Toast: Vietnamese Beef & Noodle Salad

11 March 2014

Vietnamese Beef & Noodle Salad

It is officially Autumn here in New Zealand now & it’s like the weather knew straight away too. The first week of March temperatures dropped & we had a few chilly southerlies to deal with too. Thankfully this weekend we are back to sunshine & balmy temperatures. This is the time of year when we appreciate every sunny day all the more as each day brings us closer to shorter days & cooler temperatures.

So with these still warm days it is still salad weather. This one packs a punch, it is spicy, fresh, bright & colourful & of course packed full of flavour. The dressing spiked with lime juice, lemongrass, ginger & chilli.

Vietnamese Beef & Noodle Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

600g rump steak

For the marinade & dressing

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup fish sauce

3 tbsp lime juice

2 stalks lemongrass, chopped & smashed in mortar & pestle

1 tbsp ginger grated

2 tsp sesame oil

1 red chilli, deseeded & diced

For the salad

100g vermicelli noodles, cooked according the packet instructions

1 cup red cabbage, finely sliced

1 carrot, peeled & cut in to thin strips

1 lebanese cucumber, shaved in to ribbons

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

1/2 red capsicum, deseeded & thinly sliced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup mint

1/4 cup basil

1/4 cup coriander

3/4 cup roasted peanuts, plus a few more to garnish

1 red chilli, sliced

Directions

Whisk together al the marinade ingredients together in a bowl to dissolve the sugar. Taste & add more fish sauce, lime juice, chilli or sugar to suit your taste. Place the beef in a sealable bag or container & pour over half the marinade. Reserve the other half for the dressing. Seal the bag or pop a lid on the container & marinade the beef for at least an hour or overnight in the fridge.

If the beef has been in the fridge overnight remove it from the fridge & let it come to room temperature before cooking it. Heat a little oil in a frying pan over a high heat & cook the steak, turning it every 15-20 seconds for perfect, even cooking. Cooking times will depend on the size & thickness of your steak & how you like it cooked. Once cooked remove from the heat & let the steak rest for 10 minutes before cutting it in to thin strips.

Mix the noodles, beef & salad ingredients together in a large bowl & add the rest of the dressing & toss to combine. Season with salt & pepper & mound the salad on to plates. Scatter over some peanuts, fresh herbs & chilli.