Fast Thai beef salad

Thai beef salad recipe

A delicious Thai beef salad is the perfect balance of light and satisfying. It features classic ingredients like coriander, chilli, capsicum, and mint, all topped with slices of quality rump steak cooked to your liking, and a fresh Thai beef salad sauce. This recipe is a great choice for summer nights and alfresco eating, and works as both a main dish or side dish. 

With flavours that will impress even the most anti-salad of dinner guests, this Thai beef salad has taste and texture going for it. The best part? It’s on the table in just half an hour. With a dish this quick, easy, and tasty, it’s sure to become a fast favourite.

How to make Thai beef salad

Once you’ve prepped your ingredients, preheat the barbecue grill or chargrill on high. You could also cook your steak in a frying pan on the stove, however grilling it will help impart some smoky flavour into the meat. Season the rump steak by drizzling with oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes on each side for medium rare, or until your preferred doneness. Transfer the cooked steak to a plate and loosely cover with foil.

While the steak rests, place the bean sprouts, capsicum, tomatoes, cucumber, shallots, chilli, mint, and coriander into a large bowl. Lightly toss to combine.

To make the Thai beef salad dressing, add the sugar, fish sauce, sesame oil, and lime juice to a screw-top jar. Shake vigorously to combine. If you don’t have a screw-top jar, thoroughly whisk your ingredients in a measuring jug using a fork, or a handheld blender or frother. You want the sauce to be a liquid consistency with no clumps of sugar. 

To serve, thinly slice the steak. Cut against the grain to preserve the steak’s shape. Divide the salad among serving plates. Top with the sliced beef and chopped peanuts before dressing the Thai beef salad with the tangy sauce.

Spice up your Thai beef salad

One of the best things about salads in general is that they are extremely easy to customise. Salad is typically composed of a base (commonly mixed leaves or mesclun, or sometimes grains like rice or quinoa) and then packed with a variety of toppings like fruits and veggies, meat or alternative protein, herbs, nuts, seeds, or lentils, before being topped with a sauce. Dressings are usually either creamy (like mayonnaise) or liquid (like vinaigrette) and help add texture and moisture to salads for a perfectly balanced dish.

This Thai beef salad recipe is no exception to the rule of adaptation. In some versions of Thai beef salad, garlic or lemongrass is crushed into the sauce to add more herbaceousness and spice. Soy sauce can also be incorporated to add some salty and umami flavours that go beautifully with seared beef. 

Now get cooking

There’s lots to love about salad! For more beef salad options, be sure to check out Curtis Stone's BBQ steak salad with Thai vinaigrette or this Thai beef zoodle salad. If chicken is your protein of choice, you’ll love this quick chicken and noodle salad, and if you’re a salmon-lover, have a go of this 10-minute salmon salad. For a Thai salad that uses pork instead of beef, here’s our Thai-style pork salad with red curry dressing. For a filling vegan salad recipe, you can’t go past the Asian-style tofu and edamame salad.