Easy Thai Beef Salad
Spicy beef Thai salad is all you could want for a tangy, zesty, and spicy warm salad that tastes full of flavor and freshness. With the variety of textures and ingredients, you’ll be sure to love this easy and oh-so-healthy dish. Here’s how I make it!
Spicy beef Thai salad is another one of my favorite Asian dishes! As the days become slightly warmer and we can yet again open our curtains to blue skies, rays of sunshine, and fresh breezes, why not top off that perfect weather with a spicy salad that’s just as fresh as it is delicious? It’s a warm beef salad that’s great for the whole family to enjoy.
Thai Beef Salad: The Asian Steak Salad You Will Love
Introducing the Thai beef salad. If you’ve ever wanted to add spicy flavor to any plain old salad, then this salad is perfect for you. It’s a fun recipe too that isn’t as fancy as it might seem. You get to play around not only with your greens, but your meats and sauces as well! Toss it all into a bowl, get your mixing on, and enjoy!
Thai Steak Salad Ingredients
If you’re excited to get your spicy Thai salad on, it’s time to start the recipe and begin prepping those ingredients together! Let’s take a look and see what you need on hand:
To make the tangy & spicy Thai dressing, grab the ingredients below:
- Chili sauce or Thai chili pepper
- Garlic (minced)
- Cilantro/coriander (with the stem!)
- Sugar
- Fish sauce
- Lime juice
- Vinegar
- Oil (canola, vegetable, or grapeseed)
For the steak salad, obtain the following ingredients:
- Steak
- Grape tomatoes
- Spring lettuce mix
- Red onions (thinly sliced)
- Cucumbers
- Cilantro/coriander leaves (garnish)
For the garnish, you will need the following ingredients:
- Peanuts (optional)
- Basil
- Cilantro/coriander leaves
It’s simple, right? You don’t need to go searching to the ends of the world to find the ingredients for this easy and fun salad. Read on below just in case you want to get even more excited about making this.
Thai Basil Beef Salad – What’s to Love?
If you’ve got any lingering doubts about trying out the Thai beef salad, you shouldn’t hesitate to burn them away. There is so much to fall in love with about this delightful and bright dish. Here are just a few of some of the amazing reasons why you should be more than excited to start making it:
- Easy-to-find ingredients (most of which you might already have sitting around!)
- Very easy and fast to make
- Very customizable. For instance, if you want to decrease the spice factor just add less chili sauce. Want more basil flavor? Just add more basil to the salad. Just make sure to taste as you go.
- Loaded with flavor — it’s the perfect blend of sweet, salty, and spicy
- Juicy and tender beef with the crunch and freshness of the salad
- Add-on ingredients like peanuts, to customize your salad to your liking
- Incredibly easy to prep
- A healthy and well-balanced meal
- Refreshing and colorful
If you’re looking to put together a salad that’s filled with Asian zest instead of a basic salad, go ahead and jump right into this Spicy beef Thai salad!
How to Make Spicy Thai Dressing
What arguably makes or breaks a salad is the dressing. That’s why we’ve got to start with that to make our salad as fantastic as it can be.
So, to make the spicy Thai salad dressing, you’ll first want to grab a mortar and pestle to mash all the ingredients up together.
No worries if you don’t have one! Go ahead and finely mince the ingredients and shake them up in a jar or container of your choosing, or put the dressing in a bowl and whisk well.
All it takes to make a flavor-loaded dressing is one step, and that is to:
- Mix in your finely sliced chili, garlic, chopped coriander stems, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, vinegar and oil into your mortar and pestle.
Next, it’s time to prepare the tasty and tender beef! Be sure to follow the directions below:
- Season the steak generously with salt and pepper.
- Cook your beef to your preference. Medium rare or medium is my recommendation! For a thicker steak cook about 5 minutes on each side. For a thinner steak 3 minutes on each side or until the internal temperature of 130-135 F.
- Take the beef off the skillet and set it on a plate. Tent it with foil and let it sit to rest for 10 minutes.
Now let’s finish up with the bulk of the salad. Go ahead and begin the following:
- Toss some lettuce into a bowl
- Add about 1 tbsp of your dressing and get tossing for that zesty blend!
- Evenly divide salad, steak and salad dressing evenly among 4 plates and garnish with basil and cilantro. Feel free to garnish with crushed peanuts as well.
- Choose if you want to add in your optional garnish, like peanuts, cilantro and basil. Without further ado, dig right in! Happy eating!
Cook Tips to Make This Recipe Successfully
- Don’t forget that this Spicy beef Thai salad recipe is customizable, especially with the level of spice! Pay attention to the chili amount. If you want mild, go with ¼ tsp. A level up from that would be ½ tsp. For a spicy Thai basil salad dressing that’s pretty hot but not painful, 1 3/4 – 2 tsp is your best bet.
- Get the right steak! It’s best if you choose from sirloin, porterhouse, flat iron, London broil, hanger or flank steak for the best results. As long as it’s good for grilling, it’s perfect!
- Always remember that a steak can still cook when resting up! Whenever possible, try not to overcook your steak unless you want it that way.
- Slice the meat against the grain so that you’ll get the juiciest meat with every bite of Thai beef salad.
- Taste the salad along the way. That’s how you can craft the perfect dish that will satisfy your cravings by knowing when to add more of an ingredient.
What to Serve with Thai Beef Salad
Wine makes a fantastic pairing with this Asian beef salad. Riesling is a perfect complement to any spicy dish, including the Thai Beef Salad. A little taste of fruit and a bit of acidity make for the best combination for your taste buds!
Spicy Thai Beef Salad
Ingredients
For the steak
- 1 lb sirloin steak *See notes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper for taste
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Thai Salad Dressing
- 1 tbsp cilantro stems chopped finely
- 1 3/4 tsp sambal oelek add more for a spicier dressing *See notes
- 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp lime juice plus additional 1 tsp
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/4 tsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar plus additional 1/4 tsp (optional)
- couple small pinches of pepper
Salad
- 1 cup grape tomatoes cut each tomato in half
- 1/4 cup red onions sliced thinly
- 1 1/2 cups spring mix
- 1 1/2 cups hearts of romaine lettuce
- 1/8 cup shredded fresh basil
- 2 mini cucumbers sliced thin do not remove the skin
Garnish
- cilantro and basil for garnish
- 1/4 tbsp crushed peanuts optional
Instructions
- Season the steaks. Heat up a skillet over medium high heat.
- Once the skillet is very hot, add the oil. When the oil is hot, cook each side of the steak for about 3-4 minutes. Medium rare is my recommendation! For a thicker steak 5 minutes on each side. The steak is done when the internal temperature reaches 130-135 F.
- Take the steak off the skillet and set it on a plate. Tent it with foil and let it sit to rest for 10 minutes.
Spicy Thai Salad Dressing
- In your mortar place the garlic, finely minced cilantro stems. Grind until it it forms a paste. Next add the sambal oelek, sauce, sugar, lime juice, vinegar and oil. Stir well. If you don't have a mortar you can put the dressing into a bowl and whisk very well or add it to a jar and shake well.
- Thinly slice the steak against the grain. To a bowl add the spring mix and the remaining ingredients. Add about 1 tbsp of your dressing and get tossing for that zesty blend! ll.
- Evenly divide salad, steak and salad dressing evenly among 4 plates and garnish with basil and cilantro. Feel free to garnish with crushed peanuts as we
Notes
- This recipe makes 3 small servings of salad or two larger servings.
- Don’t forget that this Thai beef salad recipe is customizable, especially with the level of spice! Pay attention to the chili amount. If you want mild, go with ¼ tsp. A level up from that would be ½ tsp. For a spicy Thai basil salad dressing that’s pretty hot but not painful, 1 3/4 – 2 tsp is your best bet.
- Get the right steak! It’s best if you choose from sirloin, ribeye, porterhouse, flat iron, London broil, hanger or flank steak for the best results. As long as it’s good for grilling, it’s perfect!
- Always remember that a steak can still cook when resting up! Whenever possible, try not to overcook your steak unless you want it that way.
- Slice the meat against the grain so that you’ll get the juiciest meat with every bite of salad.
- Taste along the way. That’s how you can craft the perfect dish that will satisfy your cravings by knowing when to add more of an ingredient.
Nutrition
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