Ingredients

Preparation 30 minutes, cooking time about 10 minutes

14 ounces lean steak such as sirloin, trimmed of all excess fat and cut into thin strips for stir-frying
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sunflower oil

For Ginger and Honey Dressing:
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 tablespoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Fresh juice of 1 lime or lemon

For the Salad:
1 ripe but firm mango, peeled and cut into strips
2 ripe but firm plums, sliced
1/4 medium head red cabbage, shredded
2 ounces (about 1 cup) watercress leaves
1/2 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
3 or 4 scallions, cut into diagonal pieces
1 1/2 ounces (about 1 cup) mixed fresh mint and cilantro
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped roasted unsalted peanuts

To make the dressing: Put the paprika, cayenne, honey, ginger and vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly add 1 cup water, stirring, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime or lemon juice; set aside.
Combine all the salad ingredients, except the peanuts, in a large, shallow serving dish and toss gently together until evenly mixed; set aside.
Put the steak strips into a bowl with the garlic, sugar and soy sauce and mix together so the strips are seasoned. Heat a wok or nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the oil and the beef and stir-fry until the strips are evenly brown and cooked to taste, about 3 minutes.
Spoon the stir-fried beef over the top of the salad. Drizzle the dressing over the top and sprinkle with the peanuts. Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 265 cal., 27 g pro., 8 g total fat (3 g saturated fat), 20 g carbo., 4 g fiber.

Directions

More ideas:

Add cubes of fresh or canned pineapple (canned in juice rather than syrup) or kiwi fruit to the salad, to increase the fruit content.

Spice up the salad with very thin strips of fresh red chili — particularly if you have a cold, because scientists have suggested that eating chilies can help alleviate nasal congestion.

Replace the mango with 2 unpeeled and sliced nectarines.

For a vegetarian version, omit the stir-fried beef and increase the quantity of shelled peanuts to 1 cup. Peanuts are an excellent source of protein and contain much less saturated fat than red meat.