This Thai beef salad is so far from your typical bowl of mixed greens that it barely fits into the traditional salad category. Are there greens in it? Yes, but there is so much more than that. Fresh herbs, ribbons of carrots and cucumbers, garlic, green onions and thin sliced juicy steak all tossed in a sweet, salty, spicy dressing that you are going to love.
Let’s get started…
Begin by making the dressing. This sweet, salty dressing with a little kick of heat will be used as both the beef marinade and the salad dressing.
In a small dish combine 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of canola oil, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice, 2 finely minced cloves of garlic, about 1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of grated Thai red chili or Birds Eye chilies and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Whisk this mixture vigorously until it is fully combined and then divide the mixture in half.
Use one half of the dressing to marinade an 8 ounce piece of flank or skirt steak (or your favorite tender cut of beef) for about 30 minutes at room temperature before grilling the steak. This will not only allow your steak to come to room temperature before cooking, but it will also give it a little time to soak up those fabulous flavors.
Place a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the pan is nice and warm, grill your steak to your preferred doneness and then transfer it onto a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes before slicing into thin pieces.
While the steak is cooking, gather your salad ingredients. This is your salad, so if you don’t love or can’t find some of these ingredients, it’s fine and the salad will still be amazing! Here is what I put in mine…
I remove the stems and roughly chop a small bunch of kale or leafy greens. Then, I peel and thinly slice 1/2 of an English cucumber and 1/2 of a carrot and finely chop 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, 1/4 cup of fresh basil and 1/4 cup of fresh mint. Everything goes into a big bowl along with 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, some chopped spring onions and garlic scapes.
Add a couple of tablespoons of your reserved dressing in with the salad ingredients and give everything a good toss.
Today I am using some gorgeous purple kale from my friends garden and if you love kale like I do, this is a wonderful salad to enjoy it in. If you prefer your kale to be a little more tender then add a splash of olive oil and use your hands to give each leaf a quick massage before tearing it into bite sized pieces and adding it to the salad. Massaging kale helps to tenderize the greens and make it both easier to chew and digest.
Once your steak is cooked to your liking and rested, use a sharp knife to slice it into thin pieces. I like to cut the steak into bite sized pieces, so I don’t need to do any additional cutting once I start enjoying this salad.
Transfer your dressed salad onto a big salad platter or divide it between two bowls. Add your steak and if you have any dressing left, I like to drizzle a little over the steak too.
There are so many wonderful things going on in this Thai beef salad. I love the varying textures of the kale, the thinly sliced veggies, the little tomatoes, all of those fresh herbs and of course, the tender beef that was marinaded in the sweet, salty, tangy flavors of the Thai red chili dressing.
The flavors in this salad are also far from boring. The dressing has a well balanced salty, sweet and tangy notes with just the right amount of heat added from the finely grated red chilies. If you prefer more of a kick, feel free to add more chilies or if you are not a fan of heat at all, you can easily swap the red chilies for red sweet peppers, which will ramp up the sweetness in your dressing.
Either way, you are going to love this salad…
Thai Beef Salad
Ingredients
Thai Red Chili Dressing
- 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons of canola oil
- 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon of Thai red chilies or Birds Eye chilies, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
Salad Assembly
- 8 ounce flank or skirt steak
- salt and black pepper
- 2 large spring onions, chopped
- 1/2 of an english cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1/2 of a large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup of fresh Thai basil or basil, chopped
- 1/4 cup of fresh mint, chopped
- a small bunch of kale or leafy greens, stems removed, chopped
- 1/4 cup of garlic scapes, chopped (optional)
Instructions
Make the dressing...
- In a small dish, combine 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of canola oil, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice, 2 finely minced cloves of garlic, about 1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of grated Thai red chili or Birds Eye chilies and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Whisk vigorously until the sugar has dissolved and all of the ingredients are fully combined. Taste and add additional salt if preferred.
- Divide the dressing in half.
Marinade and grill the steak...
- Marinade an 8 ounce cut of flank or skirt steak in half of the dressing for about 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Place a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium to medium high heat for several minutes to allow it to preheat
- Grill the marinaded steak for 4-5 minutes on the first side and then flip the steak and cook to your preferred level of doneness
- Transfer the grilled steak onto a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes before slicing
Assemble the salad...
- Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl, add a few tablespoons of the reserved dressing and toss to combine
- Arrange the dressed salad on a large platter or divide between two salad bowls and top with thinly sliced steak
- Drizzle with additional dressing and enjoy!
