Yum Nua Yang / Thai Spicy Grilled Beef Salad

 

What’s grilling today?


If you have been following me for a while, you might want to know about how come I did not cook anything with beef.   That’s because I do not eat beef!   Why?    It’s just a personal reason and that I had stopped eating beef 20+ years ago and nothing more.    The hubby loves eating steaks and he would have his steak averagely 3 times a month, in which I cook for him quite often.   I usually cook it in the oven by pan searing on both sides first and put it in the oven under the broiler for 4 minutes each side for a medium rare.   I don’t mind cooking or smelling or touching a piece of steak but I just don’t eat it.  That’s all.   Besides, the hubby has never had Thai spicy grilled beet salad before since he only prefer a good cut of steak.

 

Today he brought home a big piece of flank steak which he planned for the easy grilled. Since I’ve never had anything cooking with beef on my blog, I told him that I would make a Thai spicy beef salad for him to try.    Would he say no to that?    Never!  


This Thai spicy grilled beef salad is one of the most popular dishes in Thai cuisine, and it’s the most popular dish among people from the North and the Northeast of Thailand.    Nowadays, the dish has become widely popular all over include international level.    And I am very proud of that.    
 

 

 

Flank steak is mostly used for this dish, but I think any part can also be used as well.  The steak is cooked as however you preferred (usually a medium rare) and the dressing can be mixed up with the basic ingredients that you can find at any Asian store and they can be substituted if you feel uncomfortable to use them, like use sea salt instead of fish sauce and omit the roasted rice powder. The dressing should have a balance of salty, sweet, and sour, however, there is no rule for that.  I’d say, there are two essential ingredients for the dressing – the roasted rice powder and mint leaves. Though you can omit the rice powder since sometime it can be hard to find but never forget the mint leaves.

And what the hubby said after?   “It’s very tasty.  It's good!”       That’s all I wanted to hear, really!


The dressing:

2 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. dried chili flakes
1-2 tbsp. lemongrass, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. roasted rice powder *see notes below
2 tbsp. mint leaves, chiffonaded

>> Combine everything in a mixing bowl and whisk until the sugar is dissolved, set aside.

The salad:

8 oz. flank steak
2 small Persian cucumber, sliced
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
Thai red chili – optional

*roasted rice powder can be bought at Asian supermarket. But it can also be made by using 1 cup of gluten rice roasted in a pan over medium-high heat, keeping stirring to prevent burn, and cook until the rice turn light golden. Using the coffee grinder (if available, or using food processor) to grind the roasted rice to powder. The rice powder can be kept in a tight lid jar for months.

How to:

- Grilled the steak to medium rare or as you preferred. Allow the meat to rest at least 5 minutes and then slice in thin strips across the grain of meat.

- In a medium bowl, add the steak, cucumber, red onion, the dressing, and toss together until well combined.
- Serve immediately with the garnish of Thai red chili and lettuce leaves and with steamed rice if desired. 

Enjoy!

 

^__^