‘Mise en place’ a French term that translates to “everything ready and in its place”, one must carefully sort and assemble equipment & ingredients in the recipe, as many components are required to prepare this salad.

Being more organized helps one to save time and avoid mistakes.

There are 3 steps that need to be followed to prepare and cook this dish, they are:

1. Collecting equipment.

2. Collecting ingredients as listed.

3. Preparing ingredients as instructed.

To produce Thai Beef Salad, it is essential to have the right equipment, for example the green and red color-coded chopping boards are required to prevent the bacteria from the raw meat to infect the vegetables.

Following are the equipment needed to produce the dish:

It is essential to use fresh ingredients over frozen or dried, as fresh ingredients have a more natural taste which provides the dish with a balanced flavor.

Thai Beef Salad has a lot of different elements to it that makes this salad a hit! From the stir fried beef, the noodles and the sweet-sour dressing to the toasted peanuts all mixed and tossed together.

Tip: Rump steak or rib eye can be used instead of tenderloin.

For knowledge of what you should essentially have in the kitchen, make sure to check out the Kitchen Staples section.

Following are the ingredients needed to produce the dish:

To Garnish

It is important to prepare your ingredients in an organized flow, to achieve a successful outcome of the dish.

For this salad, the ingredients need to be measured out to ensure the right proportion of ingredients in the salad.

The beef must be cut against the grain of the muscle, rather than along it to make it easier to chew.

Tip:Palm sugar is better, because it is a bit sweeter than brown sugar and is traditionally used in Thailand.

Illustrated here are the methods used to prepare the ingredients for this recipe:

Now that the ingredients have been prepared, it is time to get cooking!

To cook the beef strips, the wok needs to be hot to achieve the desired texture of the beef.

Tip: For tender and juicy meat, it is better to cook it medium-rare or medium.

Illustrated here are the cooking/preparation techniques used in this recipe:

The Thai Beef Salad is best presented on a white square or round serving plate.

The contrast of the mixed greens topped with beef against the white serving plate brings out the life of the dish and makes it more enticing.

For garnish, drizzle some peanut, chili and lime wedges for additional taste, texture and flavor.

Tip: If you want it more spicy, add more bird’s eye chili.

Raw Ingredients

Sesame oil, salt & pepper, red onions, soya sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar and rice vermicelli should be stored in a dry cool place.

Mint leaves, fresh coriander, spring onion, mixed greens, Thai red chilli and lime can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.

The meat can be stored covered in the fridge for 3 days and in the freezer for 3 -6 months.

Tip: Meat must be well wrapped in cling film, before freezing, to prevent ‘freezer burn’ or drying out of the exposed surface, due to exposure to cold, dry air inside the freezer.

Cooked Ingredients

The beef strips must be cooled before placing in a lidded container and in the fridge; it will last in the fridge for 3-4 days and if stored in the freezer it could last for up to 3-4 months.

Leftover

Thai Beef Salad should not be stored for more than 1 day, the mixed greens and vegetables will not taste as good as when they are served fresh.

Ingredients

Thai Beef Salad	Yield : 4 Portions
Ingredients	Quantity
Tenderloin steak (cut to thin strips)	350-400 g
Salt & ground black pepper	as required
Cooking oil	2 tbsp
Mint leaves (chopped)	1 tbsp
Fresh Coriander  leaves(chopped)	1 tbsp
Red onion (thinly sliced)	1/2 cup
Spring onion (thinly sliced)	1/2  piece
Thai red chili (finely chopped)	1 tsp
Sesame oil	1 tbsp
Soya sauce	1 tsp
Fish sauce	2 tbsp
Cherry tomatoes (quartered)	8 pieces
Cucumber (sliced)	1/2 cup
Brown sugar	1 tsp
Rice vermicelli (noodles)	2 handfuls
Water	as required
Mixed greens	1/2 cup
Lime (juice)	½ piece
For Garnish
Roasted peanut (roughly chopped)	1/2 cup
Lime (wedges)	1 piece
Thai red chili (thinly sliced)	1 piece
Spring onion (chopped)	1 tbsp

Method

1. In a bowl, soak the rice noodles in water, until soft. Then plunge the noodles into boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, drain the noodles and plunge in a bowl of cold water to stop the noodles from over cooking.

2. Make a dressing by combining the chili, lime juice, brown sugar, fish sauce, sesame oil, soya sauce and season with salt and pepper. Do a taste test to get a good blend of sweet, sour and salt, which is very important in Thai cuisine.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, mixed greens, mint leaves, fresh coriander, onions, spring onions, cucumber and noodles.

4. Add the dressing and toss well.

5. Season the beef strips with salt & pepper. In a wok/ sauté pan on high heat, add oil and stir fry the beef for 2 minutes until crisp and tender.

6. To serve, place the cooked beef on top of the platted salad and drizzle with peanuts, chilli (optional) and lime wedges. Serve the rest of peanuts on the side.