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It has been like summer lately in California, so I switched from soups to this Beef Salad with toasted rice. It was a perfect lunch outside under the sun. That is one of the perks of living in OC.
I have a Japanese grocery store by my house, so I use their thinly cut beef. It is just perfect for this recipe. If you can’t find this type of meat, just try to use ribeye or sirloin and cut it as thin as possible. You can also use beef prepared for carpaccio (if not too thin) or shabu shabu.
If you like raw meat, you can just quickly sear the meat as long as you use good quality meat. Once you are done cooking the meat, let it rest on a rack for about 20 minutes. It will help develop the flavors and it gives you time to prepare the remaining ingredients.
I did not use chili pepper when I prepared my salad because I do not eat spicy, but it will give you a good kick if you like that. It also adds some colors to your dish.
If you can’t find nuoc-mam, you can prepare your own sauce by mixing together fish sauce, lime juice, hot water, rice wine vinegar and a bit of cayenne pepper.
You can serve white rice on the side of your beef salad if you think it won’t be enough for you. On that day we had vegetables rolls, green beans and my favorite, Kinpira Gobo. It is made with burdock root and carrot in a sweet and salty sauce. Since this beef salad was also in a sweet and salty sauce, it worked well together.
You can skip the toasted rice if you are not a big fan of it. It does add some crunchiness though to the beef salad. You may also prepare it in advance and store it in an airtight container.
If you do not have a food processor or a mortar to crush the rice, no worries! You can put the toasted rice in a zip bag and crush it with a rolling pin. It might not be as finely crushed, but it still works.
I hope you will enjoy this beef salad recipe. Don’t hesitate to give me feedback.
Bon appétit!
Beef Salad with Toasted Rice
Equipment
- Pan
- Blender or mortar
Ingredients
- 800 g thinly sliced beef loin
- 3 tbsp thai rice
- 1 onion
- 6 lemon grass sticks
- 1 salad (batavia)
- 1/2 bunch of mint
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro
- 1 pepper
- 1 handful shredded carrots
For the sauce
- 90 g sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp nuoc-man
- 3 limes juice
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Instructions
- Cook in a pan the meat on each sides for about 3 minutes or less depending on the cut of the meat (I use very thin meat so it is very fast). Remove from the pan and let the meat rest on a rack while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Warm a pan and roast the rice until golden. Finely crush the rice using a blender or a mortar.
- Prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients.
- Finely chop the onion and cook it in a pan with a bit of olive oil until golden.
- Prepare the lemongrass by removing all the green and hard leaves and keep only the white part. Finely chop it.
- Chop the salad, the pepper and the meat.
- In a bowl, mix together the meat, the onion, the pepper, the lemon grass and half the sauce. Add the chopped mint and cilantro.. Mix well. Add a bit more sauce if needed.
- In a dish, combine the salad, the shredded carrots and the sauce. Add the beef on top of it and sprinkle with the crushed rice.
