light-meals

Asian Beef Noodle Salad

December 29

This is a variation on the classic Thai dish, Beef Laab, a spicy ground beef salad from the North East of Thailand normally served with steamed sticky rice. Here I’ve used the spicy ground beef mixture as the main element of a fresh tasting noodle salad. This dish can be topped with toasted sesame seeds, chopped toasted peanuts or ground toasted sticky rice.

Serves 2
30 mins

Method

1. Soak the rice noodles for 10 minutes in a large bowl of boiling water. When the noodles are tender, drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
2. Add a drop of oil to a large frying pan over a medium high heat. Fry the ground beef for approximately 5-6 mins, breaking up with a wooden spatula until just browned and any liquid has evaporated.
3. Stir through the garlic, chilli, ginger and half the spring onions. Fry for a further 2 minutes until aromatic.
4. Mix together the soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, sesame oil and brown sugar. Add this mixture to the beef and stir through for another 3 minutes until the liquid has evaporated slightly.
5. Remove from the heat and tear in the basil and coriander. Stir through until combined.
6. To serve, place a pile of rice noodles in the centre of the dish. Add the shredded cabbage, mango chunks, shredded carrot around the sides and then pile a generous spoonful of the minced beef mix on top. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, spring onions and garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Serve while the beef is still warm.
TOP TIP
This spicy ground beef mix also works spooned into baby gem lettuce cups and drizzled with a drop of sweet chilli sauce for a simple starter.

For the spicy ground beef:

1 tbsp sunflower oil

8 oz ground beef

1 red chilli, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 thumb sized piece ginger, finely chopped

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

3 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

Juice of 1 lime

Fresh basil, small handful

Fresh coriander, small handful

For the salad:

8.8 oz rice noodles

1 ripe mango, diced

2 carrots, finely sliced

6 spring onions, finely sliced

1 head of Chinese cabbage, shredded

For the spicy ground beef:

1 tbsp sunflower oil

250g ground beef

1 red chilli, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 thumb sized piece ginger, finely chopped

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

3 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

Juice of 1 lime

Fresh basil, small handful

Fresh coriander, small handful

For the salad:

250g rice noodles

1 ripe mango, diced

2 carrots, finely sliced

6 spring onions, finely sliced

1 head of Chinese cabbage, shredded

You'll Need

Frying pan

Large mixing bowl

Small mixing bowl

If you liked this

Rice noodles are a fantastic storecupboard ingredient and I regularly stock up at Asian markets where you can also buy jumbo sized bottles of Asian staples like fish sauce, soy sauce, and so much more. This dish is possibly one of the most famous Thai dishes and appears on menus throughout the world. Rightfully so, its a speedy dish full of deep layers of sweet and aromatic flavors.

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Thai Fish Cakes

September 26

These might sound complicated but if you have all the ingredients, all it takes is to blitz everything until smooth, stir through a little spring onion and green beans, fry them and serve for the most delicious little Asian taster! To keep things on the lighter side, you can of course pop them under the grill instead of frying them off. Serve with sweet chilli sauce for a great little lunch or with a side salad for a light main course.

main-meals
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Vietnamese Caramel Salmon

January 21

This is a brilliantly simple South East Asian recipe, which is traditionally cooked in a clay pot and served still sizzling straight to the table. This fish recipe is often made with catfish in Vietnam but is quite delicious made with darns of salmon. The sticky and sweet caramel sauce is infused with wonderful aromas from ginger and chilli. Serve the salmon with warm rice and generous spoonful of the aromatic caramel sauce.

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