Thailand · Salads · Spicy
Thai Spicy Beef Salad
A bold Thai salad of seared beef with red onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, fresh mint and cilantro, dressed in a bright lime-fish sauce dressing. Served on lettuce leaves or with jasmine rice — light, spicy, and deeply aromatic.
30 min 210 kcal 2 serves Medium🌶️Spicy🇹🇭Thailand★★★★★4.8· 4 reviews
Ingredients
ServingsMetric
- 250 gbeef tenderloin or flank steak
- ½ red onion
- ½ cucumber, thinly sliced into half-rounds
- 4 cherry tomatoes
- 1 tspred chili
- 1 tbsplime juice
- 1 tbspfish sauce
- 1 tspbrown sugar
- 1 bunch fresh mint
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 2 tsptoasted rice
- lettuce leaves or jasmine rice for serving
Method
- Pat the beef dry with paper towels and season both sides with a pinch of salt. Heat a cast-iron skillet or grill to high heat until it's almost smoking. Sear the steak for 2-3 minutes per side for medium-rare — you want a deep brown crust on the outside and a rosy pink center. Don't move it while it sears; let the heat do the work.
- Transfer the beef to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 5 minutes uncovered. This lets the juices redistribute so they end up in the salad, not on the board. Then slice thinly against the grain — cutting across the muscle fibres keeps each piece tender.
- While the beef rests, make the dressing: in a small bowl, combine lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, and finely chopped chili. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Taste — it should be a sharp balance of sour, salty, sweet, and hot.
- In a large bowl, combine the sliced beef (and any juices from the board), red onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, torn mint leaves, and cilantro. Pour the dressing over and toss everything together gently so the warm beef absorbs the flavors.
- Arrange on lettuce leaves or serve alongside steamed jasmine rice. Sprinkle toasted rice powder on top if using — it adds a subtle nutty crunch that is the signature texture of this salad.
FAQ
Use beef tenderloin, flank steak, or any tender cut sliced thin. The key is not to overcook — medium rare or medium gives the juiciest result.
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Comments (1)
The knife work is what makes this thai spicy beef salad special. Every piece of beef tenderloin cut to the same size means every forkful is balanced. It's the kind of detail you taste but can't quite identify.