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

1. 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.
2. Noodles: Place noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. 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.
4. Carrot: With a veggie peeler or spiral veggie pasta maker create strips of carrot. If using zucchini do the same with the zucchini.
5. Capsicum & Cucumber: Slice capsicum into strips, cucumber into batons.
6. Chop spring onions, coriander and mint finely.
7. Dressing: Place all ingredients in a jar and shake.
8. 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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