🥩🌱 Thai Yam Neua Beef Salad Recipe + Hong Kong-Style Cooking Tips

Thai Beef Salad is a classic Thai appetizer featuring tender beef with herbs, onions, juicy tomatoes, and a quartet of sour, spicy, umami, and sweet sauces! Perfect for Hong Kong's hot weather, it works with both steak and tenderloin, but making it yourself will double the quality! 🍃🥩🔥

Essential ingredients (serves 3-4)

• 300g steak (sirloin, shoulder, or belly)

• Lettuce leaves/Romaine lettuce as needed

• 8-10 cherry tomatoes (cut in half)

• Half a cucumber (cut into strips)

• Half a red or purple onion (shredded)

• 2 medium celery stalks (cut into sections)

• 1 handful of cilantro

• A few mint leaves (must add!)

• 1-3 chili peppers (diced, add according to the spiciness)

• 2 cloves of garlic (minced)

• 1 scallion, half a lime (juice)

• Roasted peanuts (crushed, for garnish)

Thai salad sauce

• 2-2.5 tablespoons fish sauce

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• 1 tablespoon palm sugar (or brown sugar, white sugar)

• A pinch of white pepper

• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon chili powder (more for stronger flavors)

Detailed cooking process

1️⃣ Pat the steak dry and marinate with salt and black pepper (you can add a little oyster sauce or light soy sauce) for 10-20 minutes.
2️⃣ Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat, add oil, and quickly fry on both sides until half done (about 1 to 1.5 minutes per side). Remove from heat, wrap with aluminum foil, and let the beef rest for 10 minutes. Slice thinly and set aside.
3. Combine minced garlic, chili peppers, and palm sugar in a small bowl. Add fish sauce, lime juice, and pepper and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Taste to ensure it's sour and spicy enough.
4️⃣ Place beef slices, onion, celery, tomato, and cucumber in a large bowl, add sauce and mix well. Finally, add coriander, mint leaves, and chopped green onions, mix again, and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
5️⃣ Serve with lettuce for a crispier wrap. Use the remaining sauce for noodles or as a dip for grilled meats.

Editor’s TIPS

• Choose American beef or Australian M6 or above for steak, stir-fry for smoother and juicier texture.

• The degree of doneness can be arbitrary (cold dishes are usually best left 30% to 50% done); do not overcook to avoid it becoming dry and tough.

• Herbs such as mint, coriander, and green onions must fall off, adding layers of freshness.

• You can also add thin slices of cucumber, basil, and red pepper to enhance the color.

• Fish sauce has a fruity aroma, and you can adjust the golden ratio of sour, spicy, salty and sweet by yourself.

• The leftover sauce is delicious when mixed with rice or noodles.

Thai Beef Salad—a cool, spicy treat, a must-try summer appetizer! Our homemade beef slices are better than those at restaurants, and we guarantee you'll clear the plates the moment they're served! 🥩🍋🌶️