EASY THAI BEEF SALAD

This is a lovely salad, great for waking up the taste buds and still eating healthily. I do cheat a bit with this I buy a packet of cooked sliced beef to replace the 300g of sirloin steak and it works out a bit cheaper as well.

INGREDIENTS

(SERVES 4 AS A STARTER OR 2 AS A MAIN COURSE)

300g trimmed sirloin steak

(or substitute with packet of sliced cook beef)

A little vegetable oil

100g beansprouts

6 lime leaves, shredded (If you are having a problem with finding lime leaves use a combination of lime and lemon zest. Generally, about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of finely chopped lime zest can be used in place of one kaffir lime leaf. Try one teaspoon of lime zest and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest, and then adjust to your taste.)

40g picked Thai or Italian basil

30g picked coriander

3 long red chillies, seeds removed, cut into thin strips

250g pack medium rice noodles

FOR THE DRESSING

2 limes, juiced

25ml vegetable oil

40ml fish sauce

1 long red chilli, finely diced

1 Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl. Pour hot water over to cover, and leave for four minutes until softened. Drain, then rinse and separate in cold water.

2 If you are using pre cooked slice beef then just slice the beef into thin strips and continue on to step 3 . Cut the beef into thin strips, about the length of your little finger. Heat a heavy-based pan or wok over a high heat and leave until it’s very hot. Mix the beef with a little oil and throw it into the pan. Leave to sizzle for a minute to colour, then turn and cook for another minute. Remove the meat and set aside to cool a little.

3 Toss together the bean sprouts, herbs and fine strips of chilli and set to one side. If you like it spicy, add extra chillies.

4 In a separate bowl, stir together all of the dressing ingredients. Pour the mixture over the warm beef, then add the herb salad. Toss well and serve immediately on top of the rice noodles.