just enough to retain its sweet character.) In the meantime, we made a little jasmine rice. All in all, it was super easy! 

We served the meal over a bed of butter lettuce and tomatoes with jasmine rice for a side. I rolled the meat into a little lettuce taco with all of the ingredients and then dipped it in the lime sauce. It was messy but delicious. The meat and onions were both savory and sweet, and the dipping sauce layered on an acidic bite that tied everything together. I think this meal relied on the texture of the meat. The texture of the sirloin was buttery under the charred outer edges -- and it was glorious! 

I would say 5/5 and Mason says 4.5/5. 

Cambodia is a country nestled between Thailand and Vietnam in Southeastern Asia. The capital is Phnom Penh. Hunter gatherers arrived in the area during the stone age, and farming was soon introduced. By the 9th century, the region would be ruled by the Khmer Empire. Tensions between Thailand and Vietnam caused strife as the country grew. 

After years of conflict, French missionaries made their way to the area. In the mid-1800s, Cambodia came under French rule and protection. Cambodia would find itself under Japanese rule during WWII-- with the Japanese declaring the country independent from French rule. After WWII, France once again took over in the region. 

Eventually, Cambodia would gain its independence, but it would not come without hardship. Communists would take over in the mid-1970s. It would be remiss to omit the great travesties committed by the Khmer Rouge, or the Cambodian communist party. It is estimated that over a quarter of the population died during their reign. 

Today, Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy with a growing economy. Despite a recent tragic history, Cambodia is growing more prosperous every day.