Thai beef salad

I once took a couple of classes on Thai cooking at a French restaurant in China. Makes sense, no? In point of fact it does, which is the beauty of Shanghai city’s culture (though I am bereaved to know that the pajama party will be ceasing soon). But that is not the subject of my post.

This salad is. At that French restaurant (now closed, of course. Another aspect of Shanghai’s beauty may be its vigorous exercise of and appreciation for the ephemeral) about two years ago, I watched the chef (who’d come from here) sear a steak, mix a dressing, slice some vegetables, chatting ever so cheerfully all the while – it took the whole of 10 minutes – and then pass around little bowls of what I can only recall as the very cleanest rendition of the southeast Asian palate. It was hot, sour, salty, sweet, and we ate it with our fingers. It was magnificent. And I wrote it all down! I’d brought a pad and pencil so that I could note absolutely everything chef said. After the class I would (and did) go straight home to transcribe my notes, file them neatly in my ‘food’ folder, and, as long as I didn’t lose my laptop, have them stored for all eternity. Clever me.

Indeed. I never lost my laptop, but they gave us pretty pads and pencils at the class, and when this Saturday I went to check my notes for the Thai beef salad we prepared, something was a little off. There were tomatoes, check; cucumber, check; shallot, check; various herbs of a southeast Asian persuasion, check, check, check. There were grams and cups and spoons; I’d been so precise. But my recipe for Thai beef salad had no beef. I’ve reproduced it below, and, well, added the beef. The ingredients for the salad components should be adjusted according to your taste and the season anyway (except for the beef part). The dressing is the key in any case. That said, this rendition is fairly traditional, and cucumbers are now in farmers’ markets. Cherry tomatoes are not so bad this time of year, either, so now might be the time to try this, instead of waiting for two years.

Thai beef salad

Fish sauce (made from fermented anchovies) tends to scare some people. It’s quite important here, but do feel free to start with a much smaller quantity, adding as much as you see necessary.

Dressing:  2 T Thai chile paste  |  2 T palm sugar (or honey)  |  5 T lime juice  |  5 T fish sauce (or soy sauce)

Salad components:  1 small steak, preferably the tenderloin or, if you prefer, a flank steak, about ½ pound  |  salt + pepper  |  1 t grapeseed oil  |  120 g (½ cup) tomato, seeded and julienned  |  115 g ( ½ cup) cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, sliced on bias  |  50 g (3 T) finely sliced shallot  |  50 g (3 T) very finely sliced lemongrass  |  fresh mint (consider also cilantro and Thai basil)

Season the steak with salt + pepper, and let it come to room temperature while you are cutting up the vegetables.

Sear the steak according to your liking. Very rare seems to look right. (Heat a small skillet over high heat for 5 minutes, or as long as you can stand it. Don’t worry if it smokes a little. Rub steak with a small bit of oil, place in the skillet, and do not touch for at least 3 minutes. There will be a lot of sound and some smoke, so this is the time to open your windows. Then see if you can turn the steak. If you can, do so, and if you can’t, wait another minute. After turning, let sear on the other side. For medium rare, it will feel a little bit firm but still quite springy to the touch, and will have spent 7 or 8 minutes in the pan. If uncertain, use an instant read thermometer. The internal temperature of the meat will read about 125F. The steak will need to rest at least 5 minutes before you can slice it.)

While the steak is resting, mix the ingredients together for the dressing. Taste and adjust as necessary. Toss the dressing with the vegetables, then slice the steak thinly, place on top of the salad, and drizzle with a bit more dressing.

Serves 2