Recipe: Grilled Beef Salad w/Mint &Toasted Rice

recipelink.com Chat Room Recipe Swap - 2001-06-26
From: recipelink.com

Spicy Grilled Beef Salad with Mint and Toasted Rice (Yam Neua)
From: Michael Babcock
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Date: 2-24-01

This is my wife's (Kasma Loha-unchit's) recipe
Serves 6 with other dishes and steamed rice in a shared family-style meal.

1 lb. top sirloin steak
1 stalk lemon grass (optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly crosswise
1 green onion, or 2 Tbs. when cut in very thin rounds
2 Tbs. coarsely chopped cilantro
1 cup mint leaves
10-15 small dried red Thai chilies
2 Tbs. fish sauce (nam bplah), or to taste
Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
2 Tbs. ground toasted rice (see note below)
A few pieces lettuce leaves
A few mint or cilantro sprigs

Trim off the woody bottom 1/2 to 1 inch of the lemon grass stalk and the top 2-3 inches below where the grass blades fan out. Pull off and discard the loose outer layers. Then slice the stalk very thinly with a sharp knife into rounds. Prepare the garlic, shallot, green onion and cilantro as instructed. Tear the large mint leaves into 2-3 pieces; leave the small leaves whole.

Place the dried Thai chilies on a small dry pan over medium heat. Stir frequently, toasting the chilies to a dark red color and slightly charred. Make sure the fan is turned on high and take care not to burn the chilies as the fumes may irritate mucous linings of your throat. Allow chilies to cool before grinding them in a clean coffee grinder to a fine powder. Use 2-3 tsp. of the powdered chilies for this recipe, depending on how spicy you desire the salad to be.

Grill the steak over hot mesquite coals to the doneness of your liking (about 3-4 minutes on each side for medium cooked, depending on the thickness of the steak). The steak may also be broiled under a high flame in the oven. After it is cooked, slice against the muscle into thin strips about 1 1/2 inches long.

Toss the beef slices just before serving with the lemon grass, garlic, shallot, green onion, cilantro, mint leaves, ground toasted chilies, fish sauce and lime juice. Adjust the salty, sour and hot flavors to your liking. Sprinkle with the ground toasted rice. Toss well, transfer to a serving plate lined on one side with lettuce leaves. Garnish top with mint or cilantro sprigs.

Note: Ground toasted rice is available in small plastic pouches from Southeast Asian markets, often labeled as "roasted rice powder". You can also make your own supply by browning uncooked white rice (preferably glutinous rice) in a dry skillet over medium heat. Toast the grains, stirring frequently until they are an even dark brown color and aromatic. Set aside to cool before pulverizing in a clean coffee grinder.