Sunday, March 01, 2009

Hot Thai Beef Salad


A nice, quick recipe for a warm day.  Mind you, I found it quite spicy with the use of one chilli; I could only get my hands on the bird's eye ones so that might explain it!

*Taken from Margaret Fulton's 'Margaret Fulton's Kitchen' pg 158, published 2007*

Ingredients
500g rump or sirloin steak
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup torn mint leaves
1 large red onion or 2 large spring onions, thinly sliced
2 red chillies, sliced (I used 1)
juice of 1 large lime or 1/2 lemon
2 tbs fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
a handful of mixed salad greens
1 cup cherry tomatoes
a handful of rice vermicelli
vegetable oil, for frying
2 tbs roughly chopped roasted peanuts (omitted)
1 red chilli, halved (omitted)
lime wedges for serving

Method
Season the steak with the pepper and cook on a hot ribbed griller or under a preheated grill for 5 minutes on each side or until done to taste.  Remove and leave to stand for 10 minutes.  Cut steak into very thin slices and place in a bowl with any meat juices.

Meanwhile, combine the mint leaves with the onions, chillies, lime or lemon juice, fish sauce and suger.  Stir well and add to the beef slices, tossing.  Combine with the mixed salad greens and cherry tomatoes and set aside.

Heat some vegetable oil in a wok, testing the heat with a few strands of vermicelli.  It should swell immediately of the oil is hot enough.  Fry the vermicelli, scooping out with a wire strainer as soon as they puff and turn pale golden.  Drain well on paper towels and cool, then arrange in a bowl.  

Pile the beef salad on top of the crispy noodles.  Scatter with peanuts and chilli and serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4-6

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