Thai beef salad is one of my all time favourite salads; it is light and fresh and doesn’t leave you feeling like a stuffed potato.
I have tried a number of thai beef salads in my life, and there are a few key factors that I feel are so important to nailing this salad….
The first is the dressing, getting that balance between salty, sweet and sour is crucial, this balance can be difficult to achieve, and have found so many to be either too sweet or too salty.
I try to eat organic, grass fed beef, not only are you then supporting animal rights, you are often supporting small, local businesses and the quality and taste of the meat will far supersede anything else. Cooking the beef correctly is also an important element; there is nothing worse than over- cooked, chewy bits of beef amongst your crisp vegetables, you want it rare-medium rare with a texture that will melt in your mouth.
Cutting the beef correctly can also make your salad standout, to ensure you get the most tender slices, cut the beef against the grain. The easiest way to do this is to turn the steak so it is facing you, and the fibres in the meat should be running left to right, cut across the fibres (90 degrees perpendicular).
Thai herbs, in my opinion are a necessity, if you can’t find them, don’t make this salad until you do! The dressing is my favourite part, it is sweet, salty and tangy, it is a little complex, but worth the extra 5 minutes to caramelise it. Remember to not over thicken the syrup as it tends to thicken further once cool, so take it off the stove a few minutes before you think the consistency might be right- similar to runny honey, or a little more liquid. You can always put it back on the stove to thicken further!
I have created this salad based on the basics of the age old thai beef salad, but have caramelised my dressing to make it a little more special. I have also omitted the noodles, I personally, dislike noodles in my thai beef salad, they feel like such a separate entity to the other salad ingredients, the don’t combine well and I feel they are just a hassle to eat and are not required! But of course, if you are a noodle fan then you could add these to the salad! This is a really light meal, so I would suggest if you are feeding a hungry human, to pop some noodles in here to make it more of a “meal”.
As part of my salad design process, I have implemented a “If you eat the salad, you need to critique the salad” policy from whom ever is devouring it, which is usually my 6’5” other half, who has a love affair with potatoes, bread, and anything sweet. His comments were as follows: “I really like it, but if I had to critique it, it’s a bit green” and on further investigation, when I advised that no, potatoes would not go in this salad, we settled with the addition of noodles making it more of a man-friendly meal. So.. for those of you that are feeding men, add the noodles to satisfy big appetites. However, the dressing got the big thumbs up 👍🏼
This salad has A LOT of flavour, its sweet, sour, salty and yum yum yum. P.S. I totally forgot the tomatoes if you are wondering where they are in my photos!!
- ½ red onion finely sliced
- ¼ lebanese cucumber, cut into matchsticks
- 1 carrot, peeled into ribbons
- 1 bok choy, leaves finely sliced
- ¼ punnet of cherry tomatoes washed and cut into halves
- 2 stalks of celery cut into matchsticks
- ¼ cup salted and roasted peanuts
- 1 tablespoon of peanut oil
- 300 grams of grass-fed beef scotch fillet
- ½ cup lightly packed thai herbs (Vietnamese mint, coriander, thai basil)
- Marinade for the beef:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
- 1 knob of fresh ginger finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- Himalayan salt and cracked pepper
- For the dressing:
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2cm knob of fresh ginger finely diced
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
- 1 kaffir lime leave de veined and finely sliced (optional)
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- Pat beef dry with paper towels and place into a dish with beef marinade and a good grind of salt and pepper, place in the fridge to marinate for 20-60 minutes.
- Pull the leaves of the thai herbs from the stalks, ensuring you keep some of the stalks of the coriander to finely chop and reserve for the dressing.
- Rinse and dice/chop/peel your vegetables, set aside.
- Make your caramel dressing by adding red wine vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, lime zest & kaffir lime (if using) to a saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar, once dissolved, add chicken stock and lime juice and simmer until the dressing has reduced by half, remove from heat.
- Heat a drizzle of peanut oil in a medium fry-pan on high heat. Cook steak for about 2-3 minutes each side for medium rare (depending on thickness), or until cooked to your liking. Remove from the heat and rest covered in foil for 5-10 minutes.
- When you are ready to serve, thinly slice the beef against the grain. Toss all ingredients with the dressing, place beef on top and serve!
