How to make Vietnamese Beef & Glass Noodle Salad

Preparation: 20 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes | Serves: 4

This Vietnamese beef salad recipe is healthy, fresh and perfect for an easy midweek meal in the warmer months.

Ingredients

• 600 g lean beef strips
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 red capsicum, sliced
• 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup snow pea sprouts
• 2 cups mixed salad greens
• 3 cups vermicelli (glass) noodles, cooked
• 2 tbsp mint leaves

Dressing

• 1 tbsp finely chopped lemongrass
• 1 tbsp finely chopped seeded red chilli
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp rice-wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

1. Coat the beef strips in the oil. Preheat a non-stick pan to moderately hot. Keep the heat at a moderately-high.
2. Cook the beef in 3 batches. Cook the first side until the first sign of moisture appears on the uncooked side, turn and cook other side of the beef strips. Remove the last batch from the pan and allow the beef to cool slightly.
3. To make Dressing: Combine all ingredients in a jug.
4. Combine the spring onions, capsicum, cherry tomatoes, snow pea sprouts, mixed salad greens and noodles. Pour dressing over salad, add beef strips, and toss well. Scatter with mint leaves to serve.

Tips

• Coat the meat in oil instead of adding oil to the pan or wok. You use less oil this way. You can also add ingredients like a little soy or grated ginger for flavour. Use your fingers to massage the oil into the meat strips.
• Pan-frying the beef strips in two or three batches helps to the beef strips brown well, the beef will look good and taste great.
• Best beef cuts for stir-frying: Use beef stir-fry strips or prepare your own from rib eye/scotch fillet/tenderloin, sirloin/porterhouse/New York, rump, boneless blade, round, oyster blade or topside steaks.

Enjoy!