Thai-Style Beef Salad with Black Sesame & Lime Dressing
A refreshing and zesty summery salad that’s fiery, salty & sweet with a little crunch from toasted rice and nutty black sesame. Traditionally made with just herb leaves and onion, I’ve added some fresh ingredients to make a salad that’s delicious on its own for a light lunch. Can be served with rice/rice noodles for a heartier dinner.
Method
In a large shallow bowl mix together the soy, oil, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic and a good grind of black pepper. Add the steak and toss to coat. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes or cover and chill for 2 hours if you have the time.
Heat a dry frying pan over a low-medium heat and add the rice. Toast for a few minutes or until the grains are a deep golden brown, taking care not to burn them. Transfer to a mortar & pestle and grind to a coarse powder. Set aside.
Heat a ridged griddle pan over a high heat. When hot, remove the steak from the marinade, pat dry and add to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side for medium sirloin or until cooked to your liking (not too rare). Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 8-10 minutes.
Meanwhile make your dressing: whisk together the lime juice, zest, fish sauce, sugar, chilli, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds and chopped coriander stalks. Adjust the sweetness/saltiness to taste.
Just before serving, put the salad ingredients into a large bowl and drizzle over about a tablespoon of the dressing. Toss to coat and then arrange the salad on a serving platter. Add the toasted rice powder to the remaining dressing.
Slice the steak thinly across the grain and add to the dressing. Toss to coat and then spoon over the salad. Garnish with extra herbs and a sprinkle of black sesame seeds.
TIP: can be prepped ahead, but keep the dressing separate until ready to serve.
Ingredients
- For the Beef
- 450g sirloin steak (approx. 2 medium steaks) or flank/skirt steak
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 lime, juice
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- sea salt & freshly ground pepper
- For the Dressing
- 1 tbsp uncooked white short grain (sticky rice) or jasmine rice
- 1 lime, juice & zest
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (more if needed)
- 1 tbsp palm or soft light brown sugar (more if needed)
- 1-2 red birds eye chilli, deseeded, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp black sesame seeds, plus extra to serve
- For the Salad
- small bunch of coriander (approx. 20g), leaves picked, plus extra to garnish (finely chop some stalks to add to the dressing)
- small bunch of mint (approx. 15g), leaves picked, torn, plus extra leaves to garnish
- 1 little gem or ½ head of romaine lettuce, leaves torn
- ½ cucumber, deseeded, sliced on the angle
- 10-12 vine cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 banana shallot or ½ small red onion, thinly sliced