Clarissa Feildel's Thai beef salad is as easy as it gets for dinner

Thai beef salad is a summer favourite. It involves everything you need for a satisfying dinner: lean protein, lots of leafy greens and a delicious dressing. And, of course, more herbs than you can carry!

Make Clarissa’s Thai beef salad for your next al fresco dinner, and relish in it’s zingy, spicy, fresh flavours.

Ingredients

2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and chopped

30 whole black peppercorns

2 cloves garlic

Salt, to taste

2 – 3 tablespoons peanut or olive oil

400g beef (sirloin/tenderloin/ribeye), cut into strips

Crisp fried onions, to garnish

Dressing

4 tablespoons fish sauce

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons shaved palm sugar or brown sugar

2 – 3 birds eye chillies, finely chopped

Salad

2 Lebanese cucumbers, halved lengthways and sliced on diagonal

250g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

1 large carrot, peeled and shredded

1 packet mixed salad leaves

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 bunch Thai basil, leaves picked

1/2 bunch mint, leaves picked

1 bunch Vietnamese mint, leaves picked (optional)

1/4 cup roasted peanuts or nut of your choice

Method

Step 1

Place lemongrass, peppercorns, garlic and salt in a mortar and grind with a pestle to form a coarse paste. Heat oil in a wok over a high heat. Add paste and stir fry for about 1 – 2 minutes, or until oil separates.

Step 2

Add beef, spreading out to cover base and sides of wok. Cook without stirring for about 1 minute, or until beef is golden on one side. Stir fry until just cooked. (Take care not to overcook beef). Remove to a plate.

Step 3

For the dressing, combine ingredients in a bowl.

Step 4

For the salad, combine ingredients in a separate large shallow bowl.

Step 5

Just before serving your salad, add beef and peanuts. Spoon over dressing and toss gently to combine. Garnish with onions.

thai beef salad with beef and coriander on top of leafy green salad with mint and coriander on separate plate on the side — (Photography: John Paul Urizar, Styling: Michele Cranston, Food preparation: Tamika O’Neill)

What to serve with Thai beef salad?

Thai beef salad is great on it’s own, but the best thing to serve it with is freshly made rice noodles. If you’re in need of extra carbs, noodles added in under your salad is the perfect way to feel full. Plus, noodles will easily soak up all those delicious flavours from the sauce.

What is the traditional name for Thai beef salad?

Thai beef salad is known as YUm Nua in Thailand, a dish that contains thinly sliced beef, fresh herbs and a fish sauce, citrus dressing.

Clarissa Feildel Chef

As an accomplished cook, author and television presenter Clarissa Feildel has always had food at the heart of everything she does. Clarissa’s Nyonya/Chinese and Sri Lankan background has given her a melting pot of dishes in her repertoire, which she uses every day when feeding her family.