Thai beef salad with vegetables

By: Gabriel Gaté
From: Recipes for a Great Life
Serves: 2
Photographer: Greg Elms

This dish has become one of the most popular modern salads you’ll find in restaurants and delis these days. Many recipes use a lot of fish sauce, which is quite salty. My recipe uses less fish sauce, but is still full of flavour from the lime juice and fresh herbs.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
1 teaspoon	vegetable oil
1 x 200g	sirloin or eye fillet steak, trimmed of visible fat
100g	green beans, finely sliced
1	small carrot, peeled and cut into thin batons
1/4	red capsicum, seeded and finely sliced
50g	bean shoots, roots trimmed
1	lime, juiced
2 tablespoons	fish sauce
4 drops	sesame oil
1/2	small red chilli, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon	brown sugar
1/2	garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tablespoon	peanuts, chopped
3 tablespoons	coriander leaves
3	mint leaves, cut into small pieces

Method

Heat the oil in a medium-sized frying pan and cook the steak for 2–3 minutes on each side, which will be sufficient for medium–rare. Transfer the steak to a plate, cover with aluminium foil and leave to rest.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and drop in all the sliced vegetables. Cook for 2 minutes then add the bean shoots. After 10 seconds tip all the vegetables into a bowl of cold water to cool, then drain thoroughly.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the lime juice with the fish sauce, sesame oil, chilli, sugar and garlic.
Cut the steak into fine strips and toss in the dressing. Add the vegetables to the mixing bowl with the peanuts, coriander and mint. Toss well and serve.