Thai Beef Salad

Ingredients

  • 3/4 lb (340 g) beef tenderloin, rib-eye, sirloin, or striploin, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • dashes pepper
  • 2 small cucumber or 1 English cucumber, seeded and sliced
  • 4 oz (113 g) cherry tomato, cut in half
  • 1 shallot, sliced
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) mint, loosely packed and torn
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml ) cilantro, loosely packed and torn

Salad Dressing

  • 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp palm sugar, or light brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 fresh red chili, finely minced

Instructions

  • Season your beef steak with soy sauce and pepper. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
  • Grill your steak over a very hot grill to get the grill marks. Cook to your desired done-ness. Let the steak rest for 5 minutes, then slice thinly across the grain.
  • For the salad dressing, mix together the fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and chili in a small bowl. Taste and adjust sweetness, saltiness and tartness according to your taste.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine beef, cucumber, tomato, shallot, and herbs. Start with half the dressing, then taste and adjust — it’s easy to overdo it. Always toss the salad just before serving to keep the greens crisp and the flavors balanced.