In my opinion, the best thing about Thailand (while it’s hard to pick just one) is the street food. Wandering down the backroads, picking a stall and squatting on a sweaty plastic stool while you watch an agile grandma tossing the wok one-handed. Street food is fundamental to Thai culture and makes accessibility to delicious fresh and spicy salads incredibly easy, not to mention affordable. With the average dish costing around $2.50, it was always necessary to have a salad on the side, alternating between my two favourites green papaya and Thai beef salad. Now I’m home, it’s a little bit more challenging to find some of those authentic Thai ingredients, so when I want a little bit of zest, spice and freshness, I can’t go past this Thai beef salad recipe.
Thai Beef Salad With Noodles
Equipment
- 1 small fry pan
- 1 mortar & pestle
- 1 serving platter
Ingredients
- 300 g Scotch Fillet Steak
- 1 Cos Lettuce leaves washed & torn
- 100 g Vermicelli Noodles cooked & drained
- 2 punnet Cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 bunch Thai basil, Vietnamese mint & Coriander
Toasted Rice
- 1/2 cup White rice
Dressing
- 2 green chillis
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 limes juiced
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
Instructions
Toasted Rice
- Add rice to a small frying pan and gently toast over medium-high heat, stir occasionally for 3-5 minutes until the grains are toasted and golden. Leave to cool for a few minutes and then grind into a coarse powder using a mortar and pestle.
Steak
- Heat a dry small frypan over high heat until it is very hot
- Season steak with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil before placing into the searing hot pan
- Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes for a medium steak, remove from pan and allow to rest
Dressing
- Grind garlic and chillis into a paste with mortar and pestle, add lime juice, fish sauce and sugar, stir to combine. Taste and adjust accordingly
Assembly
- In a large dish assemble lettuce leaves, vermicelli noodles, tomatoes and herbs. Thinly slice steak and place on top of the salad. Generously drizzle with dressing, sprinkle with toasted rice powder and scatter with pickled onions. Serve with a side of extra chilli and lime wedges.
Erin’s an Accredited Practising Dietitian & Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor. She uses a non-diet approach and weight-inclusive care to help her clients reclaim a healthy relationship with food and their bodies free of guilt, shame and restriction.
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