Thai Beef Salad
A Thai salad featuring perfectly seared steak, fresh herbs and spices on a bed of leaves.
Equipment
- 1 frypan (to sear steak)
- 1 large bowl
Ingredients
- 250 grams/0.55lb steak (something good quality like scotch or porterhouse etc)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 tsp oil (high heat oil like canola, vegetable, rice bran)
Thai Dressing
- 1 red chilli finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic finely minced/crushed
- 1 tbsp palm sugar (finely shaved with your knife)
- 1½ tbsp fish sauce
- 2½ tbsp lime juice freshly squeezed
- ½ tbsp neutral oil (canola, vegetable, rice bran)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 pinch salt
Salad
- 80 grams/3oz salad leaves either small leaves or cut big leaves into bite size pieces
- 12 cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ small cucumber sliced
- 12 mint leaves torn
- 12 Thai basil leaves torn (note 1)
- ¼ red onion finely sliced
- 3 tbsp roasted peanuts finely diced
Instructions
- Remove steak from refrigerator 30 mins before cooking. After 30 minutes, pat down steak very well with paper towel to dry all surfaces. Salt and pepper entire steak surface.
- Put your frypan over high heat. Add 2 tsp of oil. Place steak in pan, sear it well on both sides to get a nice crust. Cook it to your liking, but I recommend rare to medium rare for optimal tenderness and juiciness. Leave steak to rest on cutting board for 10 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain.
- Add all Thai dressing ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. This makes enough dressing to coat the leaves, vegetables and steak. With this type of dressing you don't want your salad swimming in dressing. Add salad leaves and herbs to the bowl. Toss the leaves in the dressing, then equally divide the leaves between 2 plates. Now to the same with the onion, tomato, cucumber and arrange those on top of the salad leaves. Lastly add the rested and sliced meat to what's left of the dressing, toss, now arrange meat evenly on top of salad on both plates.
- Sprinkle the top of each salad with the roasted chopped peanuts and serve.
If you have raw unroasted peanuts....
- Heat in an oven or air-fryer at 200℃/390℉ for 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Keep a close eye on them, they change from raw to golden very quickly.
Notes
NOTE 1 - Thai Basil leaves are sold in small plastic containers at most Woolworths and Coles. Otherwise try your local Asian supermarket. You can use coriander instead if you wish.