Thai Beef Salad

A simple way to enjoy your Thai Beef Salad and makes this a restaurant standard recipe.

Dressing:

• 1 to 2 tsp of Birds Eye or Thai Chilli (Note 1)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp cilantro/coriander stems
• 4 tsp sugar
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp grape seed oil
• 2 tbsp Lirah Caramelised Tastes of Asia

Salad:

• 4-500 gr Good quality Beef Steak Sirloin (at room temperature)
• 1 tbsp oil (Vegetable, peanut or canola oil)
• Salt and Pepper
• 4 cups mixed lettuce leaves
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes – halved
• 1/2 small red onion – finely sliced
• 1 cucumber
• 1/2 cup cilantro/coriander leaves (lightly packed)
• 1/2 cup mint leaves (lightly packed)

Garnish:

• 2 tbsp peanuts (roughly chopped)
• Extra cilantro/coriander and mint leaves

Dressing

1. Place the birds eye chilli, garlic, cilantro stems and a small inch of salt into a mortar and pestle.  Grind until a smooth paste forms.
2. Add the remaining dressing ingredients.  Adjust sugar, lime juice, balsamic and fish sauce to taste.  Set aside.
3. Alternative:  Finely mince garlic, coriander and chilli.  Use side of knife to smear into paste on cutting board, then shake in jar with remaining ingredients.

Beef

1. Preheat a skillet over high heat until screaming hot & smoking.
2. Drizzle the beef with 1/2 tbsp of oil on both sides, then sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook the beef to your liking (Note 2)
3. Cook times: for steak 2cm thick, 2 minutes on each side for medium rare (until internal temp is 52°C or 2 1/2 min on each side for Medium (Internal temperature 57°C)
4. Remove the beef from the skillet onto a plate.  Loosely tent with foil and set aside for 10 minutes to rest.

Salad

1. Place  lettuce in a bowl, drizzle with 1tbsp dressing and toss.
2. Slice the beef thinly against the grain (Note 2) and place in a bowl with the remaining salad ingredients.  Dress with most remaining dressing & toss gently.
3. Pile dressed lettuce onto plates. pile over beef and other salad ingredients.
4. Sprinkle with peanuts and garnish with extra cilantro/coriander and mint leaves if using, drizzle with remaining dressing.  Serve immediately!

NOTES

1.  Chilli – 1/2 tsp will be mildly spicy, 1 tsp will be decently spicy but not blow your head off.  For mild 1/4 tsp.  Can substitute with other chilli of choice or use chilli paste.
2. Steak – Any good steak suited to grilling.  Sirloin, boneless rib eye, porterhouses, scotch fillet or rump steak, flank, flat iron.