• 1-1/2 pounds teres major (also called bistro steaks or petite tenderloin)

For the marinade:

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• The white part of 2 scallions, minced
• 1 hot chile (such as a red Thai or bird chile), seeded and finely chopped
• 1/2 inch fresh turmeric, peeled and finely grated, or ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce or soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped roasted peanuts

For the salad platter:

• 1 head Boston or butter lettuce, broken into whole leaves, washed, and spun dry
• 1 bunch watercress, torn into sprigs
• 2 cups thinly sliced napa cabbage
• 1 cup Thai basil or regular basil leaves
• 1/2 pound long beans or green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3 carrots, preferably rainbow, peeled and cut sharply on the diagonal into 1/8-inch slices
• 1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 small tomato, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

For the dipping sauce:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup Asian fish sauce
• 1 cup fresh lime juice, plus 4 lime halves for squeezing
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, pale parts sliced paper-thin crosswise
• 3 small hot red chiles, such as Thai chiles, thinly sliced crosswise, in a shallow bowl with a spoon
• 3 scallions, green part only (reserved from the marinade), thinly sliced on the diagonal, in a shallow bowl
• 1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts, finely chopped (do so in a food processor, running the machine in short bursts), in a shallow bowl with a small spoon