Thai Beef Salad (Video)

The Thai name for this dish is “Yam Neua Yang.”  “Neua” means beef and “Yang” translates as grilled or broiled. 

Now, let’s focus on the “Yam.”  This is a basic Thai cooking concept, meaning the food has spicy, sour and salty flavors. 

In this beef salad, the spiciness comes from the chile powder in the dressing and the long hot chiles in the salad.  In addition, the lime juice and lemongrass contribute the sour elements.  Finally, the fish sauce  adds the saltiness to complete the Yam trifecta.

Since we’re talking about salads and culinary approaches, let’s take a side trip to France.  The French love salads as much as Thais do.  And, both food cultures have funny ways to show their salad love. 

In Thai food, salad experts often mercilessly pound the salad ingredients into a state of oneness, such as in Som Tam.

Conversely, French chefs prefer to assault their greens with a vigourous massage.  The French term is “Fatiguer la salade,” which means to dress the salad until its “fatigued,” and can’t take any more dressing.  As a result, many French salad masters toss the greens in the dressing thirty three times.

So, this beef salad highlights two concepts, the French“Fatiguer la salade” and The Thai “Yam.”

 Take a look at the video to see how this salad comes together.

Serves 2

The Dressing

• ¼ cup (120 ml) fish sauce
• ¼ cup (120 ml) lime juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon chile powder
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped lemongrass

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Makes ½ cup.  The dressing will keep in the refrigerator for one week.

The Beef

• 1 12 ounce (340 g) ribeye steak, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick.  Sirloin or New York Strip also work well.
• Canola oil

One hour before cooking, remove the steak from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. 

Heat your grill to high.  Before putting the meat on the grill, scrub the grill grate with a wire brush.  Then, oil the grill to ensure a proper sear on the beef.  Place the steak on the grill and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.  Turn the steaks over and grill an additional 3-5 minutes for medium rare, 5-7 minutes and 8-10 minutes for medium-well. 

When the steak has the desired level of doneness, remove to a platter and let the beef rest for 5 minutes before slicing. 

The Salad

• 2 cups chopped red leaf lettuce.  (Any lettuce you have on hand will work.  I had red leaf in my veggie drawer so that’s what I used.)
• ½ cup chopped mint
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced
• 10 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 red long hot chile, thinly sliced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced

Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Coat the salad with the dressing and toss thoroughly.  Remember “Fatiguer la salade”?  Go ahead, toss the salad thirty three times.  You’ll be glad you did.

Garnish

• Sliced cherry tomatoes
• Sliced cucumbers
• Sliced shallots
• Sliced long red hot pepper
• Cilantro leaves
• Mint sprigs

To complete:

After the steak has rested, slice the beef thinly.  Aim for fourteen to sixteen slices, if possible.  Place a mound of salad on the plate and neatly place the steak on the salad. 

Strew a few tomatoes, cucumbers, shallots and long hot peppers around the plate.  Toss on a few cilantro leaves and mint sprigs.

Serve immediately.

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