Thai Beef Salad (Yum Neua)

Thai translation – Yum = Spicy Salad; Neua = Beef

This is a fresh and tasty healthy salad that will get your table and tastebuds talking. Made with the freshest of ingredients, its packed with protein and vitamins and will give you long lasting energy. This dish is a favourite of the health concious. Lean veal or a beef tenderloin steak is the perfect meat for this scrumptious and spicy salad but any lean cut of meat is fine. An alternative option is to serve this on a crunchy baguette for a meal on the run or a tasty lunch option. Just leave the dressing off until you are ready to eat or you'll end up with soggy bread!

Ingredients

250g veal steak

1 small lettuce
½ cup of cherry tomatos
1 medium cucumber

¼ medium onion

1-2 snake beans
1/5 cup of fresh coriander leaves

Steak Marinade:
3 garlic cloves

2 red chilli's
4-5 coriander roots
1/2 tbsp of ground black pepper

Pinch salt
1 tbsp of vegetable oil

Dressing:

2 limes

1 tbsp fish sauce

½ tsp soy sauce

1 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar

1 red chilli

pinch coriander leaves

Method

1. Steak marinade - Finely mince the garlic, chilli's and the coriander root. Mix the minced spices with 1 tbsp oil a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.
   
2. Wash the veal steak and pat dry. Spread the meat marinade mix over both sides of the steak, making sure to cover both sides well. Cover meat with cling wrap and leave to refrigerate for at least 30 minutes – or overnight if you really want a great depth to the flavour.
   
3. Prepare the salad – wash the lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half, thinly slice the cucumber and onion and chop the snake bean into small pieces. Present the salad on a plate with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
   
4. Prepare the dressing – in a small bowl mix the lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar, stirring well to ensure the sugar is dissolved. Add the finely chopped chilli and coriander. Taste – if too salty, add more lime or sugar. If too much lime, add more fish sauce. Set aside.
   
5. Heat 1tbsp vegetable oil in a wok or non stick pan over moderate to high heat. When the oil is smoking, carefully add the steak and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn the steak and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. This will give you a medium-rare steak which is the best for this salad. If you wish your steak to be more well done, you should turn the steak again but only after both sides are seared. This will make sure that your steak retains all the flavour and it will be very juicy.
   
6. Remove the cooked steak from the pan and let it sit for 5 min. This will let the meat cool down and retain the juices.
   
7. Thinly slice the steak and lay it on the salad. Top this with spoonfuls of the dressing and a sprinkling of coriander then serve.