Thai Beef Salad

This is a truly surprising dish. If you've got a "steak and chips" partner who just won't eat their greens--this will win them over. The zesty, flavourful freshness hits hard, transforming an otherwise mundane salad. The chilli creeps up on you slowly and compliments the beef spectacularly.

Use a premium steak such as Sirloin, Rib Eye, Scotch Fillet, Rump or even Flank. Make sure it's boneless and sear that thing at the highest possible temperature using an oil with a high smoke point. Tallow is perfect for this. Be cautious with your chillies. 1 teaspoon is pretty spicy so you might want to halve that if you don't like hot food.

Healthy and nutritious. Ready in 25 minutes. Jesus would eat this.

Ingredients

• For the Dressing:
• 1 tsp Thai Chilli (or similar), de-seeded, minced
• 1 Clove Garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp Coriander Stems, finely chopped
• 2 tsp White Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
• 1 Lime, fresh, juiced
• 1 Tbsp Peanut Oil
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• For the Salad:
• 1 x 300g Sirloin, trimmed
• 1 Tbsp Peanut Oil or Tallow
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 2 handfuls Mixed Lettuce, leaves
• 12 Cherry Tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 Red Onion, small, finely sliced
• 1/2 Cucumber, de-seeded, finely sliced
• 1/4 cup Coriander leaves
• 1/4 cup Mint leaves
• 2 Tbsp Peanuts, finely chopped, roasted, unsalted

Method

1. For the Dressing:
2. Place the Chili, Garlic, Coriander stems and a pinch of salt into a mortar and pestle and grind to a paste.
3. Add the remaining dressing ingredients. Place in a sealed container and shake well. Adjust flavour with Sugar, Lime Juice and Fish Sauce. Set aside.
4. Prepare the Beef:
5. Preheat a non-stick frying pan over high heat until extremely hot.
6. Pour the Peanut Oil or Tallow over the Sirloin and thoroughly coat, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook the Sirloin to your liking (2 mins each side for medium rare). Transfer the Sirloin to a plate. Loosely cover with foil and set aside for 10 mins to rest.
7. For the Salad:
8. Place lettuce in a mixing bowl, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the Dressing, toss and then place Lettuce in centre of plates.
9. Slice the beef thinly against the grain and place in the mixing bowl with the remaining Salad ingredients. Add the rest of the Dressing and toss gently.
10. Place these Salad ingredients on top of the Lettuce on the plates. Stack the Sirloin slices on top and Garnish with the Peanuts.