Thai Beef Salad is fresh, full of flavour and works just as well for lunch, dinner or an afternoon snack. It’s the ultimate crowd pleaser in the warmer months. ; it’s the dressing that makes it amazing. Experiment with different veggies and salad ingredients as well as different proteins.
Thai Beef Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 steaks (or 4 if you want extra protein per serve)
- 100g bean thread noodles
Salad - 1 bunch of asparagus
- 2 carrots peeled into ribbons
- 1 red capsicum sliced
- 2 handfuls of snow peas
- 1/2 continental cucumber deseeded and cut into batons or 1 zucchini peeled into ribbons
- 2 handfuls of bean sprouts or thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
- 4 spring (green) onions chopped
- 2 Tb fresh mint
- 2 Tb fresh coriander
- 1/3 cup peanuts
- fresh coriander and lime wedges to garnish
- fresh or dried chilli flakes (optional)
Dressing Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce
- 1/4 cup lime juice (1-2 limes)
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 1 Tb fish sauce (can use salt to taste if preferred)
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
Method
- Steaks: Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Season steaks with salt and oil and cook for 3 mins per side (or until done to your liking- medium works well for this). Remove steaks from pan and leave them to cool. When cool, slice thinly and mix with a little of the dressing until needed.
- Noodles: Place noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Greens: Trim asparagus and snow peas then place in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and immerse in cold water until ready for use.
- Carrot: With a veggie peeler or spiral veggie pasta maker create strips of carrot. If using zucchini do the same with the zucchini.
- Capsicum & Cucumber: Slice capsicum into strips, cucumber into batons.
- Chop spring onions, coriander and mint finely.
- Dressing: Place all ingredients in a jar and shake.
- Assembly: Place meat, noodles, veggies and herbs in a bowl and toss with the 2/3 of the dressing. Top with nuts and extra coriander. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side.
Optional: serve with fresh lime wedges, fresh or dried chilli and the remainder of the dressing.
Tips & Tricks
- If taking to a BBQ or prepping the day before, keep the prepped veggies, dressing, cooked/cooled noodles, steak and peanuts in separate containers and mix together at the last minute. This way everything retains its freshness and crunchiness.
- This recipe yields a large amount. If you are making a dinner for two, you could use half the quantities. However, I find that it is so yummy for lunch the next day that a large batch suits me just fine.
Variations
- Experiment with different salad ingredients and veggies. Blanch any greens (peas, broccoli, beans, asparagus, snow peas) by pouring boiling water over them and leaving for 2-5 minutes (depending on size) then run them under cold water to refresh. Even the most basic salad will come alive with the Thai dressing.
- Swap the steak for chicken breast, prawns, fish or tofu.
- For a more filling meal double the amount of noodles or protein used.
Until next time happy cooking,
Carly xx
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