Thai Beef and Noodle Salad Recipe (Yum Nua)
Thai Beef and Noodle Salad is a favorite in our household during the summer. Tender pieces of skirt steak nestled in a bed of rice noodles with fresh veggies, herbs, and an addicting dressing!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
Ingredients
Steak:
- 1 1/2 lbs. skirt steak, trimmed of silverskin and excess fat
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce or sambal
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon very thinly sliced lemongrass, tender inner leaves only
Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon very finely minced lemongrass, tender inner leaves only
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 2 Thai chili, finely minced (1 if you're sensitive to spice)
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic paste or sambal
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
Salad:
- 8 oz thin rice noodles
- 2 beefsteak tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- mint leaves
- Thai basil
- cilantro leaves
- 2 tablespoons toasted rice powder*
- lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Marinate the steak. Combine all the marinade ingredients and whisk together. Place steak in a zip-top bag and pour the marinade on top. Seal and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the fridge for up to 8 hours.
- Make the dressing. Whisk together all the ingredients until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
- Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Transfer them to a large serving bowl.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the steak from the marinade and shake off any excess. Sear the steak for 3-4 minutes per side, transfer to a cutting board, and rest for 10 minutes. Slice against the grain. Alternately, the steak can be grilled on a hot grill for the same amount of time.
- Assemble. Arrange the sliced steak on top of the noodles and nestle in the tomatoes and sliced shallots. Drizzle the dressing evenly over everything and top with toasted rice powder and all the fresh herbs. Serve with lime wedges.
Notes
*To make your own toasted rice powder:
Because I wasn't able to find any at the store, I made my own! Take 1/3 cup of uncooked jasmine rice and add it to a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Toast the rice for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until it's golden brown. Let it cool and then blitz it in a spice grinder or use a mortar and pestle to grind it up. Store it in an airtight container until you're ready to use it.
Storage: This recipe can be a great option for meal prep, but I do recommend keeping all the ingredients separate during storage. If you have leftover steak, leave it whole when you store it. Once it's cool, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can keep the dressing in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the fridge.
If you have leftover rice noodles, make sure to toss them with a bit of oil before storing in a large ziplock bag, this keeps the noodles from sticking together.
