Thai Beef Salad, 'Yum Nuea'

One of our favorite recipes, the meat is pan fried or barbequed then tossed with a delicious mixture of sweet, sesame-inspired smoky hot sauce and fresh vegetables. It should be served with jasmine rice, but it's also delicious with sticky rice (soaking up the sauce).

Yam nuea literally means "tossed beef". This is a simple beef "salad", and can be eaten hot or cold. This should be on the hot side of neutral, but really is more spicy than "hot". It is normal to add sunstantial amounts of hot condiments to it to suit yourself (see the section on condiments below).

Ingredients

For 4 Person(s)

Ingredients

1 Pound Top Sirloin Beef

Ingredients For Salad

1/4 Cup Sliced Onions, Separated
2 Tomatoes, Wedged
1/4 Cup Sliced Cucumber
1/4 Cup Thai Chile Peppers, thinly sliced

Ingredients For Sauce

1/4 Cup Fish Sauce
1/4 Cup Lime Juice
1 Tablespoon Sweet Dark Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
2 Tablespoons Minced Ginger
3 Tablespoons Chopped Coriander/Cilantro (including the roots)
1/4 Cup Chopped Green Onions (spring onions)
1/4 Cup Chopped Shallots (small red or purple onions)
1 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon Roasted Chili Oil

Ingredients For Namprik Narok

Oil to Deep Fry
2 Pounds Filleted White Fleshed Freshwater fish
2 Cups Thai Chile Peppers
1/2 Cup Garlic
1/2 Cup Shallots
3 Tablespoons Shrimp Paste
1/4 Cup Fish Sauce
4 Tablespoons Palm Sugar

Buy ingredients for this Recipe

Method for Thai Beef Salad, 'Yum Nuea'

Start with 1 lb beef such as top sirloin, what we used in this recipe.

Fry the beef in olive oil with sliced onion, or barbecue it, then thinly slice into bite sized pieces. Combine with the salad ingredients, and mix the sauce and toss the whole.

Serve with sticky rice, lettuce, condiments and dipping sauce. You can also put a few thai green peppercorns on the bbq and add them with the garnish (makes a very nice touch, as this all goes together very well).

Condiments

Serve with the usual Thai condiments. You can also add fish sauce, dark sweet soy, and sriracha sauce if you wish.

Dips

A useful "auxiliary dipping sauce" is made by mixing one part dark soy with one part Worcestershire sauce, one part fish sauce and one part hot mustard.

Another dipping sauce is the following (known as nam prik narok in Thai, it is translated as "Hell Fire Sauce" in English).

Method For Namprik Narok

Flake the fish and deep fry until the flakes turn golden brown. Chop the chilis, shallots and garlic, then [charcoal] broil them briefly and beat the ingredients together in a mortar and pestle or food processor to form a smooth paste. Place in a small saucepan or wok and cook on medium high until the mixture forms a bubbling paste.

The resultant sauce paste may be stored, when cold, in a tight fitting jar, for several weeks.

Variants: This can also be made with pork (yum moo), or even with shrimp (yum khoong). An interesting variant is to use thinly sliced luncheon meat or even Spam. Vegetarians can experiment with using a julienned vegetable mix in place of the meat.