Weeping Tiger Spicy Beef Salad

Oh wow... best stuff on Earth, and I'm not talking Snapple.
The picture doesn't do it justice.

I love this new salad.  It might be better than my other favorite main dish salad, Larb Gai
I had this salad first at a Thai restaurant with a friend, and I would never have ordered it if we hadn't also included that Larb Gai, which I can't seem to live without.
This salad might be better; Crunchy, spicy, tangy, meaty and EASY to make.
Low carb, low calorie, gluten free... what else could you want?

But "Weeping Tiger" salad... that's hard to say no to.
Once I saw it, and tasted it, I knew it would be a cinch to recreate at home.

This would be easy and versatile to make at home with normal ingredients that you might have, or easy to buy.  Beef (even leftover steak or flank), cucumbers, tomatoes, cilantro, green onions and lime.  You got that, right?
I hope you have some garlic hot pepper paste (or Sriracha) and a little Fish Sauce, or even soy sauce to finish it off.  Put it on top of whatever lettuce or spinach mix you have, or even serve it alone... or on rice.
Heck, you are almost there.... what else do you have in there?

Note:  Lots of recipes out there for "Weeping (or Flying) Tiger salad" call for toasted rice powder and fresh lemongrass, and try as I might, I almost never have those around.
I mean, do YOU?
I DID cheat and buy the beef already shredded up (most grocery stores have this for fajitas) and pre-shredded green onions.  I get those at my Asian market.... what a wonderful luxury, but you can do it yourself.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 lb. beef, shredded into strips
1-2 tsp olive oil

1 lime

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1-2 tsp fish sauce

1-2 Tbsp garlic hot pepper sauce

3-4 persian or 1 english cucumbers, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/2 bell pepper, orange, cut into thin strips

1 bunch green onion, shredded into thin strips, or chopped fine.

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup mint (optional)

1-2 chili peppers, like Serrano or Jalapeno,seeded, then thinly sliced (optional)

1 medium tomato, cut into wedges, then chunks, or 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped or 4 cups of salad mix 

In a hot pan, add the olive oil and stir fry the beef quickly until it is just cooked, about 4 minutes.  Turn off pan, and let cool. I stirred in the garlic hot pepper sauce.

In a large bowl, add all the veggies

Squeeze on the lime, add the lemon zest and the fish sauce, or soy sauce.  Add the chilled, or room temperature cooked beef. Toss with veggies.  Add salt and pepper, and lemon juice, if desired.  Serve either at room temperature, or chilled over fresh greens or rice.