Del-icious!: Thai beef noodle salad

On our first night in Thailand we were sweltering, sweaty from humidity and jet lagged into submission. The heavy night air seemed to sit on our shoulders. Even still we hopped in a cab to the 'main' street of Chaweng to find some icy cold Thai beer and a traditional Thai restaurant. We found one on the second floor of a row of shops, all dark bamboo with the sounds of tiny running water fountains, Buddhas and palms. I ordered a Northern Thai dish, which unbeknownst to me, is traditionally served cold. It was refreshing with lime and chili, herbal with basil, mint and cilantro and of course, savoury and meaty with lightly seared beef fillet. It was just what I needed as we sat listening to the hustle and bustle outside of droning nightclub music, kick-boxing adverts passing by and general rowdiness. I felt restored and happy that I was going to discover far more than red, green or yellow curry on this vacation.

Of course there are many versions of beef salads in Thai cuisine. Larb or Lap, with the meat ground then seasoned, is a very popular choice, as are salads with noodles, such as this one. I found the recipe in a book in my local book store and was suddenly hit with a flash of inspiration. Instead of buying the book for this one recipe, (which I fully intended to do), I whipped out my iphone and took a sneaky photo instead. I recreated the dish at home that evening. Wow, a whole new world of possibilities and a whole lot of money saved.

Recipe : Thai beef noodle salad

100g bean thread noodles

2 tbsp oil

2 tsp red curry paste

500g beef tenderloin

1/2 cucumber, chopped into thin slivers

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly

1/2 red onion or 4 shallots, thinly sliced

2 large handfuls beansprouts

1 small handful each of basil, mint and cilantro

2 tbsp roasted peanuts (I used lime and salt roasted, which gave a real zing)

Dressing

2 tbsp lime juice

1.5 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp sesame oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

First, pour boiling water over the noodles to soften and let stand for 5 minutes then drain. Mix the oil and red curry paste together and spread over the beef. Leave to marinade for a little while you make the salad.

Combine all the other salad ingredients together in a large bowl, (including the drained noodles) and mix together. Grill, broil or fry the steak until ideally medium rare, remove and let rest for a few minutes while you make the dressing.

Mix all the dressing ingredients together well, thoroughly beating with a fork. Thinly slice the steak and add to the salad along with the dressing and mix together.